Dear Helen: One of my resolutions for 2016 is to put my finances on a rigorous diet. Have you any tips for saving money in the running of a garden? I have a fairly large garden space, with vegetable and annual flower plots, some herbs, and a collection of perennials, shrubs and small trees.
G.T.
Thanks for this significant question, which I鈥檓 thinking may well be on the minds of many gardeners in these times. Here are a few ideas. Other gardeners may have further thoughts on the issue. Email them to me and I鈥檒l pass them along. Put 鈥淔rugality鈥� in the subject line.
鈥� Look around. The first concept that comes to mind in response to your question is my habit in recent years of听not automatically replacing a broken gardening aid or purchasing a desired item. I first look around for something I already have that could fill the need.
An example: Early last year, an old pop-up bag stationed beside a table by the garden shed door finally fell into shreds. I had used it for years to catch trimmings from harvested vegetables. Instead of immediately shopping for a replacement bag, I听looked over the more ancient among my large terracotta lookalike vinyl pots, and chose one to take the place of the pop-up receptacle.
Another example is the use of sturdy cardboard boxes as planters. They are free, they save space, and their beige earth tone fits nicely into odd spots around the vegetable garden. Placed open-ended on the ground with the bottom flaps splayed out and a sturdy cord tied around its girth, a听cardboard box is a suitable planter for potatoes, sweet potatoes, and melons. At the end of the season, lay the cardboard on a pathway to听suppress weeds or tear it听into bits and compost it.
鈥� Scrounge. Look for things that can be re-used, and ask friends and neighbours to save items you have a use for. Neighbours across the street rinse out their two-litre milk and juice cartons and leave them in their carport for me to pick up and transform into seed flats. Other neighbours passed me small plastic trays that once held frozen meals. They were 鈥� and remain 鈥� perfect as drainage trays for the little [re-used] plastic flats I sometimes use for small indoor lettuce seedings.
鈥� Save seeds. Save your own ripened seeds of favourite open-pollinated (not hybrid) vegetable and flower varieties. Saved seeds听are not only free; they听will be on their way to amiable adaptation to your garden鈥檚 conditions.
鈥� Get free plants. If you admire a shrub or perennial in the garden of a friend or neighbour, ask the name and find out how best to propagate it. The neighbour or friend will likely honour your interest with the gift of听cuttings or plant divisions. I have a camellia and a magnolia in my garden that are both grown from seeds that readers of this column gave me.
鈥� Compost. Recycle all compostable garden materials to create that earthy, rich material that is overflowing with horticultural virtue. Compost enhances the vibrancy of microbial life in the soil, and all those energized beneficial microorganisms help to make healthy, disease-resistant plantings.
Compost is free. It plumps soil fertility and improves a soil鈥檚 texture and听moisture retention while keeping it well aerated for root and plant health. Prepare soils for planting with compost, and mulch developing vegetables and established ornamental plants to perk them up in summer.
To prevent rains from leaching nutrients from a compost heap, cover it loosely with a tarp during wet weather.
鈥� Water with care. Spot watering 鈥� not often, but long and slow 鈥� that directs moisture only onto target plantings, preferably in the early morning, is best for plants and personal finances.
鈥� Tool maintenance. A good tool is worth caring for. Keep tools cleaned and oiled. They鈥檒l return the attention with years of use.
听
Dear Helen: How can we discourage white cabbage butterflies from laying eggs on our cabbage and broccoli plants? The resulting worms chew on and damage the plants.
F.L.
I simply bar access to the plants by arranging a length of floating row cover, insect mesh or any other fine mesh material over the transplants. I hold the edges down by tucking them into the soil or laying smooth lengths of wood or metal poles on them. It鈥檚 important to leave enough slack in the material to allow the plants room for expansion.
