Recent economics have pretty much affected most all of us to some degree.
Show how you are stretching your garden dollar and being frugal.
Here is a upside down light fixture piece made of seed glass that I bought from the thrift store for $3. Much cheaper than a "real" cloche.
and here is a motley collection of some smaller ones in a bed
I love this idea. I have three large clear glass domes that I will now put to use.
My most frugal garden thing this year has just been using DG alot more. I haven't had to buy any seed this year. Made some great trades for the veggis & plant seeds I need for the coming season. Thanks DGers.
I love that description a motley collection ha ha
great idea
No frugality here, Taylor. I'm still spending wildly. The only hint of potential spending cuts is provided by the size of my garden. Now that I'm using the gopher cages, I can't depend on having lots of empty spaces to fill each year.
Zuzu-
I am so glad to hear you have figured out how to keep those gophers at bay. What a great feeling that must be!
It is a great feeling, but as Sue has pointed out, I may be sorry when everything I've planted lives and thrives. I'm so used to the gophers thinning things out that I've habitually planted roses about a foot and a half apart. If they now grow to their full potential, whole armies could get lost in the thickets. Hey! I think I just found the solution to war. Grow more roses.
Then you would have "The War of The Roses?"
Good one, JoAnn.
Well, we haven't been hit hard yet, like some folks, but hubby is scared the worst is still to come, so I'm still trying to curb my gardening expenses this year.
Here is another idea I came up with. I was cleaning out the cabinets, and had a stack of pyrex glass pie dishes from past holidays. I was going to donate them, but before I got the chance I tried one under one of my pots. They fit!
I was able to throw away some old cracked plastic ones, and replace them with about a dozen of these pie plates that were "junking up" the cabinet.
Anyone else have any ideas? I'd love to see some :0)
I just can't be frugal when it comes to gardening. It's not in my makeup.
I was lucky to be able to take an early retirement from NY State at full pay after 25 years of service. I feel so bad for some that are losing their jobs, or having to cut their hours. A local plant that employed thousands asked people to take a cut from an average of 30.00 per hour to and average of 15.00 per hour. The union voted against it, and the plant just closed, no negotiation, nothing. I just can't imagine. Hard to know what to do nowadays.
But I would have to take a second job if I had to, to support my plant habit.
seedpicker, Love your idea! Not that I have a ton of those pie plates just lying around, but I inherited 2 from my Dad after he passed on. They were still in the boxes waiting for the kids to grow a little older and need some used dishes ( does anyone start out with used stuff anymore?) My kids friend had an 'Apartment Warming Party' so she could furnish her kitchen. LOL Hubby and I had been married 3 years before we bought matching dishes. We eloped, so no wedding presents for us.
polyk, you really are one of the lucky ones. I come from a larger family and so there are a variety of jobs within the family. Sometimes it would come up about not getting a raise every year. My family members who are teachers or gov't workers would mention this. I'd feel for them ... I work in a hospital and there are many years when we are not given raises. After a while I found out, to them, not getting a raise means, not getting a raise but still getting COLA. Yikes, to most of us, not getting a raise means getting nothing. And many years, getting a raise is not even getting enough to cover cost of living, many years it has been 2%. Ah, the choices we made when we were young. I try talking to my college age children about this, but they don't always listen. Got my first job after college, been working for 27 years now.
I will be one of those working till I'm 67, if I'm lucky. :o)
Seedpicker, I love this thread, I hope more people jump in here with ideas. After reading your pie plate idea, I went to my stash of unused kitchen ware. I had 2 plastic trays that I had bought at a dollar store several years ago. They are now being used in my seed growing area. :o)
toofew
2few-
glad you rediscovered some plastic trays. :0)
I've saved all sorts of plastic "take home" containers for seed starting. One restaurant in particular sends food home in black plastic trays, with clear domed lids...good hard plastic, too,- not flimsy.
I think I've used those dozens of times.
I've also gone to the grocery store and bought large Styrofoam cups and then punched the bottoms out, to mimic "band pots". Much cheaper and actually a great size...kinda between quart and gallon :0)
Seedpicker I like those black take out containers too!
Some TV dinner containers are a decent shape too.
Great thread by the way.
I noticed a giant muffin container from the grocery that has a clear lid looked like a fine seed starter. I retrieved it from the trash at work.
I use hawaiian punch jugs as cloches with bottoms cut off.
Or left intact I fill them with water for weights to hold things from blowing away outside.- Like the tarps covering my compost heap. The handle is handy. Plus if something needs a drink. Wala! Sunny D jugs are nice for that too.
I made a wall -o waters by duct tapping water filled 2L pop containers in a circle shape. Not that I found it helped my tomatoes to grow faster....
I got an old trampoline for 1$. It makes an excellent ground cover between plantings for weed and mud reduction. Here's a pic of it.
