Whether or not you are an eager plant gardener, a beginning herb gardener or merely like to have a pretty yard, these frugal tips may aid you in saving a little money!
1. Old coffee and coffee grounds make great organic fertilizer. They provide many trace minerals and low, gentle levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. A Few people even run their own home-based business offering this exact service.
2. Remember a good soaking of water less frequently is better than a light sprinkling each day — for vegetables and for your grass.
3. If your neighbor has a plant you especially like, ask for a cutting, instead of going to the nursery and purchasing one. Maybe you could trade a cutting from one of your own plants.
4. To easily water a tomato plant, bury a bottomless coffee can next to the plant and pour the water into the can. This allows the water to go direct to the roots.
5. Plant marigolds in your vegetable garden. They will attract insects that eat aphids and other pests.
6. My hubby acquired some used carpet at a garage sale, cut it into wide strips and laid it down between the rows in our garden. Now we will be able to pick peas with getting our shoes muddy.
7. Use grass clippings as mulch around your vegetable plants to keep moisture in and weeds out. Just don't use the clippings right after you have fertilized your grass or given treatment for weed control.
8. If you have got access to them, pine needles make fantastic mulch.
9. A natural, frugal garden pest spray: mix one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil. Use three tablespoons of this mix to 1 quart of water and spray on plants.
10. In the herb garden, to keep plants like mint from taking over too big an area, put it in a clay pot and simply plant the entire pot! "He who plants a garden, plants happiness."










