Frugal gardeners unite! - Page 3

[Jenn_M]

I did newspaper pots last year but I didn't use a special tool. I just wrapped strips of newspaper around a can of vegetables and then secured it with a piece of paper tape. For the bottom you just kind of smash the newspaper over the bottom of the can and then tape again. Just don't wrap it too tightly because then it's difficult to remove from the can!

[dannic]

Originally Posted by Minxie

Question: we built a teepee with some bamboo poles bought from someone. How do we know they are "good and dead"? I do not desire to have bamboo overtaking the yard.

The poles are green but do not appear to have any living shoots on them.

I *think* they need to be brown all the way through or you could be planting bamboo. We harvested ours about a month ago and they've been curing in the sun. I'll check them tonight when we go to the garden and let you know what they look like. There are non-running types of bamboo, but the stuff round here def has offspring, lol.

[Chicky2]

Hi! I am sharing seeds w/friends, got free seed potatoes, and onions, too. I put in 3 raised beds so far that are made of old upright freezers we just happen to have laying in the 'to scrap' pile. Took out the motors and freon (my dh does HVAC), and shot holes in the back of them and put them up on bricks. Planted the free potatoes, and used compost full of earthworms in them. I also put in a 20'x4' raised bed using cinder blocks we already had. I made a trellis out of tposts and field fencing we already had. I did buy the lumber for another 20'x4' bed, but it really wasn't that much. I fenced around the whole thing w/welded wire fencing we already had from a fence we took down (and the tposts). We are doing another 2 raised beds out of old refrigerators tomorrow night. I will plant squash and pie pumpkins in them.

I also had kale come up again in my old traditional row garden, and transplanted several into my new garden. I gave several away, too.

I'm so psyched this year and so eager to enjoy my garden instead of the *(&^)+_ weeds!

Oh, and I also have all the rabbit and goat poo I can use for direct application, and chicken and guinea poo to compost.

[dannic]

Originally Posted by dannic

I *think* they need to be brown all the way through or you could be planting bamboo. We harvested ours about a month ago and they've been curing in the sun. I'll check them tonight when we go to the garden and let you know what they look like. There are non-running types of bamboo, but the stuff round here def has offspring, lol.

Quoting myself, lol. I checked out the bamboo and ours is tan throughout. They are half inch to two inches thick, if that helps...

[anewmama]

frugal

just skimming some of the posts.... just want to caution people about being frugal and choosing unsafe items to plant in. Some of the things I see mentioned are a potential toxic hazard.

not connected at all, but i am getting seeds from cherrygal. she sells seeds for around $1.25-$1.50 in smaller quantities. As someone said, who needs 50 zucchini plants. it seems many of the seeds come from seed savers as the descriptions and pictures are the same. i bought her sale last fall where each pack is a $1.00 and had 96% germination success with the ones i planted. not so good with two herbs but the seeds were very fine and my technique off. but her seeds are primarily open-pollinated and heirloom.

my biggest concern is how to be frugal with water. so i am working on square foot gardening and home made earthboxes or ebuckets from free food grade buckets. our well doesn't produce much water so every drop counts.

[dannic]

Water is a big concern for us too--it's hot here and windy. The wind alone can dehydrate plants super fast (like last yr) and kill them.
Last yr we used sprinklers in the pm since it's all we had (we can water at night here since it's so hot). This yr we are using drip. Someday, I'd like a well, lol.

[Minxie]

For those with water concerns, do you use rainbarrels to store water? I have the opposite problem here on the East Coast; we've been swamped this year!

[CariOfOz]

Originally Posted by Minxie

For those with water concerns, do you use rainbarrels to store water? I have the opposite problem here on the East Coast; we've been swamped this year!