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y256/cheerpeople/sequence%20%20of%20blooms%20May%2022-%20May%2031%2008/?action=view¤t=may27031.jpg
A better pic. Not a display garden- functional not pretty.
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1239122602059033826rMTpup
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1239124558059033826MXmsMQ
Folgers lids recycled into plant labels that are 'invisible' in the garden and last for years.
I like the invisible part as I take lots of photos.
Good idea on the trampoline, and the price was certainly right. That stuff certainly isn't going to photodegrade anytime soon, and it is breathable, so it will air-prune your roots for those plant bags you made. Looks like it is making a great weed barrier cloth, too. :0)
What did you do with the metal frame, and springs? I saw a lady take a trampoline frame and cement it up on its side. It made a great big arch, and she had vines growing on it. It looked really neat.
I saw a trampoline advertised on craigslist as a good shade cloth for dogs to lay under, lol ...good idea, too! Add, a few of those animal exercise pens linked around it, and you'd have a pretty shady, safe structure for pets. :0)
Great idea on the folgers lid. I've always seen those wigwam thingys in magazines, and thought "why would I pay for that?, when I could just use an old plastic lid"
http://www.pandastix.co.uk/assets/images/twister2j.jpg
This was sent around in an email. Thought it was appropriate here.
Why Trampolines are dangerous in Michigan.
hahaha :0)
Just picked up this little thing at the thrift store for $1.41
It is a jewelry cleaner, but is working perfectly for a seed jiggler. To sterilize molded seeds, you are supposed to "agitate in 10% bleach water for 10 mins"...but who has the time to jiggle seeds in a cup for 10 mins?
This has two bins, too, so can do two different kinds at the same time, and not get them mixed up :0)
I didn't know there was any point to salvaging molding seeds. Interesting.
So you have gotten moldy seeds to germinate in the past? If so what percentage?
I once tried to salvage molding (rotting) TB iris 'Superstition' ( black) rhizomes with bleach/ water treatment. I only had 30% survive the mold and bleach.
Karen
I forgot to mention the deer pic was funny. I shared that with the family!
thx!
I didn't bother saving any really moldy or rotten seeds, but a few came out of a moldy seed pod, so figured it best to bleach.
I've tried bleaching partially rotting daylily roots before, with no luck. They died, anyway.
-T
That seed mixer is a riot, Taylor. Too funny! Jack in the Box has great salads. You can use the top and bottom for drip plates under plants. I like the black bottoms esp. for this.
I am terrible at not spending. The only way I manage is if I stay home and even then if I am online who knows what will grab me.
I need really big planters so I can plant a succulent garden. I am going to take 3 ft by 15 feet from my husband's grass area and have big troughs going across. The only pots I have seen that will work are clay and quite pricey as well as being easily cracked. So I have decided to make like Martha and make some hypertufa ones.
I understand they will be much cheaper and hopefully lighter in weight. And as a bonus I really like how succulents look in them. Along part of it I am going to do a second row of planters but shorter. May do round ones at the ends. I am hoping since they all will match, it will not look choppy.
My understanding is you can add texture and even color to them.
Kell, did you make the planter in the picture? I won a hypertufa planter last year at a plant swap last year, the plant swap is hosted by a local news paper. It had some crazy succulent plant in it from Florida, they had no idea of the name. I'm not excited about the plant, it is barely surviving the zero humidity in my home this winter. I like the idea of putting some sedums in it.
I hadn't thought of this, till you brought up the succulent garden, but a couple years ago i bought a water fountain at a Garage sale. I never was happy with having to plug it in/unplug it, keep it filled with water, clean it, take it apart for the winter. So, last year I decided to use all the parts seperatly. The base I made into a planter, ie. put a hole in the bottom. The bears on top are a garden decoration. and the water basin I used for succulents. :o)
Here is a picture of the water basin right after I planted it, it had filled out nicely by the end of the summer. You can see the base of the water fountain behind the water basin, tipped over. I'm afraid it didnt' make a very good planter for a regular plant. It didn't hold water well, maybe I will put a succulent or cactus in it.
Kell-
That sounds fantastic. I think you will have a lot of fun at that!
Isn't there an entire forum devoted to hypertufa?...now you have my curiosity up...You probably have seen it already, but Tomtom posted a thread about hypertufa using twisted newspapers to form a mold and at the same time give texture. There are some really neat looking ones in there. It made me actually want to try it...
So your hubby is game for letting go of some grass? What is it with men and their grass?
You will definitely have to show your progress on that. That will be very interesting...ok, so I picture you with your stuff mixed, and gloves on...but how in the world are you going to shape it? Are you going to first frame it with wood?...or use some large halved road pipe?...free form? ...I can't picture that part...
