frugal gardening hints and tips

[forestdale]

Sara (Telephus44) wrote in one of our threads that she wanted to use popsicle sticks as plant markers in an effort to be more frugal.  I do this and it saves me the money that I would spend to buy plastic markers.

It got me thinking about what other frugal tips and hints we can pass on to each other to make gardening more frugal.  Gardening can be expensive if you just go out and buy what you want or need at the garden centre.  But with a little bit of ingenuity, frugal principles and recycling, it can save you money, as well as giving you healthy, fresh, organic vegetables, herbs and fruit.

Do you have any hints and tips to share?  Do you make your own potting mix or fertilizer?  If so, what are your recipes?  Do you recycle household waste in your garden?  How do you make gardening a frugal activity?

[Darlene]

I use my cooled down cooking water from corn on the cob and such to water my veggies.
I'll add more as I think of them

[Kimberlina]

-I save all plant containers from seedlings to start my own seeds in. (Sterilized, of course.)

-I save all sorts of plastic containers to start seedlings in, too. I also use soy milk cartons for seed starting. Cut the bottoms off and use, and toss the tops.

-DH drinks cow milk, and I cut the containers in half almost all the way through and start seeds in them. If you don't cut all the way through, the top is "hinged" on and can be closed back over the seeds like those expensive starting kits ("greenhouses.") I also cut plastic milk containers into strips and use them as plant markers.

-I use peroxide (3% grade diluted 1:20 with water) as a fungicide to prevent damping off when starting seeds.

-I keep seeds from year to year- doesn't mater how old they are, because instead of doing a germination test, I start them in coffee filters and transplant the ones that grow into soil or starter. If none grow of very few grow, only THEN do I go buy new seeds. (This only works if it is a seed that germinates fairly quickly. If it doesn't, you may have missed the boat on planting time if you waited too long to buy the replacement seeds.)

-I compost food and use yard waste in the compost, too (leaves, etc.)

-I container garden in leftover 5 gallon pails. (Not attractive, but they are easy to move off the back deck when we have company.)

-I'm not shooting for prize veggies and such, so I don't buy expensive seeds except as a rare treat (only an uncommon seed.)

-My seed starting light is an uber-cheap fluorescent fixture with regular old cool light bulbs. As best as I can tell from my research, I don't need anything other than that to start seeds. If I was trying to get something to bloom, that would be different.

-Just lfound this tip the other day- rather than buying an expensive heat mat for seed starting, place the (small) containers on top of your fluorescent light fixture, near the ballast. It is nice and warm there, but not too warm. (Be VERY careful about watering- make sure containers are drained and not dripping when you put them back on the ballast.)

-That's all I can think of for now....

[britbunny]

some of these aren't strictly what you're looking for but it's the way my mind works.

We compost bunny bedding along with our organic waste and coffee (hurrah for vegetarian pets). Our compost bin was free from the council. You can get coffee grinds from your local coffee shop to use on yuor garden.

We have a large bamboo infront of our compost bin instead of buying a screen to hide it.

Have a plant swap with family and neighbours - this also means that the front gardens look good together as we live in a terraced house.

I keep an eye out at the DIY store for plants that look like they're on their way out and buy them at rock bottom price and nurture them back to health - this is usually pretty easy even with my minimal knowledge.

We have a water butt.

We have mint near the windows to keep flies away.

to stop me from getting bored I have some plants in pots so I can just move them around for a different look to the garden

We have hurricane lamps that we use inside during the winter and take outside in the summer.

We use water bottles to make bird feeders and also to protect young plants.

Put egg shells around roses and around any plants that are susceptible to slugs.

Paint spare terracotta pots different colours and stack them up to look decorative if there's nowhere to store them.

Use the plastic containers that cream cakes come in (not that I eat them of course) as minature propogators (sp)

[jlxian]

I use the slats from discarded mini blinds as markers to identify my plants. We buy cheap mini blinds anyway, and they last 5 or 6 years before the cords finally break. I can get four markers from each slat and then write the identification with permanent marker so it won't wash off with watering/humidity.

I also keep my seeds from year to year. So far I haven't noticed that the germination is affected very much, although our corn did not do too well last year. (I am buying new corn seed this year.) I even have seed that belonged to my dad and he passed away 13 years ago. I plan to try germinating some of the melon seed he had stashed away and see what happens. I figure if scientists can germinate seeds found at archeaological sites, these should do okay!

There are ideas posted here that are new to me -- great ones!

[Telephus44]

http://images.parkseed01.com/parksga...00503aCcs.html

I got this in my email - even as a container gardener I can use some of these tips.

[forestdale]

When my hens need new nests - about once every two weeks - I bring out a bin of shredded paper from DH's office. I take the old nests, put them in the compost heap and make new nests with shredded paper. Whatever is left in the shredded paper bin, I throw that on the compost as well.

I use epsom salts - magnesium sulfate - on the roses, tomatoes and peppers. It frees up nitrogen and potassium in the soil and helps with fertilizing.

I add crushed eggs shells to the compost heap to add calcium and other minerals to the soil.

[PurpleButterfly]

I have a lot of shishkabob skewers and i use them to support my small plants.

[Kimberlina]

I forgot the best one- swap seeds and plants with other gardeners!

[PrairieRose]

Kimberly posted my best idea. I love to take starts and give them from my friends and to my friends.

Also we love geraniums and other plants and flowers for our porches. Before the first freeze gripey and will take our lush, full, beautiful and sometimes blooming plants and put them in the pump house. We keep a small heater on low in there so it won't freeze. We water about once a month (actually gripey does that). Then in the spring after the danger of frost, we bring them out, repot the ones that need it (usually every other year or so they get re-potted), trim them back and there we go! Great plants for almost no cost (potting soil, sometimes a new pot). It's amazing how long a plant will live like this. Also those clippings when you trim them back..? Make new plants out of those. We have geraniums from ages ago by doing this. I love it when it's time to put the plants out again. I have friends who spend gobs of money on new plants every year. I just always want to say, can I have those before they freeze?...

[PrairieRose]

I forgot to add, we *fertilize* after the re-potting and trimming back too.

[Layne]

We are starting a compost bin this year.

I use a squirt bottle full of water mixed with a few drops of dish soap to spray my vegetable plants for bugs.

We have friends that ranch and have a large horse trailer, last year we cleaned it out for the dried manure and DH roto-tilled it into the garden. Both good exercise and free!

I start seedlings in old trays I've saved and use a south facing window for warmth and sunshine.

A couple that we gave some of our extra garden harvest to gave me some strawberry plants they were thining out.