Second usage.

Biodegradable

For plants that don’t like having their roots disturbed a very effective approach is to use bio-degradeable pots.  These can then be planted straight into the soil and the roots will just grow through them. Various types are available but steer clear of peat ones because of the environmental impact - alternatives include recycled fibres, coir and even dried cow manure!  The main problem is that you can’t pot them up with fresh compost so I think these are best used for fast-growing plants such as squash that will be hardened off and planted out within a few weeks.

It is easy to make your own biodegradable pots.  There are simple instructions available for making pots out of newspaper but they usually need a firm tray to keep them upright and in my experience they are hard to make with enough depth for many seedlings.  An alternative is to use cardboard tubes stood upright in a tray with compost stuffed in as they provide better depth.  I use these for peas and beans in a similar way to roottrainers.

Recycle and Reuse

You can often reuse perfectly good plastic containers rather than sending them to landfill:

• Almost any plastic container can become a plant pot as long as you punch plenty of holes in the bottom for good drainage.  This is important because soggy roots can’t get the oxygen they require and that will stunt growth.
• Many thousands of plant pots and trays are thrown away every year by people who buy their bedding plants from garden centres.  Just ask any neighbour you know who does this and you can have an endless supply of perfect pots with perfectly fitting trays which make them easy to move when hardening off.
• Old guttering can be used to raise peas and beans.  Once they are a few inches tall you can slide the plants out of the guttering into a trench for planting.  It’s a little tricky the first time you try it but it works well for succession sowing where the plants will be in the ground quite quickly and so don’t need a lot of depth for roots.

This snippet is from http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=134. There are some great ways to re use old household items such as toilet roll tubes and cardboard boxes. From reading this it gave me the idea of turning my packaging into a secondary use for the garden. Due to the three triangular shaped storage sections being quite deep it is ideal for planting beans. The cardboard will eventually degrade with use causing no harm to the environment. 

Grow your own.

http://www.grovesnurseries.co.uk/categories/erin-eco-grow-your-own-kits-11450.aspx

Found these 'grow your own' eco friendly kits for the keen gardner. They are 100% biodegradable and the eco Grow Kits come with fibre pots made from recycled and sustainable resources, reduced peat or coir compost, and quality seeds. 


http://www.ecocentric.co.uk/acatalog/Eco_Centric_Outdoor_Living_Grow_Your_Own.html


This is a great website to find out information on how to make sure most things in your life are green without compromising on quality. It's useful to see how much you really can change in the home and how you live. 


http://www.greenerpackage.com/compost_biodegrade/plantable_nursery_pot_biodegrades_soil


Biodegradable plant pots.

An interesting argument.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1342387/Plant-pots-are-not-packaging-court-rules-in-30000-case.html

Development.

This is the net with graphics, under development.

The idea is to create an old fashioned style piece but in keeping with the 21st Century; a combination of old and new. The history of the brewery and Legges will centre around this design, incorporating imagery from the website and other sources. The main piece will have hop imagery flowing round the information, with both the Legges and Wye Valley logos. 

Research.

Imagery used as a reference when creating the graphics for the packaging.

Research.

http://practicalaction.org/docs/technical_information_service/packaging_materials.pdf

The above is a PDF highlighting the importance, properties of certain materials and functions of packaging.

History & Heritage.

Having wanted to create a connection with the local family aspect of the brewery and the packaging itself, I decided to go back to the beginning and look at the Wye Valley in general. This is the website I came across first: [http://www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk/] The Valley is an AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty) due to the landscapes, heritage and wildlife. Within the AONB a 58 mile/92km stretch of the River Wye winds down through the valley through spectacular limestone gorge scenery and dense ravine woodlands. Superb wildlife, intriguing archaeological and industrial remains and impressive geological features all make it into one of the most fascinating places. The area was designated in 1971 and includes areas within Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

The cultural heritage section, I think the brewery comes under. The small family business that remains local to the west midlands making it an ale sort after by many around the country. Below is a snippet of information taken from the Brewery website. This is a very brief overview of the history. I want to delve deeper and make it more personal to appeal to the consumer. 

"Founded in 1985 by ex-Guinness brewer Peter Amor, we began brewing in Canon Pyon, Herefordshire, but moved shortly afterwards to the old stable block of The Barrels, an historic 18th century coaching inn in Hereford.

By April 2002 the brewery had outgrown its Hereford home and relocated to its present site in Stoke Lacy. Also in 2002, after completing his brewing training at Young’s Brewery in Wandsworth, Peter’s son Vernon took over as our managing director.

Peter is now chairman of the Wye Valley Brewery, and passionately believes in spreading the word about cask ale."

[http://www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk/]