Readers' Solutions

Make your own cold-frame from recycled materials
Rick Brannan |
Friday, 1st October 2010

Place two 6 x 2in (150 x 50mm) boards cut to the size of the window, front and back. On the back board add a 4 x 2 (100 x 50mm) or another 6 x 2 if depending on the pitch you want. Nail them...

 

Avoid carrot fly: grow in a supermarket trolley!
Jane Corrie |
Friday, 1st October 2010

I have tried unsuccessfully to grow carrots for many years. I have struggled with germination at 900 feet in Cumbria when the last frosts are often into June. I have also tried many approaches...

 

Reusing builders' bags as vegetable beds
Rachel Vallance |
Thursday, 1st July 2010

A builders bag makes a great growing container. When our neighbours had a loft conversion last year we rescued a builders bag with about 15cm of sand remaining in the bottom from the skip. We...

 

An electricity-free terracotta fridge
Patrick Whitefield |
Thursday, 1st July 2010

A fridge uses around a third of the electricity in the average kitchen. Although it doesn’t use much at a time it’s always on. Most things don’t actually need refrigerating, but milk and its...

 

Build your own DIY solar dehydrator
Tracy Chandler |
Saturday, 1st May 2010

The principle of the solar dehydrator is very simple: a box at the bottom heats up the air which then rises and flows through the second box.

We bought some wood (having nothing suitable...

 

Build your own eco larder
Mark Lark |
Monday, 1st March 2010

Our traditional larder style cupboard was totally designed and built from scratch. The walls are built from plasterboard and fully insulated from the inside of the house. This means that the...

 

Keep slugs out of your plant pots for a year!
Anne Vine |
Monday, 1st March 2010

Choose a pot with a lip that curves out at the top. Turn the pot upside down and smear vaseline all the way around this lip. Sprinkle salt over the vaseline. Turn the pot right way up and plant...

 

Make a DIY wormery for under £15
Jenny Lunnon |
Sunday, 1st November 2009

The Community Action Group project has been experimenting and has produced a fully functioning DIY wormery model for under £15!

Using a few plastic boxes, a water butt tap, some old...