Even though Newton has had single-stream recycling since 2009, many of you may still have your old Newton recycling bin sitting around somewhere. There are a number of ways to put it to good use, such as using it as a planter for your yard.

It works well as a planter because there are holes at the bottom already, which are important for drainage when container gardening. All you have to do is fill with soil and plant. We usually fill our containers with mostly compost, some top soil, and then mulch after planting.

Even though it's nearing the end of August, you can use your recycling bin planter for a small fall container garden. If you want to plant flowers, now is the time to plant mums. Mums are beautiful and a true symbol of a New England fall. Currently, mums are being sold all over the area including Newton grocery stores, Home Depot and nurseries.  

If you'd like to go a more edible route, kale and cabbage are excellent for any fall garden in New England and they also do well in container gardens. Russo's in Watertown has plenty of kale and cabbage for sale right now and you can plant them immediately. You'll be able to harvest this for months, as kale and cabbage are very hearty plants.

Now is also the time to plant some broccoli seeds. If you start them this week, they'll be ready to transplant by mid-September. Broccoli doesn't do well in warm weather, so a New England autumn is perfect. If you're interested in growing broccoli for the fall, you shouldn't wait much longer. Learn more about planting broccoli at Harvest Wizard.

Snap peas are also excellent for a fall garden and they're delicious as well as easy to grow. The vines of snap peas need something to climb on, so when when we plant them in containers we put them up against the legs of our patio awning to allow the plants to climb. When we plant the peas in the ground, we plant them along our chainlink fence and they will climb up the fence.

Organic Food Gardening has more information on growing snap peas and you can still buy snap pea seeds in stores or online. Peas sprout fast, within just a few days, and in a few weeks you'll be able to begin harvesting.  

All of these can be planted in containers and prefer temperatures between 30 and 60 degrees, so you can enjoy your harvests until the end of the year.