Category: Kitchen and Garden

Budget Garden Tricks

Budget Garden Tricks

Posted on by jess

The news is overwhelming.  I am not surprising any of you with that statement.  Of course, I take solace in my hooking, my fabrics, my knitting.  But I also find hope and inspiration in the newly popping seedlings lined by my windows preparing for garden season.  I don’t usually attempt seedlings, preferring to defer that task to my wonderful neighbors at Morning Dew Farm.  But there were a couple things I wanted for my garden this year that weren’t available, so I took the small task of starting a few thing on for myself.  And immediately ran into problems.  I’ve cataloged for you here a few of my little low to no budget garden tricks to keep this train on the rails.

Paper Bag Seedling Pots
Sunflowers don’t like their roots to be disturbed. To start them inside successfully, they must be in a container that will biodegrade when planted in the ground. I made these pots out of paper bags and they’ll go right into the soil with their seedlings when the weather warms. I just need to remember to remove the tape, which does not breakdown.
After two weeks, my hot pepper starts had failed to break ground despite keeping them near the wood stove. Looking for a quick fix, I put them in a storage bin lined with Christmas lights and topped with a piece of Plexiglas glass. I confess, I always give my husband grief for his hoarding tendencies.  But being to assemble this little contraption from our barn stash has quieted me for the moment. Within Hours, my seedlings started popping.

 

My little bean seedling has a new home in a pot made from scraps of my rug hooking linen.
I have a drawer full of rug hooking linen scraps that I’ve deemed too large to throw out and too small to be particularly useful. Then my pole bean seedlings outgrew their egg carton start. My little bean seedlings now have a new home in pots I made from scraps of my rug hooking linen.  You could use any scrap fabric on hand.