Believe it or not, you can put plastic gallon jugs to work in the garden.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
When growing up, you probably heard this constantly from your parents: “Drink your milk. It’s good for you.” Now, older and (hopefully) wiser, you understand the reasoning behind the badgering. Milk is still good for you, and the plastic gallon jug it comes in can be good for your garden, too.
Just the fact that it is a gallon container makes it useful. After all, when soluble plant fertilizer or pesticide instructions call for a certain amount of chemical to be mixed with a gallon of water, who has a measuring cup that big? If you drink milk, you do.
You can also convert a milk jug into an efficient irrigator for a prized plant beyond the reach of a garden hose. Simply punch a few tiny holes in the bottom, fill it with water (or a weak fertilizer solution) and set it next to the plant with holes pointed toward the root zone. Leave the top slightly loose to create a semi-vacuum so water will slowly leak into the ground, assuring the plant gets a long, thorough soaking.
Cut a milk jug in half below the handle, and you will have four useful garden gadgets. Poke holes in the bottom half of the container for drainage, and it is a small planter—not a pretty planter, mind you, but a functional one all the same. Besides, if it is filled with a rambler such as creeping Jenny, mint, or creeping thyme that readily crawls over and covers the sides, who will know your pretty planting is anchored by a milk jug?
With the cap off, the top half of the milk jug can be a handy funnel for pouring gasoline into motorized garden equipment. With the cap on, it becomes a scoop with a handle for fertilizer, lime, dirt, mulch or whatever.
If you are using a broad-spectrum herbicide near some of your favorite plants, take the cap back off the jug, invert it over an offending weed, spray into the open top, and then move on to the next weed. This herbicide “dome” is especially useful on windy days.
Finally, cut 1-inch by 6-inch strips from the sides of a plastic milk container and, with a permanent marker, make identification strips to stick into the ground next to herbaceous perennials before they die down for the winter.
AUGUST IN THE GARDEN
• Sure, summer is in full simmer mode now, but believe it or not, planting the fall veggie garden starts this month because many cool-weather edibles need warm soil to develop properly. Beets, cabbage, mustard greens, collards, kale, spinach, radishes and turnips can be planted this month across the state.
• With the Big Autumn Leaf Drop coming soon, take time now to examine your woody ornamentals and prune off any dead, diseased or damaged limbs. Leave healthy limbs alone because cutting them back this month could encourage new growth that might not have time to harden off before killing freezes settle in for the winter.
TIP OF THE MONTH
Impatient for the fiery colors of fall? Enjoy a preview now in your garden with such sizzling bloomers as helenium, heliopsis, rudbeckia, and helianthus. These flashy four are native to North America, and they’re herbaceous perennials, meaning they can also become durable fixtures in your flower garden for many growing seasons.
Late summer into autumn is a good time to plant such perennials. To get yours off to a good start, heavily amend planting sites with compost or a commercial soil conditioner. Then, add mulch and water the new pretties once or twice a week for at least a month after planting if regular rains don’t oblige.
L.A. JACKSON is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.