Are you an avid gardener? Great! Homegrown food is the freshest and most nutritious.
Gardening supplies can be a little expensive, so here are some real cost cutting suggestions:
Don't use expensive black plastic bags between the rows of your garden to cut down on weeds. Use old newspapers instead. You can also shred them to make an inexpensive mulch and use them to cover plants if frost weather is in the forecast.
If you pick tomatoes when they are green and they need to ripen a bit, just wrap them in a piece of newspaper and store them in a cool, dark place for a few days.
Are you transporting fresh flowers? Wrap them in damp newspaper so they don't wilt.
Make a mat from newspapers to kneel on while you are gardening. It is more comfortable to work that way, and your pants won't get soiled.
Don't buy little pots to plant seedlings, use eggshells instead! When you are ready to plant the seedlings, just crush the shells and leave them in the soil. They provide an extra source of calcium, which is good for plants. Tomato plants especially love calcium enriched soil. It prevents blossom end rot.
Old coffee grounds are also good for enriching soil.
Do you want to keep slugs and snails out of your garden? Put a barrier of crushed egg shells around the perimeter of your vegetable patch. They don't like the sharp edges.
Are ants and cutworms a problem for you? surround your garden with a ring of old coffee grounds to keep them away.
To get rid of anthills, mix one pound of old coffee grounds and one quart of warm water, and spray it on the trouble spots in your yard.
Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com
