Frugal Gardening...

As I've mentioned many times, I'm very frugal.  I don't have unlimited funds to finance my dream garden, so I need to work at it slowly and find cheaper ways to do things.  Having said that, I am willing to spend where necessary to get the best outcome.  I thought I'd share a few ideas I have about how to keep gardening costs down.  (I love a good list!)

• Don't try to do everything at once.  Think about what you want to do ultimately.  Make a list of what you have to do to get there.  Prioritize.  Do what you can now.  Work toward what you can't do right now.
• Example--I knew I wanted a large garden with several (unspecified number) garden beds.  I didn't want to get overwhelmed so the first year I made two beds.  I handled those easily, so the next year, I added two more (larger) beds, and some pots.  Over time, I felt confident enough to dig into the yard to make a small flower bed and a small herb bed so I did those things.  If I had done them all at once it would have been a disaster.
• I like free materials.  When someone offers me scrap wood, I take it.  At least half of my raised beds are made from free wood (untreated).  
• Reuse!  Can't stress this enough.  When I buy a large plant (like a tree) and replant it, I save the pot it came in.  Chances are good I'll be looking for a pot to plant lettuce or a tomato in soon, so I wash it out really well and set it aside.  I don't keep too many though, it would be easy to get overrun by seedling planters.  
• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check the marked down area at the garden center.  I have found incredible bargains there.  Sometimes it's a single plant, sometimes trees, sometimes a flat of something.  
• Also, check if your garden center recycles pots.  I have found large black pots (as big as 3 gallons) suitable for planting herbs or whatever that I can take for free (make sure to ask).  They look just like the pots the garden center sells for around $10.  
• I save kitchen scraps to make my own compost.  Best thing you can do for your garden.
• I also make my own fertilizer tea.  I keep a large jar on my counter by the sink, and crush up egg shells, cover them with water, add coffee grounds and tea bags, and after a few days, use it on my plants.  I add a lot of water to use it on my houseplants, but outside, I just dump it on whatever is looking puny.
• Buy good tools the first time.  I used regular scissors for a long time to prune plants and cut herbs because the Fiskar's Garden Pruners seemed super expensive, but my son finally bought me a gardening set with those, hedge trimmers, loppers, and a machete, and they are WONDERFUL!  I wish I had just spent the money earlier.  
• Lasagna beds!  Start them in the fall where you want a bed in the spring.  Dig out the sod--use it somewhere else in your yard, maybe low spots.  Layer cardboard boxes and newspaper (many layers) at the bottom, then add leaves, yard waste (which I'm willing to pick up from my neighbor's curb), and compost and keep adding until it's very thick (6 inches or more).  Cover with mulch and let it sit.  When spring comes, you shouldn't be able to identify much in there and you are ready to go.  Rake the mulch away to plant, then re-mulch.  Keep it mulched for weed control.
• Mulch with DRIED lawn clippings.  Free!
• Get compost at the landfill.  Free! (Check to see if your community has such a thing)
• Save and trade seeds.  I might never use a whole envelope of seeds, so I trade.  You can trade with friends, find a garden club or check with your extension office.
• Reuse stuff you have around.  You can poke holes into the bottom of a gallon milk jug, set it behind a plant, fill it with water and it can take care of slow watering your plant for you.  It looks funny when the plant is small, but when the plants grow, you can hide them.  (Half gallons work too)
• I keep my regular tools outside near the garden, and my pruners go in a basket with my gloves and some plant ties and some twine which I bring in and out of the house each time I work outside.  If your good tools get rusted, you will have to buy more--NOT A BARGAIN!
• I keep a bunch of five gallon buckets around.  I got mine from Firehouse Subs for $2 each, and they have lids to them.  They're bright red, which I love.  I mix potting mix in them, store vermiculite, peat moss and planting mix in them, and mix compost tea in them.  I drilled some holes in one to fill with water and drip slowly also, but I don't think that was really necessary.  I also collect rainwater in them to use to water the garden.  
• Starbucks is very environmentally friendly, and whenever I go to one, I ask for coffee grounds.  They save them in a huge plastic bag and give them to me or whoever asks first.  I throw them in the compost, mix them in my planting mix, and sprinkle them around my plants.  They seem to repel pests, and add nitrogen to the plants.
• If someone has a plant that I admire, I always ask them if I can take a cutting.  Generally, I just clip a small piece of new growth, pull off all the lower leaves (leave three or so) and either root it in water or just push it into the dirt.  I baby it a little to get it going, then plant it where I want it.   I also propagate my already-established plants this way.   I've been very successful with this.  If something grows well in your yard, it's baby will too.

