THE DIRT CHEAP GARDENER
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Tip of the Week
The Dirt Cheap Gardener
Tip of the Week
Tip of the Week
Spray a teflon or silicone lubricant on your shovel to keep mud or wet snow from sticking.
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Use the cold winter months to take advantage of sales on garden tools and equipment to replace old worn-out items.
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Use a bottomless plastic clothes hamper to hold open plastic bags when filling with garden waste such as leaves or grass clippings.
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Make a watering can from your liquid laundry detergent plastic container. Rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of detergent. Drill 1/8 inch hole in top of cap and 1/2 inch hole just above the handle to allow pressure to escape so that water will flow easily. This would also work well when mixing plant food and fertilizer with water.
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To brighten up your windows in winter, plant some spring flowering bulbs in pots. Store them in cool, dark place until you see signs of new growth, then move them to a sunny window.
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Perennials may be transplanted during the fall and winter, as long as they are dormant.
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You can use empty seed packets to decoupage flowerpots, metal watering cans, or even your mailbox.
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To organize your bulbs for overwintering, store them in labeled egg cartons. The cartons have ventilation holes to help prevent them from mildewing.
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If you want to store your onions after harvest, leave them in the ground until their tops fall over and dry out. Let cure for two weeks before harvesting.
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Pinch back the new growth on your herb stems to encourage new foliage and healthy looking leaves.
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For the best flavor, herbs should be picked in the early morning before flowering.
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To conserve water, it is better to thoroughly soak the soil around your plants less often, than to lightly water every day.
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Oats planted in fall as a cover crop can act to rejuvenate the soil and as a mulch all in one. They absorb and store nutrients in the fall and then protect the ground as a mulch when they die off. In the spring they are easy to till into the soil.
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Use egg cartons to start your seeds. Place 1/2 of an empty egg shell in the bottom of each egg holder as fertilizer. Place the carton on an old cookie sheet to catch water.
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To organize your bulbs for overwintering, store them in labeled egg cartons. The cartons have ventilation holes to help prevent them from mildewing.
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If you want to store your onions after harvest, leave them in the ground until their tops fall over and dry out. Let cure for two weeks before harvesting.
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Stand herbs in
standing water out of sunlight or in the refrigerator to preserve
freshness. You can also store them wrapped in a damp paper towel in a
resealable bag in the refrigerator.
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Pinch back the new growth on your herb stems to encourage new foliage and healthy looking leaves.
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For the best flavor, herbs should be picked in the early morning before flowering.
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To conserve water, it is better to thoroughly soak the soil around your plants less often, than to lightly water every day.
**************
Oats planted in fall as a cover crop can act to rejuvenate the soil and as a mulch all in one. They absorb and store nutrients in the fall and then protect the ground as a mulch when they die off. In the spring they are easy to till into the soil.
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Use egg cartons to start your seeds. Place 1/2 of an empty egg shell in the bottom of each egg holder as fertilizer. Place the carton on an old cookie sheet to catch water.
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