#reuse plastic

[impetuousdesigns]

I finally gave in and got some of that UV resin. I collected a lot of small plastic bits at the beach over the last few months, and I did an experiment with melting it together. That kind of worked, but the results were brittle and the process probably a bit unhealthy (melting plastic fumes).

I did a few little tests today, and I’m now sure I want to try it at the art school!

Then my kid came home and wanted to make some, with the addition of sea glass and sequins. Also immediately wanted to make them into keychain ls even though I couldn’t find the right keychain straps for them. 😅 Probably gonna change that later.

[gardeningwithpina]

My grandparents were farmers in Molise before they came to Canada, and like most Italian immigrants, they continued to garden.

Here are some things I learned from them while I was growing up (pictures are not mine):

You can use plastic waste in the garden. Yogurt containers or pop bottles with a bit of tape for air layering

netted produce bags around fruit to protect them from some insects

bottles or cartons as mini greenhouses (for starting plants before the last frost)

and making a big greenhouse out of plastic bottles (instead of staples, you can use fire to melt peices together)

My favourite place to be was under the grape trellis in the summer

You can burn back shrubs instead of pruning them (some blueberry farmers still do this!), and toss food scraps into the garden as a fertilizer instead of making compost (check out my composting material tag!)

[gardeningwithpina]

Floating Gardens

Got more water than land available to you? No problem, you can just make floating gardens~

If you're not familiar with the concept, it probably seems foolish to think you can create a floating garden, but Marsh Arabs and Uro people prove you can live on water (and not in boats like pirates or Vikings or A'a Sama). Through the creation and use of artifical islands (usually made from reed beds, but sometimes mud), they can live on floting islands of decaying material.

Floating gardens can be made from a variety of materials; bamboo, reed beds, compacted coconut shells, plastic bottles, etc boyant materials.

On top of the boyant (and usually, netted so it doesnt come apart) material, soil is added, or some type of natural growing medium, such as aged manure.

Unlike chinampas and waru waru systems, floating gardens are not usually firmly placed or stable in the water, so it's important to enclose them, or keep them otherwise tied down to their spot. This can be done with anchors, fencing, or using a rope extending to land (like you would do with a boat in water).

[gardeningwithpina]

Plastic Bottle Watering Systems

(from Cierra's Country Life)

(from diyhowto)

(from The Gardening Cook)

[gardeningwithpina]

Plastic Bottle Greenhouse

Prior to building his new and improved recycled window greenhouse, my grandfather had a plastic bottle greenhouse! Just from the heat of the sun, he was able to keep plants alive during the winter, and start his early sow.

One way is to use the bottle whole, and use wooden stakes to keep them in line (from chronline)

Or, you can assemble them like so

My grandfather used the latter method, because there were less holes for warm air to escape, and requires less materials.

[distintomoda]

D.ISTINTO - ECOFRIENDLY I love this kind of art! This is a correct way to upcycle plastic. Reuse and transform is the right way!!!!

[ethicsgirls]

Ingenius - handy holder  for little things - its been suggested they would be a good pill holder

simply glue 2 bottle tops together