That's what I can think of so far.  I'm sure I'll add more as they come to me. 

It's My Birthday!

I've always been a big fan of my birthday.  So much so that I used to (even as a grownup) remind everyone around me how many shopping days were left until then--starting on August 1st.  Pretty obnoxious, I know.  Not that I care very much about the presents (although they are nice, don't get me wrong!), but it's just a whole day that I can be as eccentric, funny, silly, and self-centered as I want to and nobody can say anything about it....it's my birthday after all.  I've been known to wear a tiara all day, but not this year.  

Today I'm planting my lime seeds.  I soaked them all night in warm water, that makes them germinate faster (or so I read).  Later I'm going out to lunch with Brett, who is in the navy and is home visiting this weekend.  Looking forward to it.

So I got up and did a little pinning on Pinterest.  Mostly for my classroom, but here and there I come across something I need to see again later--like dwarf nigerian goats.  Someday....

Watering the garden this morning I noticed a BIG, FAT bumblebee pollinating my salvias--I love to see helpers in the garden.  There are also several little tiny toads out there, they are so cute.  I've also been seeing a lot of different butterflies, including zebrawing and gulf flitteraries.  They are a little unusual, and only feed on certain flowers, so it's interesting to see them here.    

I'm not sure if I've ever truly written about this on my blog, but I think I'll just outline my five year plan for my life.  Whether or not I'm here in this house, the plan is basically the same.  I consider myself a suburban homesteader--I garden (although not enough to feed myself), preserve foods, love to sew and do DIY projects within reason.  Kaleigh and I cook almost everything from scratch these days, and I'm very frugal (by necessity and preference).  

My plan is to expand on all these things over the next five years, to include making the garden larger, including a large herb and flower bed, as well as more vegetables.  Maybe enough to feed K. and myself.  I will be getting chickens as soon as K and I can get a coop built, which I have most of the materials for already.  Like I said, I'm pretty frugal so gathering materials can be slow while I wait for deals.  I'm anxious to get some girls, so I may cave and just buy a coop.   I'm thinking four chickens is a good number.  Several different varieties.  I want them for eggs, not meat, so I think it's okay to have different varieties and name them. 

Eventually I would like two girl goats (mini or dwarf), if I ever have a big enough yard.  They will be good for milk, cheese and predator control for the chickens.  

I need a good potting bench and area to work outside, I'd love an outdoor kitchen--it could be very basic.  I'd like to do more canning and freezing of produce that I grow.  I dabble at this time, but I'd like to really get into it.  

I love my fruit trees, and I'd like to add several more.  At least another lemon tree, another lime tree, several orange trees.  I love grapefruit too, but they take too long to set fruit, I don't know if I will still be here when that happens (in this house, I mean).   I'd like to also add some blackberry bushes somewhere, although I don't have a lot of sunny yard, so that may not be possible here.  Maybe on the side of the house.

I need to set up a good drip irrigation system, but the garden is small and manageable now, and I don't want to have to set it up, then change it in a year when things get bigger.  So until I expand the garden, that won't really be happening.  

When I do expand the garden, I would really like to cover the entire area next to my driveway up to my neighbor's yard with mulch and make raised beds for vegetables and a cottage garden type setup for herbs and flowers and strawberries here and there.  I can strategically place my fruit trees in there (I want to keep them in pots so they can come inside for freezes).  I'm not sure that will work without adding some kind of fence, which I don't want to do, but I'm still working out the details.  I do want to make sure that there are pavers for walkways (different ones in different areas).  

