laceblade | (no subject)

The people who live in my apartment complex generally fail at responsibly taking care of things they don't want any more. I get that it can be a pain in the ass to sell things on Craigslist or etc., but a lot of nice-looking furniture ends up sitting next to the dumpsters in our parking garage, as opposed to being donated to Goodwill or St. Vincent dePaul's. Even setting the stuff out on the side of the road would be better - then more people would see it!

Anyway, the latest things to be abandoned were two large dressers. When I first saw the pile of dresser drawers, I thought, "I wonder if you could grow plants in those!"
I like to follow other people instead of inventing things myself, so I googled and found this blog post, in which a person turned a drawer into a planter!

So yesterday morning I went downstairs to pick up a drawer and stick it in the back of my car. Two dudes gave me really weird looks!

I took the drawer to my boyfriend's house, to borrow his roommate's drill. I own no power tools of my own!
We drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom, for drainage. My boyfriend drilled a little less than half, as he was excited to use the drill, bwahaha.
My boyfriend's roommate advised that the wood my rot if I don't line it with plastic first.
As it's been unseasonably warm this last week, I took a sheet of plastic that had been sealing one of their windows all winter long. I plan to try and line the drawer today!

I'm not going to put dirt into this makeshift planter yet, as I don't really have anything that can be transplanted into it. But once I start the various herbs and vegetables, I'll now have place to transplant them to, in a month or two!

I find myself saving all kinds of things lately - toilet paper rolls, container tops to use as drainage-catchers, water bottles, etc.

NOBODY'S TRASH IS SAFE!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

!!! I approve of your plan!! Last year I planted herbs in a single Ikea drawer that had been abandoned all by its lonesome on my way to the bus stop in Bristol. I texted Phredd (cuz I had to catch my bus) & told him to bring the drawer in. :D Everyone at the gardening group at work laughed at me, but that shit works! Also is cheap! I used buckets & stuff that people abandoned too.

& btw, are you saving the water bottles for cloches? I used to ask people to bring in old soda bottles for me at work (cuz we don't drink it), ahahaha. :D

Edited 2012-03-19 22:12 (UTC)

Yay! I'm glad it's not just me who's done it, bwahaha.

I am saving water bottles! There's another use for them that was mentioned in one of the Gayla Trail books I've gotten from the library, where you drill holes in the cap, and screw the cap on.
Still cut off the bottom inch or so of the bottle like you would for a cloche, but then stick the bottle in the dirt cap-downward and fill it with water. It'll do a slow-water. So it might be good for when I'm away for a few days, or something!
Mostly, I think I really need to buy a power drill of my own.

Ah, I see! That is the easiest automatic watering system I have heard of yet -- there are lots of DIY models that usually involve two different boxes & piping & whatever.

wrdnrd I think has something like that.

Our drill has come in handy for such things, it is true!

THIS IS SO AWESOME :D

Yay! I hope it will continue to be awesome, bwahaha!

It's amazing watching your new enthusiasm bud and grow!

It is for now! We'll see when the posts abruptly stop when EVERYTHING DIES lol.

Yay plants they are the best!!

That sounds so cool!

Ever since the bed bug epidemic, I am wary of used plush furniture, or used anything cloth that can't easily be washed thoroughly on high heat. My friend got bedbugs in her house from a used winter jacket she didn't wash immediately upon bringing it home from the thrift store.

But dressers are made of wood, so hey!

Yay repurposing!!!

Looking forward to hearing how this turns out.

Yeah, if I were putting clothes in it, I'd be more wary, I think.

So far as I know, the bed bug epidemic never made it to Madison, so that also helps lessen my fear!

I'm hoping it will go okay.