Gardening on a shoe string

Seed packets are going to start appearing in garden stores very soon

. The only drawback is not to get overly excited about all the little packets and purchasing too many because the pictures of the plants on the packets look like a plant we want in our landscaping. Before purchasing any type of seeds, it is important to ensure that the plants or flowers are suitable for your area's type of weather.

Often, we look at plants in the nurseries and shudder at the thought of paying $3.99 for one plant, especially when we really need about 12 or more of them. If we have a special section which is bare and needs to be filled, a new area of the garden, or starting over where plants didn't do well before, more often than not, we will need multiple plants. It's easy to spend $75-100.00 each spring on flowers.

Seeds are the answer, especially since often those specific flowers that are sold as seeds are not sold in our garden shops. But, once you've purchased the special trays and the special compost, fertilizer, special dirt, etc., your price may just as well be as expensive as purchasing a live plant. To grow seeds on a shoe string, keep jello plastic containers, rinse them well and store them to plant your seeds. Any kind of small yogurt plastic container or any other small plastic containers is also perfect. Steel containers or metal cans should not be substituted. After drilling a hole at the bottom to ensure excess water can escape, fill them with top soil and put one or two seeds in each container. No need for the special trays, expensive dirt, compost or fertilizers. Most nurseries will recommend expensive dirt and the pictures that are shown on the package show what the plant will look like with or without the expensive dirt. In Florida, where the soil is very sandy and with a lot of clay, the top soil (the cheap kind) is a wonderful addition to mix in the soil. Since jello and other plastic containers can be recycled after you've eaten their content, the only costs are the seed packets and a 40 lbs of top soil (K-Mart usually sells it at $1.00 but Home Depot has them periodically on sale for $0.79). A unique and safe way to ensure that the seed is going to grow in your planter or landscaping is to put the plant still in its plastic container in the dirt.

While seeds are a great way to save money on plants and flowers, it is also a great idea to divide the plants that are purchased at the garden store. Numerous plants have three individual plants in each pot and each can be separated and placed in a different area. For the price of one plant, you actually get three smaller ones which will grow just as well and as big as if they had been kept together. In addition, if a snail gets a hold of one of the plant, the other two will grow vigorously without being damaged by a hungry critter.

Loews started a few years ago to have a plant/flower sale at the back of their garden store at the same time as they sell their latest shipments of flowers, but at 75% discount. Those plants which may be a little wilted, have one branch broken, or may not appeal to a customer, are all sold at huge discounts. Once you bring it home, cut the plant to about one inch to the dirt and plant. Once established, the plant will grow just like the others, but cost a lot less. Huge bargains can be had if you check the back of the store.

Gardening on a shoe string another way to take pleasure in the joy of planting relatively cheaply in our hard economy. For more articles on gardening, check out www.theyardbench.com.

Gardening on a shoe string

By: Colette

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