As far as my work life goes, it's very satisfying, and I don't foresee any huge changes there.  I'm very comfortable in my workplace and I love the people I work with--big and small.  I enjoy presenting at various conferences and other outlets, so I will continue to do that, and we'll see what other opportunities come my way.  Or what opportunities I can make.  

Very Productive Today...

I am glad I stopped feeling sorry for myself because I got a lot done today.  Nothing gets me going quite like giving myself a firm talking-to about feeling sorry for myself.  If I can't control what's happening around me, at least I can control some things.  I feel better then.

One thing I did was finally did something about the 23 key limes that my friend Cathy gave me.  As a rule I never turn down free food (within reason).  Especially fresh from someone's garden or fruit trees.  Even if I bought key limes, they wouldn't be this fresh, right?   They have been sitting in a bowl for a few days, while I tried to think how to use them.  Today I cut them in half, squeezed the juice into an ice tray, picked the seeds out (mostly) with a spoon, and froze the cubes.  I will put them into a labeled freezer bag tomorrow.  I figure the few seeds left in there will lend authenticity to whatever I use them for (probably guacamole).  

I started to throw out the peels, but I remembered reading somewhere that citrus peels repel bugs and cats from your garden, so I'm going to cut them into small pieces and throw them under my tomatoes, which seems to have something picking at the lower branches.  

I started to throw out the seeds, but remembered reading somewhere that you can grow key limes from seed (supposedly you can't grow all citrus from seed), so I'm going to give that a go. 

That's what I call a bargain, my friend.  Free limes and uses for every bit of them.  

I also moved some furniture around in my dining room that I've been thinking about, I like it a lot better this way.  It opened up an east facing window to let some real sun in, and provided a place where I put a low table (maybe to be replaced by open shelves) for plants.  This will be a good place for my seedlings instead of under a lamp.  (On a side note--I ADORE my paisley gardening boots!  And Bink's Curious George gardening boots!)

Mopped the floor and cleaned out the laundry closet.  In addition to cleaning the kitchen and getting rid of a bunch of stuff that was here and there and I don't need anymore.  Did some laundry, and I think I'm going to read for a little bit--there's a very compelling book about Compost that I want to finish.  

Random Thoughts...Again....

I've been alone for the last few days, which leads to a lot of thinking.  Thinking leads to a lot of seemingly disconnected thought processes.  I have learned not to question how my mind works because even I can barely follow the logic....   Anyway, here some of my recent thoughts:

• I WANT CHICKENS.  This is happening.  And soon.  I think they will be my birthday present to myself.  Kaleigh and I can build a coop and I think 3 or 4 would be a lovely addition. 
• My coffee sucks.  I'm not sure why I can't make a decent cup of coffee...my sister and I can make pots on the same day, with the same pot, same coffee, same everything, and mine is awful--hers is fabu.  Don't get it.
• I need to water the garden this morning--be right back.......................................................... okay, I'm back.  It seems like my green beans should have beans growing on them.  Maybe it's too early.  Looking forward to that for sure.  There's nothing like fresh green beans.  Well, that's not strictly true, all fresh veggies are pretty awesome.   I can't believe I've never planted a fall garden before this.  Last year I planted a few scraggly vegetables, but didn't really take care of them appropriately, thinking that they wouldn't grow since it wasn't spring.   Now I feel silly about that.  
• Maybe I'll make some curtains for my sewing room today--I've been needing a project to work on.   I'll look through my fabrics and see if I can find something nice to use.  I have some "vintage" (I use the term loosely) sheets that might be good to use.  I wish I had something to hand quilt.  Maybe I should look at my HUGE bin of unfinished tops for something to work on.  It would be nice to have something to do with my hands in the evening.  
• A few days ago, I chopped some herbs from my garden (basil, thyme and rosemary) and put them into an ice tray--covered them with olive oil and froze them.  This was an experiment that I saw on Pinterest (and I think we ALL know that sometimes what people represent on Pinterest isn't what REALLY happens when we try it!) so I thought I'd do it.  I can throw one of the cubes into any recipe for some fresh herb taste.  It worked.  I took the cubes out (they look like green stuff sticking out of lard at this point) and put them into a labeled freezer bag--I think I will throw a few into my tomato sauce later today.  Success!
• I'm missing Hillarie like crazy these days.  
• Looked back in my SUPER-DUPER AWESOME gardening journal to see when green beans were planted, and it's only been a little over a month, it is definitely too early.  They trick me by growing like crazy.  
• I've been thinking about moving the big hutch out of the dining room, or moving it into the corner so I can set up a planting table or shelves there in the sunny window there.  Then I can have more plants inside.  My kitchen window doesn't really get sun, just light so I'm limited as to what can grow there.  
• I need to think about some cooking projects to do with my class.  My assistant is like a genius with play dough, but the kids just love to mix stuff, and eating it is a bonus.  Do some research.

