Recycling2 - Plastic Milk Jugs

We go through alot of gallon plastic jugs here on the homestead.  We have also found many ways to reuse them, rather than put them in the trash.  Our jugs are usually from distilled water, as we have our own dairy cow and goats.  If you are using juice or milk jugs, be sure to rinse or wash them out thoroughly before reusing, as that leftover liquid can cause a stench.

Refill with drinking water.  We filter our own drinking water, and this way, instead of buying bottled water wherever we go, we just grab a jug of our own.

Water scoops.  Just cut a hole in the top, removing the spout, but leaving the handle intact.  We use these to scoop out our used bath water and reuse it for flushing, laundry or watering the plants.

Grain scoops.  This time turn the jug upside down and cut off the bottom for scooping grain out of 50lb. sacks.  Make sure you leave the cap on. Now you also have a funnel if needed, just remove the cap.

Plant pots.   Cut off entire top.  Poke holes in bottom, fill with planting medium and seeds or plants.

Plant pot holders.  Cut bottom off at desired height to hold a plant pot, so that the jug bottom can catch the water runoff from the plant.

Plant protectors.  Cut off entire bottom.  Remove cap and place top of jug over any new transplants or early seedlings to protect from the elements and help retain moisture.

Change bank.  Fill with loose change daily.  Count and roll when full, then spend on a fun outing.

Drip waterers.  Punch holes 1-1/2 to 2" from bottom around jug.  Place in between rows in garden and fill with water.  Water will drip out slowly, without uprooting your tender seedlings and remaining water will help jug to remain where you put it instead of blowing away.  Refill when water gets down past holes.

Don't just limit yourself to milk or water jugs either.  Look at what you're throwing away.  What else could it be used for?  Why pay $2 or $3 for something from the dollar store when you can repurpose a container that you already have?

These are the main uses we have for plastic milk jugs on our homestead.  With a little reflection, you can probably come up with several unique ideas of your own.

Tomato Tales

I think our local Wal-Mart was being overly optimistic when they put out a rack of tomato plants.  As they became frost damaged, the price became 50 cents apiece and my friend and I were lucky enough to happen upon them on one of our infrequent trips to town.  (We are over 50 miles away from the nearest big town with a Wal-Mart.)  I took them home and set them up in my south-facing kitchen window, finally repotting them.  We still have a few more weeks of possible frost here, but after Mother's Day, it's usually fairly safe to harden off the seedlings and transplant them in the outdoor garden.

The bad luck I've had with tomatoes here in our volcanic clay soil aggravates me to no end.  Sometimes I lose the transplants to frost, but more often, they are lost to the withering dry heat and parching wind we experience in waiting for the monsoon rains to come and set everything growing again.  I refuse to give in and continue to try.  One year I got about a dozen green tomatoes that I brought in on the vine and let ripen.  We had those around Thanksgiving that year.  This year the plan is to put half the transplants in the more protected shadehouse/greenhouse I'm working on, and the other half in the front garden.  Maybe I can rig up some little shade houses over them with drip waterers until the rains come...