SENIOR LADY: BUDGET GARDENER!

 

LIGHT BLUE DOLLAR STORE BUCKETS: 

STICK FIRE CACTUS PLANTS

My husband grew up in the country.  I had no idea

that he would want a garden when we moved into

our new home.  I  thought living in the city would

make him abandon his desire for farming activities.

We had been in our house for a year. I came home 

from work one day, and noticed that a lot of the grass 

in our back yard was missing. He had borrowed a neighbor's tiller, so he could " break up"  the  ground.

He had sectioned off  a 5 feet section of our back yard.

I let him know that this was his project. I must admit

that his little garden yielded plenty of vegetables.

The next year, he became too busy to tend a garden.

There was no gardening done for several years. After

I retired,  I tried to keep busy.  I watched a  gardening 

TV show one Saturday morning. The show featured a  new trend called, Planning a Raised Bed Garden. I was

intrigued. So I watched the entire program.  The next week, I bought the expensive soil and the items needed to make a raised bed.  I convinced my son to help me maintain the garden.  We had a pretty good yield of vegetables.

After a few  years of gardening, I had learned a few

tricks and hacks. I learned how to economize. Using

expensive soil, soil additives, raised beds, and grow bags were not detrimental to getting a good garden

harvest. A summer drought or too much rain could

decrease garden production regardless of what garden 

trend and method I used.

SOIL:

I mix store brand potting soil and premium potting

 soil together.  I amend my old garden soil each year.

 I refresh half of it with new premium potting soil. If

the soil gets aphids, soak it with boiling water. I go

ahead and use the soil if all the aphids are no longer 

visible. Sometimes I sterilize old soil in small pots and planters with boiling water. I let the soil dry on my picnic table before I reuse it. So far, these methods work. I have healthy plants and herbs.

FERTILIZER:

I save egg shells, old brewed coffee grounds, and

old brewed tea leaves. I also  make a tea using raw

 leafy greens cuttings/scraps and banana peels.  I let

the tea sit outside under my potting bench until the

water gets cloudy.  I do use all purpose liquid water soluble plant food if my DIY fertilizer isn't available.

PLANT SAUCERS:

Foil pie pans and cake pans are used as planter/ pot

saucers for my houseplants in the winter. I place

the plants on a table near a sunny window. The

refection of the sun heats the soil a little. The sun's

refection also improves lighting on plants requiring 

bright light. I also recycle old small Christmas bulbs.

I place on them on top of  the soil in the pots/planters.

The sunlight reflects off the bulbs too.  I use different 

items for saucers in my container garden. I use nine

and ten inch plastic plates from the party section of discount stores. The clear ones degrade after a few months. The colored hard plastic ones lasts until

end of the summer/fall seasons. Four plates are

in each packages.

MINI GREENHOUSE:

I set my small seed starting pots in nine by thirteen 

foil cake pans. I use the clear plastic lid to cover the pots with. This container makes a great little green house. I store the mini greenhouse in a dark area near my heat vent. Sometimes, I place a dark towel over the greenhouse if I run out of storage space. This methods

seems to help seeds germinate quicker. I remove the lid after the seeds have germinated. The seedlings will get "leggy" if I don't remove the lid. The seedlings will also wilt from condensation if soil gets too warm. I check the condition in the mini greenhouse daily.

POT/PLANTERS: 

The discount store in my area, used to carry 

medium and large sizes planters for less

then five dollars. I haven't seen them in

that store since COVID-19 happened.

The price for twelve to sixteen inch planters

has increased so much. Even the vinyl ones

can be pricey.  I figured out a way to cut cost.

Some vinyl trash cans, trash bins, totes, and 

vinyl shoe boxes, and dish pans make great 

plant pots/planters. I purchased a wood burning

 pen for less than ten dollars. This is great tool for making holes in the bottom of the containers.

I discovered that I should try to check the recycling 

symbol on any container I use to grow my food in.

Code numbers 1,2,4, or 5 are food safe/grade. 

DISCOUNT CONTAINERS: 

WHITE ONIONS, GINGER, CUCUMBERS, BELL PEPPERS, JALAPENO PEPPER

LARGE DOLLAR STORE PLANTER: 

PURPLE WANDERING JEW

VINYL SHOE BOXES: BOK CHOY SEEDLINGS 

EASTER BUCKETS: GINGER ROOTS/ RHIZOMES 

DIY GROW BAGS

I have used grow bags in the past. However, I moved

to new address. I had to leave them at the old house.

I saw some canvas tote bags with space war characters.

They were size 13" x 13.5"x 6.5" available in several 

colors. I chose the blue ones. I planted red potatoes

in them.  The potato shoots are already peeking

out.  I add more soil to the tote as the shoots grow

taller. I don't have the bags sitting on the bare ground.  This keeps the bottoms of the totes from degrading

before harvest time (tote bags on ground for photo

only).

 

I have purple green bean seedlings in large galvanized tub. Tomato and squash plants are in the blue bins.

My son these commercial size blue bins in half, so they would be easier for me to handle.

I really enjoy trying to find unconventional containers to plant my garden herbs and vegetables in.  I'm still looking for more vintage containers to use as planters.