Wednesday, June 23, 2010

TALKING TRASH (cans)

What, you thought this was a naughty blog? Sorry… just discussing trash cans here.

Potting season is just about over unless you are one of those people who starts a second crop. I have been thinking about doing that as my yellow wax beans have been producing and producing for over a month now, and I now have to sneak up to back doors and leave bags of beans hanging on door handles in the dark. Kind of like folks with too many zucchini plants… Sigh. So, assuming you are finished with all your potting for this year, where and how do you store those left over bags of potting mix, perlite, vermiculite, fertilizers – whatever you use… and how about all the flats and pots that you will reuse?

For years I used to just stack things on top of my cold frame, or on a crate hanging on a barn wall.DSC_0420

Neither one of those were great ideas. The stuff on the cold frame often got distributed all over the yard and into the woods in hurricanes or nor'easters, and once the things on the barn blew away. If you look carefully, you will see square flower pots in the icy water in what is part of my yard where I now mow grass.DSCN2826 Often I just shoved things out of the way of the mower. Laziness, right? Or just plain disorganized… Potting mixes were stashed in old kitty litter containers – great things for storage of small amounts, but somewhat messy to stack and stash, and some got left here, some there… have I ever mentioned I have an organizational problem? I am organizationally impaired. This past winter, the weather was rough, and the bad weather started early. (see my blog at http://possumlane.blogspot.com/  for details and pictures!)

DSC_0979DSCN1331 This is my garden wagon – guess you could call it my covered wagon, eh?

Things were left here and there waiting for that day when it did not rain or snow, or the temp was above 40. It was a loooooooooooong wait. One storm after another, and when the snow stopped, the rain started. Did I mention I am a wimp? Thermostatically impaired… can’t take the temps when they are in the 80s let alone above that, and don’t do well below 40. Pitiful. Last winter, there were parts of the yard I just could not even get to even with boots on. The mud sucked the boots off your feet! So, when it dried up enough to walk around, I spent a day and a half retrieving flower pots and trays, tools left out “for tomorrow’s” project that actually was months away. Yep, a very unusual winter. So, having gathered most, but not all of my pots and things, I decided it was time to put them in a safe place where they would not blow around. An old local hardware store was going out of business, and I noticed they had several rectangular shaped trash cans. I love these cans for raking leaves and clean up jobs – having flat sides, they are great for raking things right into them and then rolling them to the dump site, an advantage of having a few acres of land and lots of woods. They are also great for toting mulch. So I bought a couple more cans and now use them for storing my bigger bags of potting soil where the raccoons can’t get at them,DSC_04021

and potting trays where they can’t blow away. Being rectangular, the trays fit better than in a round can.DSC_0418 DSC_0419

Round cans work real well for hose storage, but the BIG square ones work well, too.DSCN2533

and the metal ones are great for storing bird seed. Again, metal keeps the coonie bears out. Be sure you have a strong tight bungee cord. The raccoons ate thru my old plastic trash cans back before the Trash disposal company gave us their cans. I am sure there are a gazillion other things one can store in trash containers. Like last time, send me your ideas and I will post them on here. Thanks!

3 comments:

  1. Agree that the trash pails are great for storage. We don't have a coon problem so I store bird seed and seed scoops in a plastic trash container and to be sure it doesn't blow over, there's a couple of bricks in the bottom.

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  2. I am posting a google map with directions to your place out by the cat food for the coon that comes each night around 6...
    Its a shame to have you raccoon deprived!

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  3. While I do appreciate the offer. I think the coons will be better off in your neighborhood...more woods to explore!

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