- Gardening On
A Dime
- by Tawra Kellam
People are often surprised to
find out that even though I’m a cookbook author I went to
school for Horticulture. (I never wanted to be a writer. I wanted
to own an herb farm.) Growing your own plants can not only save
you lots of money on your grocery bill, but a nice landscape
can improve the value of your home. If you're creative, you can
have a great garden with very little cost. Here are some of my
favorite tips to get you started:
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Tools:
Watch people who are moving.
Ask if they are leaving their lawn equipment and if you can have
it or buy it cheap.
Use an old mailbox out in the
garden to store your clippers, plastic bags and gloves. (This
is my most used item in my garden!) It is especially wonderful
because the kids and Hubby don't know where my tools are, so
I don't have to worry about them borrowing the tools!
Use wedding tulle found at fabric
stores instead of shade cloth to shade plants from the sun or
to keep the birds from eating your fruit. It’s much cheaper.
Better yet, ask a just married bride if you can have the tulle
from her wedding.
Cheap Plants:
If you see plants at a store
that are in bad shape but not dead, talk to the manager. Ask
him if he will give you a “deal” if you take them off
his hands. Most of the time they will because the plants look
bad and they don’t want to mess with them anymore.
Last year I was able to purchase
over 50 large 1/2 gallon-gallon sized perennials for $50. (over
$600 retail) All but about 5 of them lived and I was able to
take those back and get my money back. Most home improvement
and discount stores have a guarantee that if your plant dies
within one year, you can bring the dead plant and the receipt
and they will give you your money back or give you a new plant.
Buy seeds on sale at the end
of the season. Put them in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator
for better storage. Seeds usually last many years beyond the
“past due” date on the packet. |
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Mulch:
Ask a tree trimming service to
give you their wood chips for mulch if they are in the area.
Some cities also have a free
mulch program where the city tree trimmers dump all the wood
chips. Call your local County Extension and find out if there
is one in your area.
If you just need a few bags,
look for torn open bags at the home improvement store. Our local
store has a pile where they dump all the torn open bags of mulch
and rocks. They sell the bags for $1 each, saving you up to 75%
off! Most just have a few chips missing.
Use shredded paper or newspaper
under mulch. This way you can use fewer wood chips.
Keep a shower curtain or tarp
in your car at all times. This way if you find a good deal on
mulch or plants you can take advantage of the deal right away
without messing up your car.
Containers:
Use deli trays with lids to start
seeds. They are mini greenhouses!
Ask the cemetery if you can have
the pots they throw away after Memorial Day. (You can dry the
almost dead flowers for potpourri.) Look in dumpsters. Many garden
centers at the discount stores throw away the dead plants, pots
and all. Ask permission first.
Use Styrofoam peanuts in the
bottom of pots for drainage. You can also use small plastic six
inch pots, soda cans or plastic bottles in the bottom of larger
pots so you don't have to use so much soil and to make the pots
lighter in weight.
Misc. tips
Use milk jugs as drip irrigation.
Poke 2 or 3 small holes in the bottom of the jugs and place next
to plants. Fill with water and they will slowly water you plants
all day.
Use Christmas lights around fences
to add sparkle in the middle of summer. Hang them in trees or
line paths with them for extra effect.
Use vinegar in a spray bottle
to kill weeds. ONLY spray the weed. It will kill any grass or
plants you want to keep if you get it on them.
For Kids
Have kids water the plants after
they swim in the kiddy pool. Have them take buckets of water
from the pool and water the plants when the pool needs to be
emptied.
Buy or ask for sandbags after
heavy rains. Use the sand for paths or for the kid’s sandboxes.
(Only use sand from clean floodwater situations.)
Save scraps of soap when they
get too small to bathe with and put them in an old nylon stocking.
Knot and hang the nylon on an outdoor faucet.
Homemade Tough Hand Cleaner
- 1/4 Cup grated Fels Naphtha
soap ends
- 2 Tbsp. mason's sand or pumice
- 1 Cup water
Place soap and water in a saucepan.
Place over low heat; stir until soap is melted. After mixture
cools, add mason's sand or pumice. Store in a cottage cheese
container or margarine tub. To use, dip fingers into soap mixture
and lather hands. Rinse well. This works well on greasy tools,
also. Be sure to rinse and dry tools thoroughly. |
