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My current garbage receptacle is larger than me. It is technically the property of the city of Chicago. It followed me from Chicago when our moving company accidentally packed and moved it to Marblehead. I once lost my car keys in it. It was hilarious to see me try to retrieve them. I am sentimentally attached to this humongous can. I was afraid the local trash collectors were going to call Chicago Police and report me for having stolen city property. I lost sleep over this.
I also have two rolling recycling receptacles I paid dearly for at Ace Hardware — just like the ones the town is about to give us to use with the new trash removal service.
It all seems ridiculously wasteful to me to just toss these beloved bins out with the trash. I gave some serious thought to resolving this dilemma. I have a plan for the can(s)!
Compost bin on wheels
I am going to convert one or two of my smaller recycling bins into a compost bin on wheels. If I can convince my husband to drill holes for aeration, the smaller receptacles are the perfect size for hot composting. I have loads of chopped-up leaves I can turn over with other scraps. I may need a little help turning it over.
According to what I researched, we (he) will need to drill six evenly spaced ½ “ holes around the top of the can and six in the bottom for drainage. The lid holes let rainwater in and allow air to flow through. I will use bungee cords to keep the lid on. If it starts to smell, it’s not getting enough air, and I will need to stir it up a bit. (I need ideas for paddles here — maybe an auger attachment to my husband’s power drill?)
Watch how it’s done:
Rain barrel
Another option I am thinking over is repurposing the trash cans into a rain barrel by cutting — yes, I will need help with that too, honey — a hole in the lid for the downspout to drain into the can. This allows me to bring my watering can to the source and water my containers. Each inch of rain on 500 sq ft of roof gives you about 300 gallons of water. You can (or maybe my husband can) drill a hole a few inches above the bottom, insert a brass spigot with rubber washers and watertight sealant. Admittedly, I will be watching a few videos to make sure I get this right.
Watch how it’s done:
Portable vegetable bed
This next idea may seem like an unusual repurposing of the trash receptacle — but only after cleaning it with vinegar and a good scrub, try using it as a portable bed for vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes or carrots.
- Drill six drainage holes in the bottom of the garbage can.
- Fill the can with half compost and half a light potting mix with perlite. Keep it light and avoid heavy topsoil.
- Plant some seed potatoes, burying them about 4 inches deep.
The wheels are a huge bonus here — you can chase the sun, wheeling it from one area to another. If you decide on planting potatoes, you can cut the bottom off entirely so at harvest time you just lift the can up and all the potatoes and dirt fall out the bottom. No digging! That almost sounds too crazy to be true. Otherwise, if you don’t want to remove the bottom, you can just dump it all on a tarp and grab the spuds.
Watch how it’s done:
More ideas
If you are really adventurous, you could make a worm farm/vermicomposting bin. This seems like a good school project.
The smaller bins could also serve as bulk storage for birdseed or pet food. Families with young kids could use the bins for toy, pool or sport equipment storage — the wheels make it easy to roll to the yard.
A few more ideas:
- Winter salt/sand storage for your driveway
- Camping gear or firewood storage (drill holes for airflow to keep wood dry)
- A rolling garden planter you can move between garage and yard seasonally
- A mobile garden station — fill it with hand clippers, rakes, shovels and other tools, then roll it alongside as you work the garden so you’re not running back and forth
Some people decorate the outside with paint or wooden slats to make them blend beautifully with outdoor décor.
My Chicago bin’s forever home
I plan to use my beloved Chicago bin for my outdoor furniture cushions. Outdoor cushions are bulky, awkward to store and get mildewy with moisture. My giant sealed bin on wheels solves all of that beautifully.
The lid keeps out rain, humidity, bugs and critters that love to nest in cushions. Upright storage keeps cushions from getting squashed or creased and off my garage floor. The square shape is actually ideal — cushions stack or stand on edge perfectly in a square bin versus a round one.
I will probably toss in a few moisture-absorbing packets — silica gel or DampRid — to prevent mildew, especially when the lid isn’t 100 percent airtight. I could also line the bottom with a cedar block or cedar chips, which repels insects naturally and smells great when you open it. Bonus!
Probably a good idea to stick a label on the side so everyone in the family knows what’s inside. I have a lot of these bins, and it is about to get more confusing with the town’s delivery of more bins.
I’m honestly excited to try these new ideas out… now, to tell my husband!
A rose by any other name
While in Amsterdam this week I noticed that the roses about town are very large — flowers ranging from 3 to 5 inches in diameter. I kept thinking about this. I wanted to know why they are so big. I also noticed that these roses grew on a single cane out of a small space in the cobblestone or brick sidewalk. The ground space was often 5 inches. I believe these are very mature roses, which are permitted only a cane or two to climb the walls. They were not even in full sun.
Climbing roses in shades of red, yellow and purple scale the narrow brick facades of Amsterdam residences, while colorful flower boxes brighten a canal bridge along the city’s historic waterways. COURTESY PHOTO / COLLEEN CONNOR
All of this got me thinking that, if these tough roses can grow so big and beautiful, I have a fighting chance with my very pampered roses in Marblehead. I think next year, I will single out one rose bush and prune it to just one cane to see what I get for flower size.
I love a good garden experiment.
Colleen Connor, our garden columnist, is co-president of the Cottage Gardeners of Marblehead and Swampscott.