Here in Australia, ALL new houses built in most areas must be built with a rainwater tank! (ours is actually connected to our plumbing and supplies the toilets and the washing machine ) We are very prone to drought (just last year our main reservoir was at like 9% of capacity.. it becomes unusable at 5%!) so I can't say enough about water tanks..ours is 5000L I think and takes a big load off city water. We also arean't ALLOWED to water outside most of the time using city water, so it's the only water my veggies ever get (except rain when it comes )

[dannic]

I SO want to collect rainwater--we don't get much rainfall, but every bit would help. I am renting right now and our garden is not located at our home, so it'll have to wait til we build...

[Chicky2]

My MIL has a her house right next to ours and behind hers is where I have my new garden beds. She has a heat pump, and since we live in Texas, it is running all the time in the warm weather. I am putting a bucket under the drip spout to water my garden. I'll keep a handful of bunny poo in the bottom of the bucket, too.

[root*children]

flapjill - have you checked out Square Foot Gardening book? He has a great idea for trellises. I have made them. You use electrical conduit piping, cut into 6' and 4' sections (it comes in 10' sections, which is convenient), connect them with 'L' shaped joints to make 3 sides. those are ridiculously sturdy and you can then tie trellis netting to it. You have them in teh ground just on rebar poles that are hammered down. You can move them all over the yard very easily. He explains it all very well in the book. A little investment, but really not much. You can disassemble the whole thing when it's moving time. I made a set of 4 and then left them in my house, 2 houses ago, because I was moving to an apartment and thought I wouldn't need them for a while ... so of course I had to move again, and this time to a house where I would love to have them again! oh well, the new owners of that house are getting good use of them

On another note, my eggshell planters didn't work nearly as well this year as last! Everything just ran out of root room too fast. Not sure what i did differently last year. I had to start all over and plant in more normal-ish things (random plastic containers). I did grab a cool book on Greenwood Building at a yard sale this weekend and already built a trellis and a super cute fencing for my strawberries. No pics of the fencing yet, but the beginning of the trellis (it's pretty rough - a first attempt for sure!) pic is on my blog:
http://root-children.blogspot.com

[root*children]

oh! and notice my friends pretty rockin garden in that top blog post as well - they made it all from pallets - sweet! they have a bed made from pallets too, love it!

[Chicky2]

root*children...That is a really cool garden they made!

[Minxie]

Another cheap trellis idea from a friend of mine:

I ran a heavy wire from an eyelet at the corner of the garage out to a tree, across a raised bed garden. I then simply ran some strings up and over the wire, with the strings secured to nails along the edge of my raised bed garden, and let the pole beans run up the strings and then along the wire. Worked great!

Easy to remove after the season and no poles to deal with.


Here is a link with a lot of great frugal gardening tips:

http://gardening.about.com/u/ua/gard...ening-Tips.htm

[greenmom4]

Originally Posted by Minxie

For those with water concerns, do you use rainbarrels to store water? I have the opposite problem here on the East Coast; we've been swamped this year!

Just as an FYI, check your state regulations about this. I know that Colorado does not allow you to collect rainwater as it is considered property of the state. Not sure if there are other states with the same regs...

[Minxie]

Originally Posted by greenmom4

Just as an FYI, check your state regulations about this. I know that Colorado does not allow you to collect rainwater as it is considered property of the state. Not sure if there are other states with the same regs...

Hmm...that is interesting. I would not have thought of that.

Another frugal trellis tip: unique bedframes.

Here is a great example:

http://www.urbanlandarmy.com/?m=200911

[Minxie]

Another great tip:

Check the nurseries often; they put different things on sale and you can sometimes score a great deal.

Today I bought a great arbor made out of the redwood for $75; original price was $250. In the past, I have found wrought iron plant stands for $40; the original price was $160. Keep your eyes open!

[mattemma04]

Last summer I dug out a 2ft by 25ft plot.The grass has grown into it. I am re-digging it and adding used pizza boxes folded over the edges to deter the spreading grass.Will cover the boxes with mulch of some sort. I have used the pizza boxes before when making paths.

I had bales of straw in the chicken shed during winter.I used those bales to make a square area to throw compost.