Topic: Uses for polystyrene bottle protectors

[pg]

I regularly receive wine bottle samples of one or two bottles at a time and these come wrapped in polystyrene tube protectors. Up until now I've been throwing them out, but I'm now wondering if I've been throwing out items that might be recycled for a practical propogating/general allotment use.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of them, so I hope you'll get some idea of their size and shape from my description:

imagine a wine bottle sprayed with 1-inch thick layer of polystyrene so that it ends up being a cylinder approx 6-inches in diameter and 15-inches tall. It is then cut horizontally, bottle taken out to leave halved hollow cylinders. The bottom seems more useful as 'bucket' shape from bottom of wine bottle, top half less useful as inside is pointy where supports wine neck intransit.

Also a variant:

imagine bottle sprayed with 1-inch of polystyrene so that it ends up having approx 5-inch square ends  and 15-inches in length. The outer casing then cut length of bottle to leave two troughs which sit easily on ground as have flat outer. Bottle removed to leave wine bottle shape on the inside and on its side as if it were lying down.

Any suggestions on what I can do with these things?

[saddad]

Throw them away and drink the wine...
 :-X

[Deb P]

They would make nice insulated individual cloches for crops like sweetcorn when planted out? I use plastic bottles to give mine a bit of protection when first planted out in early June, but insulated tubes sound great!

[saddad]

The ones I've seen are not translucent though Deb..
 :-\

[Deb P]

I would cut the end off where the bottom of the bottle has been which would make it shorter so the end of the sweetcorn was just sticking out of the tube. I remember Bob Flowerdew using opaque plastic milk bottles for the same thing...as they are split in half horizontally they would be easy to get off once the sweetcorn has grown too.

[pg]

Good ideas, thanks guys.

Yes the tubes aren't see-through as you guessed, they are solid and white coloured.

Any more suggestions for the outer tubes, or inner contents, please post 'em!

[the_snail]

I like to use plastic pop bottles with the to cut off and I use them as propergaters to start of my caugette seeds out doors and my pumpkin seeds. Also I use the tops of pop bottles as propergaters for my young lettuce plants.

The_Snail

[Twirlie]

Talking of useful things, I've used plastic boxes that you get meat in from the supermarket as seed trays and Propigators!!!!  I got 2 the same size, cut the very edge of the one used as seed tray, put holes in it for drainage, the the 2nd just pops on top!  Sweet peas are coming on fine!
Twirlie

[star]

I use those too Twirlie, saves a fortune. What with them, loo rolls, plastic bottles for labels and home made compost. The biggest cost is the seeds :D

I love the seed swops too and the very generous seeds sent by our A4A members ;)