I thought I was a relatively thrifty gal and could always make good use of scrap wood, pallets and things destined for the skip. I’ve but my make-do-and-mend attempts are nothing compared to the skilled upcycles I’ve spotted around the allotment field. It seems we’re all making the most of the resources we have to grow our own fruit and veg.
So, I thought I would take some snaps and share my own allotment upcycling projects with you today in case anything you see here inspires you to upcycle some furniture, wood or supplies on your own veggie patch.
You’ll have probably seen this before, but here’s my mesh tunnel to prevent brassica massacre. So far it’s working well and all it’s made from is a length of leftover water pipe. I’ve shared instructions on how to make mesh tunnel using offcuts of pipe so check out that blog post if you fancy building one for your own patch.
Over on one of the prize-winning plots, I spotted this amazing upcycle – an actual flower ‘bed’. I love the punny-ness of this idea, but it’s also a practical yet cute way to create a raised bed for veggies, fruit or cut flowers. Plus, the colours used on this plot are brill, aren’t they? It’s amazing what a coat of garden paint can do to revamp something old.
Back in my own greenhouse, you may remember I mentioned that I used an old pallet to create a duck-board path down the centre of the tomato beds. It was such an easy upcycle (let’s face it, I always have spare pallets knocking around in case I need to make yet another pallet project) and it’s handy to have this less-muddy walkway through the greenhouse for watering.
It’s an oldie-but-a-goodie; using tyres as planters. I remember this being a thing when I was growing up in the 80s and it’s good to see that old tyres are continuing to have a new role as a container. Plus, painting them in bright colours makes them look even better to display in the garden. I could just imagine this being plated up with trailing strawberries!
Now, on to my veggie patch at home – yes, I do still have it! Do you remember the no-dig beds I built (check out the video here)? Well, this year we moved the strawberries into one of the beds before realising that the surrounding trees were full of hungry blackbirds!
So, we needed to net the bed to make sure we got at least some strawberries this year. With that in mind, when we spotted some old bannisters that were being thrown away in a local skip, we thought they would be ideal to create a frame for the strawberry net. Sorted.
And, of course, there’s the tumbledown tool shed I upcycled too! Let me know if you’ve come up with any clever ways to upcycle old furniture, building materials or even tyres on your own allotment. I’d love to hear all about your garden upcycling hacks in the comments below, or tag me in your photos on Instagram @Cassiefairy.
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