home made pots

Since this blog is more about becoming a domestic goddess in my new home and my new way of life- I am trying to relay all of the new things that i am learning and figuring out to all of my... well, probably not that many readers but still. Since we are living on a budget that by our old standards in the USA can only be described as insane, we have really tried to come up with new and interesting ways to use things that we would have other wise thrown out. Also because regrettably, the recycling system here in Mexico and especially here in Tulum is tragic. So we have come up with some pretty good ideas. One of my favorites is the use of our old soda bottles and in 1 case, an old bleach bottle (well cleaned ironically enough) for planters. I have finally gotten a bunch of herb seeds and have started to grow them. I took many 1 liter and 2 liter bottles and cut off the top 1/3rd. I punched a few holes in the bottoms and a few on the sides. It is my plan to hang the small "pots" from the rungs on the ladder that leads to the roof. Which is where I hang my cloths and we have decided to put the kids pool. (trust me- if you saw it it would make sense. Once it is all set up and cute I will take pictures. The hanging pot is full of strawberries that I really hope will work because strawberries are very expensive here.


The other thing that we did today was make a little screen to cover the planter in the front yard. The cats kept getting into and using for a litter box and that was not good. I also learned a few tricks that are very cool and that are working amazingly well.
The first is that if you smash a clove or 2 of garlic and put it in a spray bottle with water along with some chopped pepper, preferably a little roasted (we are using habanero) It keeps the bugs off of your plants. The other is to sprinkle used coffee grounds at the base of the plants and that keeps off unwanted pests as well. The whole goal of all of this is to be more natural and more healthy and spraying with a bunch of chemicals does not seem to make sense. Except when it comes to cockroaches. I will spray those little f***ers with whatever napalm I can get my hands on. One thing that has also proven its own difficulty is that the bark dust that you buy here is not the same you would get in the states. Here it is directly from the jungle mixed with some fertilizer. The good thing is that it is full of naturally composted materials falling from some of the best trees of earth. The bad news is that is also comes with a ton of sticks, dry leaves and stuff of that sort. oh well. The plants seem to like it.