A few weeks ago, I started to collect milk bottles for growing a herb garden.

A friend looked at me curiously when she asked what all the bottles were for.

She is now collecting milk bottles & passing this easy recycling tip on.

If you get a plastic milk bottle, ( cut out as pictured below ) & put a few holes in the bottom by sticking a sharp knife into the base, you can get plant propagators with carry handles for free.

Also if you have the handles South facing, the plant can enjoy extra warmth from the sun shining through the plastic handle.

Another advantage of using these recycled milk bottle pots, is that you can easily see when the roots are well established enough to plant out.

With the left overs of the empty milk jug, you can cut strips for labelling your pots.

Although Rosemary can be a real benifit to enhancing the flavours of lamb or roast potatoes amonst many other things, there are some people who should avoid this herb.

Pregnancy:

I was both a chef  a waitress for many years and in only 1 restaurant that I ever waitressed in did the chef enquire as to wether the person who ordered the lamb shank was pregnant or not. I was impressed that he took this into consideration as it was news to me at the time, that rosemary ( can ) cause serious consequences if consumed during pregnancy. Since then I make sure that anyone who orders a dish with rosemary from me ( I have not waitressed or been a chef for several years now ) is informed of the risks if they are pregnant.

For more information about herbs to avoid during pregnancy visit http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/naturalherbsvitamins.html

Epilepsy:

I was also a support worker for a few years & in this job rosemary was highlighted again.  Some of the service users got aromatherapy massages as part of their weekly routine.  If the service user had epilepsy it was important that rosemary essential oil was never used on the person or even in the same room that they were in or likely to use in the next few hours. Rosemary can bring on seizures for those who have epilepsy.

For more information on complimentarty therapies and epilepsy visit http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk/pages/info/leaflets/complime.cfm