The Scavenger's Blog-- The No-Cost Garden
I thought I was a pretty frugal gardener, but these folks make me look like a spendthrift.
I am seriously impressed with their methods and manifesto, and I'll implement their ideas immediately. While I already was a seed saver, I have to admit I started small this year, going with only lettuce, chard, zuchinni, cucumbers, and one pumpkin plant.
Why so small? Because there's a difference between being frugal and time management. I know me, and I have only a few hours a week to work in my garden. The time it takes to manage, water, weed, harvest, and replant a large garden is more than I'm willing to invest. I've played "gardener" before, and I don't want to end up with a weed-infested, overgrown mess because I was too ambitious in the spring.
However, some of the Scavenger's ideas are well worth implementing immediately. I will begin putting crushed eggshells in my garden soil instead of carting them out to the compost bin. I have a slug problem, and this seems to be a very reasonable alternative to replace the expensive diatomacous(sp?) earth. The principle is the same-- sharp stuff that cut the soft, squishy bodies of the slugs.
I don't need much more. I've had the gardening implements for years and years. With reasonable care, they should last for an equal number of years. Most implements other than a trowel and hand rake are unnecessary, anyway. I square foot garden, so I don't need long-handled implements. Everything is in easy reach.
If I decide to increase the size of my garden, I'll make another square foot garden plot the recommended three feet from my present plot, and make myself a pretty mulched path all around both.
Okay, that's all for now...
Lena Austin
http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com
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