Make: an upcycled hanging tomato planter

Repurpose a plastic bottle and have tomatoes hanging around all summer

This simple project can be done in an hour and you’ll have cherry tomatoes dangling temptingly by the back door ready for salads all summer long. We recommend you make lots and hang them together in bunches. Green plastic bottles look most attractive if you have them but any will do.

You will need:

Used plastic bottles, between two and four litres

Cherry tomato plant seedlings

Masking tape

Hole punch

Knife

Strong twine

Soil

1 Clean your plastic bottles, removing any labels. Carefully cut away the bottom of the bottle.

2 Seal over the jagged edge with masking tape; then, using the hole punch, make four holes in the tape, one on each side of the bottle.

3 With the mouth of the bottle facing down, insert your tomato seedling and carefully work the plant into the mouth. Then spread the root ball out inside the bottle.

4 Fill the bottle three-quarters full with compost.

5 Thread your twine through the holes and tie securely together.

6 Hang somewhere sunny and water really regularly.

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Home hacks | Make a terracotta heater

It’s an effective use of all those Ikea tealights, and creates enough heat to keep a room toasty (and energy bills down).

You will need:
4 tealights
Metal loaf tin
Matches or a lighter 2 bricks
Cooling rack
2 terracotta flower pots: one should fit inside the other, with about 2cm of space between the two
Small piece of foil

1 Pop the tealights in the loaf tin and light. Then add a brick on either side of the tin and place the rack on top.
2 Position the smaller of the two pots upside down on the rack, right over the candles.
3 Cover the hole in the bottom of the pot with foil.
4 Then put the larger pot over the first.
5 If and when the candles go out, just slide out the tin to relight or swap in a new tealight.

Note: It heats up quickly and will be too hot to touch after about half an hour, so keep kids and pets away.

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Garden hacks | Make a self-watering herb garden

Gotta lotta bottle(s)? Put them to good use with this windowsill wonder

YOU WILL NEED:
Used bottle (glass* or plastic)
Mesh
Thick string
Herbs for planting
1 Cut a bottle in two, with the base longer than the top bit.
2 Turn neck part upside down into base. Cut a length of string to reach through the neck to the bottle’s base. Add water to the bottom part. 3 Cut a piece of mesh, just big enough to rest securely over the top of the bottle’s neck.

4 Make a small hole in the centre of the mesh. Thread the string through the hole, securing with a knot, then bring string through neck of bottle, so the mesh sits in place.
5 Plant up herbs into the top part and put water in the bottom. With your string dangling in the liquid, it’ll bring the water up to the herbs.
* Buy glass-cutting kits at craft stores – there are tutorials online, or if you know people with the right tools and skills, they can help you.

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Garden hacks | Turn a shoe-hanger into a tool rack

Old shoe-hangers, re-used as somewhere to hang garden tools, mean you’ll always have your tools to hand when needed.

You will need:
An old shoe-hanger or tie-hanger
Drill
Screws
Tape measure and pencil

1 Measure where you want to install your hanger. Remember to think about the length of your tools as well as the width of the hanger.
2 Line up your hanger, marking with a pencil where to drill.
3 Drill holes and insert screws.
4 Ta-da! Your new tool-holder is ready to hang.

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Garden hacks | Picture frame succulents

Make your plants pretty as a picture

You will need:
An old picture frame
Thin plywood
Screws and a drill
Chicken wire
Compost mixed with horticultural grit or sand
Dibber
Succulents: try a mix of hanging plants and rosettes

1 Remove any glass from the frame and replace with chicken wire.
2 Fashion a box frame to fit on the back of the frame using the plywood and attach.
3 At the bottom of the box, drill holes to allow for drainage.
4 Fill the box with compost mix.
5 Create holes between sections of the wire mesh, adding one of your plants into each hole.
6 Leave to stand for a few weeks to bed in before hanging, so that your plants don’t fall out!

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Garden hacks | Reuse cooking water on your plants

Don’t let water go to waste: it can add moisture and nutrition for your plants

Get around water scarcities. Re-use cooking water. Take out whatever you’ve been cooking and let the water cool to room temperature. You can also re-use dishwashing water, if your cleaner is organic and non-oil-based. 

Add nutrients. Whatever you’ve cooked will mean that the water has extra nutrition for plants. For example, calcium from hard boiled eggs, or iron from spinach. Just avoid using water that’s been salted.

Kill weeds. Or don’t let your water have time to cool after boiling, and (carefully!) tip it over areas with weeds.

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Garden hacks | Make a colander hanging basket

An old colander can be turned into a nifty hanging home for dry-loving plants

YOU WILL NEED: 
Water-permeable liner
Scissors
Old metal or plastic colander
Strong ropes or chains
Hooks strong enough to hold a container of plants and water (try your garden centre) – one per hanging basket
Compost
Water-retaining crystals
Slow-release fertiliser
Container friendly plants such as herbs, ivy or succulents

1 Cut the liner to fit snugly in the colander, then attach your rope or chains.
2 Screw your hook into where you’re hanging the colander from. 
3 Combine your compost with the crystals and fertiliser.
4 A little compost goes in the bottom of the colander, before you position your plants. Then secure around the plant roots with more compost.
5 Hang it up, and make sure to keep it well watered.

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Garden hacks: DIY seed tapes

Seed tapes – biodegradable strips with the seeds spaced at regular intervals – make planting a little easier. Simply bury the tape rather than faffing with fiddly individual seeds. Make your own and put aside for planting later.

YOU WILL NEED:
biodegradable unbleached loo roll
3 tbsp unbleached flour
1.5 tbsp water
toothpick
small spoon
pen
ruler
seeds

1 Pull off a few lengths of the loo roll. 
2 Fold in half length-wise to create a fold line. Unfold.
3 Mix flour and water into a paste. 
4 Dip the toothpick into the glue paste, before dabbing onto a seed. 
5 Place the seeds into the middle of the paper on the fold, spaced per the packet instructions.
6 Once all seeds are in place, paste along the paper edge with the spoon, before refolding to seal. 
7 Roll up, then store somewhere cool and dry in a sealed container. To plant, prepare the soil, according to packet instructions, and unfurl the tape. Cover over with soil and give it a good water.

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