Enough rambling.  I have stuff to do.  I think I'll go mix up my compost and water the pile while I'm at it.  Peace.

Worry...

I've been pretty much moping around the house for the last few days, feeling pretty sorry for myself, and I decided it stops now.  There's a lot to be thankful for, even if things aren't going my way right now.  I took a few days off work--  I don't usually do this because I find that being at work keeps my mind off things, but I just couldn't imagine being able to put on a happy face for my class. 

A friend posted this on Facebook (thanks Kim!) :

Worry is an attempt to control the future.  Guilt is an attempt to control the past.  Let it all go and let God be in control!

Trying....

Anyway, last night I went to the grocery store and got a bunch of marked down tomatoes (not bad tomatoes, just not pretty tomatoes), and when I got home, I started some tomato sauce cooking.  It's been cooking down since last night--in the crock pot, and now the lid is propped open to let some of the water evaporate.  Then I will add onions, peppers, garlic, oregano, fresh basil and whatever else seems appropriate.  I will probably freeze it for when K. comes home--she loves my tomato sauce.  

Fertilized the "orchard" this morning.  (Said orchard being a meyer lemon tree and a key lime tree)   They both look really good.  Everything else in the garden looks good too.  Maybe tomorrow morning I will mulch the cucumbers again.  They are looking droopy.  

Cucumbers are Sprouting!

Went out to the garden this morning--things have been going on personally and I haven't been out there for a couple of days, so I thought I'd water and check things out.  I planted some cucumber seeds on Sunday (this is Wednesday!) and they are sprouting.  Almost all of them.  Very nice.  I don't have much luck with cucumbers here for some reason, so I'm really trying hard to plant different varieties, try different organic pest control applications, water the proper amount, etc.  

Like I said, things are going on personally, and I took the week off to take care of some things.  So today I'm going to get the house in order, mow the grass if it's dry enough out, and work in the garden.  I need some quiet time.  I keep reminding myself that I can't fret over everything, and sometimes things that don't seem good when they are happening, make better things come along.  I TRY to be an optimist.  

Gardening Journal

This year I have made a real effort to keep a gardening journal.  I can never remember what I planted where, how it grew, what kind of green beans were those?  So I've done pretty well.  I keep my very glamorous journal (an ugly spiral notebook--maybe I should glam it up a little, I believe you can never have too much glitter.) on a shelf next to my computer and every night I write a few notes about what I've done that day--if anything.  I write what I bought and what I paid, and if I had to water or if it rained this week, and what I transplanted, or anything else.  I also wrote in there what sproutrobot.com suggests that I plant based on my zip code.  Love that site.  

Cover (specially decorated by me!):

Sample Page:

This is what it looks like--not sure if you can read what's written, but you get the idea.  Each two-page spread has a week listed.  I had divided it up into four sections (showing four years of what happened), but it turns out, half a page isn't enough space for me, so I'm changing to one year per page.  So when the book is open, the left page will be for 2013. and the right page will be for 2014.  I can see from year to year what happened last year.  After 2014 I will get a new book (sometimes I HAVE to spend money--I think it's 99 cents well spent)

I'm not a great gardener, but I've always believed that what I lack in knowledge I can make up in enthusiasm, so I wing it.  It turns out that plants have been growing on earth for millions (at least) of years, and they don't really need much help from me.  They continue to grow in spite of me.  Another beautiful thing.