Good for you! I will have just as much fun watching, as you will have making it, lol...
It seems you don't take on anything mildly, so I can just imagine you'll be quite ambitious with this. You could even make some more of those pots with all the planting pocket holes, except those won't weigh three tons, and cost three Franklins :0)
twofew-great planter. I like the arrangement of what you put in there.
I like Tom Toms creations, how can I find the hypertufa thread.I looked but cant find a forum devoted to them.
Here is the forum:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/hypertufa/all/
...I'll see if I can't find the old Tomtom thread...
Well, that took a minute to find...it was in container gardening, and was listed under papercrete, instead of hypertufa...
It is an old thread started in 2004!, but still alive and well:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/472203/
I just went to hypertufa/concrete forum.
What a great bunch of talanted people.
Thanks for the info.I'll definatly go there regularly.
I cant handle concrete and once made a hypertufa planter but was younger and stronger. I hope I finf some medium I can handle and mold, those fake stones are tempting.
No, I didn't toofewanimals. A nursery here has them for sale, filled and not filled. And they are so expensive there. They want $30 for a small empty one. I picked one up and it was so light I was sold. I like the look of the succulents in them. Your pot looks great too! I am dying for a water fountain that I can make into a 3 tier succulent fountain. A nursery here did that and it was stunning. I just do not have the room.
Taylor, I so see you making them all over you are so talented! I on the other hand may dally. Though I dreamt about them last night. LOL. I haven't told Tom yet. He will not be happy. Though I have just about killed his grass out there. I am stumped as to the form to use. I went to a hardware store walking the aisles trying to find the perfect one but no luck. Also if I buy a form that cost lots it will defeat part of the purpose. I am debating using styrofoam sheets. I need to find a local source though have no clue what to look under. I can't wait to read TomTom's thread later on. THANKS!!! I am off today early for an adventure.
Taylor, this is such a great idea for a thread! Love the ideas you've come up with, the light fixture cloches are brilliant!
Kell, I'm finding hard to believe your husband still has 3'X5' of lawn left! I thought you'd run out of lawn a few years ago, LOL. Looking forward to pics of your new project :-)
Frugality is always on my mind, no matter how much is in the garden budget I'm too much the garden glutton not to stretch it as far as possible. Having lots of space calling for color has had me on a mission to come up with the biggest quantities of blooms for as little as possible. Raising flowers from seed has become a passion as a result, and I've found the Wintersowing method very economical and effective. I recycle every milk jug and juice container for that purpose, before they go to the recycling center.
At my last garden, I used old sections of ornate wrought iron fencing as trellises. This year I've decided to liven up my back deck area where we spend a lot of time in summer. This pic has been my inspiration:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=6237290
I've decided to paint a bunch of pots, patio furniture, metal plant stands and the deck rails and benches in similar bright colors. Hope to give some things I already have a fresh new look without buying new stuff.
Have any of you ever painted rough textured plastic? I have some big plastic pots with a rough, mat finish that looks like it would accept paint.
Hi Neal! :0)
I can see why that picture is an inspiration. It is so colorful, that even without flowers, you'd get the feeling there were lots...
I am almost positive I've seen on a design show(desing on a dime?) that they used a paint for plastic patio chairs that was especially designed for plastic...
Here is a picture of one of those take out trays turned seed tray, I mentioned previously. The lid is underneath it. At first I used the lid to cover it to germinate the seeds, then used it on the bottom, so I could water from the bottom up, so I wouldn't damage the fragile seedlings, by smashing them with hard splashes of water, and also so that the top of the soil would stay dry, so that the gnats weren't attracted to it.
And milk jugs...there could be an entire thread devoted just to all the thousands of uses for milk jugs, lol...
Neal you are so right...seeds is definitely the longer process, but SO much less expensive.
You get instant gratification from buying a plant at the nursery, but you get lasting gratification from growing your own :0)
Great pictures everyone. Give a look at Krylon paints to see if they dont make a paint for plastic.
I think I did see some spray paint for using on plastic, but didn't pay much attention at the time what colors are available. I'm wanting such funky colors, I kinda doubt the specialized paint will have a very wide selection. It only needs to last through fall, so even other paints may work too.
Love to see the finished work
I spray painted a lot of my old plastic pots last year. I used the Krylon Outdoor Spaces Satin paint because I liked the colors. The Metallics work well also. I got the idea from others here on DG. DG'er Unique Treasures was spray painting a lot of her pots and posting them. I wanted brighter colors instead of metallics so I used the Outdoor Spaces and so far it has held up well. They also have the paints for plastic and they work probably the best; but what I found was small cans and it was pricey to do big pots especially.
http://www.krylon.com/products/
Thanks for the link I have some painting to do.
Thanks for the info phughes!
