Whether you are an enthusiastic plant gardener, a beginning herb gardener or merely like to have a pretty yard, these frugal tips may help you to save a little money! Off coffee and coffee grounds make great organic manure.
They supply many trace minerals and low, light levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. Remember a good soaking of water more infrequently is much better than a light sprinkling each day -- for vegetables and for your grass. If your neighbour has a plant you especially like, ask for a cutting, rather than going to the nursery and purchasing one. Perhaps you could trade a cutting from one of your own plants.
To simply water a tomato plant, bury a bottomless coffee can next to the plant and decant the water into the can. This permits the water to go direct to the roots. Plant marigolds in your plant garden. They can attract insects that eat aphids and other pests. My hubby acquired some used carpet at a garage sale, cut it into wide strips and laid it down between the rows in our garden.
Now we will pick peas with getting our shoes muddy. Use grass clippings as mulch around your plant plants to keep moisture in and weeds out. Simply don't don't use the clippings right once you have fertilized your grass or given treatment for weed control. If you've got access to them, pine needles make glorious mulch. A natural, frugal garden pest spray : mix one spoon of liquid dishwashing soap and one cup of cooking oil. Use three big spoons of this blend to one quart of water and spray on plants. In the herb garden, to keep plants like mint from taking over too large an area, put it in a clay pot and simply plant the entire pot.
