A Few Words About Compost and Seeds

A garden was the primitive prison, till man with Promethean felicity and boldness, 

luckily sinned himself out of it.  ~Charles Lamb, 1830

Hello fellow thrifty gardeners. Recently, I took a work related field trip to our county’s newest recycling center and I just had to share my experience with my like minded, earthly friendly and frugal gardening acquaintances.

I have visited several landfills and other waste disposal centers in this state; however, I was truly impressed with this particular location. The center accepts all types of recyclable wastes such as standard household materials, electronics, hazardous chemicals, fluorescent bulbs, clothing, appliances, yard debris, etc. The building itself is cavernous, but extremely well maintained. 

But what really excited me was the large, free compost pile.  Yes, free compost my friends!  A frugal gardener’s favorite word. You simply have to provide proof of your county residency and bring your own containers and shovels and load the containers yourself.  Best of all, there is no limit to the amount you can take for residential purposes only.

In the future, I plan on creating my own homemade compost system when the hubby and I move to the countryside, but until then, I plan on utilizing this extremely valuable resource for potting, mulch and fertilizer in my garden this year. 

Please, check with your local county and townships to see if free compost, mulch or topsoil is available.  You will not regret it.

Taa….taa… for now.

Angela

P.S.  Attention Fellow Seed Collectors: Locally the home improvement stores, garden centers, and Dollar stores have begun to place garden seeds out on display.  Most have seeds selling from 10 to 50 cents a pack.  From experience I can tell you they sell very fast so you might want to take advantage of this right away.

Seed Starting Alternatives to Pricey Seedling Heat Mats

“Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.” 
~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Hello fellow gardeners.  Today, I am sowing my long-growing varieties of seeds indoors and I would like to share several low-cost methods of bottom heating that have worked for me in the past.

Electric Blankets – I purchased an old blanket a few years ago from a local thrift shop and was pleased to notice it had no damage and the heating elements worked well.  I place the blanket on top of a table I use indoors for sowing and placed an old plastic liner on top to protect it from moisture.  It worked like a charm.  My total investment amount was only $5.00! Although smaller than blankets, medical heating pads (avialable at your local drug store or pharmacy) are also less expensive options.

Aquariums – I found an old 30 gallon aquarium during one of my curbside excursions and it still contained the hood and a working bulb.  The only damage was a small crack at the bottom of the tank. I placed an old metal baking rack set with stands at the bottom and placed my seed trays on top.  Because of the heat from the lighting and the humidity, I received a high germination rate.  My total investment amount was zero!

Electronics and appliances – In the past, I have placed seed trays on top of a DVR, cable boxes, refrigerators and freezers.  I received various degrees of success with them all but I did achieve good germination.  Total investment amount:  zero.

Well, I hope this post will help you out with your future seed starting endeavors.  Until the next time, happy planting!

Angela

Spring Garden Planning - Getting an Early Start

"The best place to seek God is in a garden.  You can dig for him there." 

~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932

Well, here we are in February, and spring is not that far away. Thank goodness!!!  I am so excited because I can finally focus on my true love…gardening. Like you, I am receiving numerous catalogs in the mail and although they are enticing, I must remember my purpose is to spend as little as possible by recycling used items or getting them for free.

Today, I am going to start my garden supplies inventory list or as my husband would say, “the junk list”. I will admit, I have a huge amount of vases, pots, seeds, plant markers, etc. however, everything will come in handy at some point and he knows this. The list I am creating today will also give me an idea of what I will need to plan this year’s growing season. Because I live in an urban area and my yard is ridiculously small, I am limited in what I grow. It’s this reason that the buckets, large pots and small misc containers I have on hand will be turned into planters.  My motto is, if you can put holes in it, use it.

My list is completed and I have everything I need for my garden with the exception of compost (which I will pick up for free from our county’s compost facility). I start all of my less hardy seeds such as petunias, impatiens, savory (summer and winter), marjoram, chives and onions around the end of February indoors. In addition to the above mentioned plants, I will also grow the following this year: 

Beans (lima and Romano), peas (snow, snap), tomatoes (grape, plum and paste), summer squash, carrots, cabbage, corn, kale, greens (collards, mustard and turnips), okra, bunching onions, peppers (sweet and hot), spinach, Swiss chard, nasturtiums, cosmos, cilantro, coneflowers, sunflowers, lupine, basil, parsley, black eyed Susan, sage, marigold, sweet William, chicory, oregano, Chinese forget me nots, Siberian wallflower, thyme(creeping and garden), lovage, horehound, sorrel, cowpeas (black eyed and purple hull), yarrow, lupine, kohlrabi, chamomile, lettuce (Asian Mesclun and Bibb), radish, shallots, watermelon, candytuft, cucumbers, corn salad, dianthus, alyssum, leaf lettuce, endive, Virginia stock, daisies (Shasta , Ox Eye, and Gloriosa) coreopsis (Lance leaf and plains), zinnias, pansies, salvia, sunflowers, larkspur, morning glory and lemon balm.  

Ok, I know I have an enormous amount of seeds of all types and I admit I am truly obsessed with collecting them.  However, I share frequently with friends, family and anyone who shows an interest in starting their own gardening. This year I plan on donating produce to our local food pantry and homeless shelters.  I am also going to grow extra plants for my neighbors.

I have been cultivating my seed collection for many years now by various means.  My friends and family typically present me with seeds and gift cards to garden centers for special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or Earth Day.  But my favorite way to get them is by gathering seeds from my own plants, something I'll discuss in detail down the line.

Well, I must go for now.  I will keep you informed of my activities soon.  Until later…Ta-Ta!

Angela