Posted on 02/18/2011 7:45:57 PM PST by kimmie7
We've all seen 'em. You know the ones. The folks who walk into the local big-box garden center looking to fulfill their dreams of growing 4 pound tomatoes or blue ribbon-worthy pumpkins. Whatever their motivation - from a yearning for simplicity, a desire to eat more organically, or frugality - they've now decided to put in a garden. And could there be anything more inviting to a salesperson than the sight of the new gardener staring at the mountains of plants and supplies? Whether they grew up on a farm or could rival Billy Crystal for the lead role in "City Slickers" the novice gardener can drop a pile of money before ground has even been broken. In larger cities you may need to wear a garlic necklace to repel the hoardes of sales-hungry garden center helpers, but here and in the surrounding areas folks are nice and pretty understanding of the need for frugality. In any case, preparation and education are key to spending only what you must to obtain your desired results.
Much like shopping in thrift stores, a list is probably the single most valuable tool for the thrifty gardener. You'll find seasoned gardeners poring over books, magazines and websites as they sip coffee and watch the snow fall. By the time Spring nears, they've got a really good idea of what they'd like to include in their garden. As winter wears on, they check the mailbox more often than Ralphie Parker waiting for his decoder pin. Why? The catalogs. They arrive long before the first Robin, but are just as certain a harbinger of the gentle days of Spring. Even if you don't plan to purchase plants via mail order, catalogs are a great way to find out what's new and what works in your area, and to begin to budget. With your list or garden blueprint in hand, you may enter the garden center with more confidence.
Of course, the basic need for all gardeners is good soil. Do you get confused when you hear people talk about adding things to the soil to change the Ph? So do I. Just take my cue and head on over to the Extension Office. Don't know where it is? Shame on you! These folks can answer all kinds of questions about horticulture in W and surrounding counties - and it's free! They even offer a soil test. Now, it isn't free, but available for the nominal fee of around $6.00. The results of that test will help you know what you need to have the best soil in your garden. The test will pay for itself many times over in yield and crop quality. Hop on over to their website and look around. You can even follow them on Facebook!
Next to good soil, you need good plants. If you don't plan to start your plants from seed, you'll need to find a resource that has done it for you. To find the best plants at the best prices, I'd suggest you ask around. For whatever reason, gardening is exploding in popularity this year and you can be the beneficiary of some really fantastic local resources. There are greenhouses galore in addition to the farmer's markets. Starting plants from seeds can be tedious and time consuming, but offers near infinite choices in variety. With careful planning, for the cost of one greenhouse-grown plant you can have trays and trays of seedlings ready to set as soon as Jack paints his last frost of the season. Consider purchasing seeds from non-traditional sources as well as the tried-and-true. I got 150 heirloom pepper seeds for the grand total of 50¢ on eBay earlier this year. The seller had fantastic feedback, so I took a chance. By the looks of things, it was a great deal. Heirloom varieties can be more expensive, but have some distinct advantages that make them the more frugal choice. They are said to provide tastier, more nutritious fruit. They are open pollinated, which means that you can save your seeds from year to year. “Seeds saved from heirloom vegetables will produce plants that are true to type, unlike hybrid seeds. If you try to save seed from hybrids, you usually won’t get good results,” says Andrew Kaiser, manager at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Heirlooms also tend to be less uniform than hybrids, meaning they won't all ripen at once. That's an advantage when there just aren't enough hours in the day to can or preserve that bountiful crop.
After you've gotten your soil in shape and you've bought or grown your own sets, it's time to plant and maintain. Regardless of the latest fashion or gadget, all you really need are the basics: a spade, a hoe, a hand trowel. If you're a southern woman a big floppy hat seems to be a necessity, but I really like my old-fashioned sun bonnet. A pair of old shoes will serve just as well as the cutesy garden clogs, and an old leaky hose easily replaces a topside soaker. Old mini-blinds find new life when cut down to size and shape for plant stakes - recycling an old product and saving you around $5. The latest foam plant ties retail in a popular seed catalog for $12.95 for 32 feet. Pantyhose and knee-highs with runs are free and just as gentle when tying up heavy plants like tomatoes. An old bucket and free plastic kids' meal cup will water your plants just as well as the new OXO watering can - and it won't cost $19.99. (What? Are they insane? I could give you the website I found that one on, but I won't.)The one area in which I absolutely do not skimp is good quality gloves. They are absolutely necessary when working in garden or yard, and can be found at relatively reasonable prices throughout the year.
Just like thrift shopping, a heaping dose of common sense is your greatest tool to keep your gardening endeavors frugal. Are you lacking in that department? Unsure of yourself? Or do you just need some support? A Google search for "frugal gardening" netted 278,000 results as of this writing. Pour yourself a cuppa something wonderful, tuck the kiddies into bed and have a blast learning more about your new hobby. Even better, enlist your family and/or friends to help. Start a gardening co-op in your neighborhood. Take a class or two, if you have the time and money. Shop online to find great deals if your time is limited during daylight hours. A little knowledge and research goes a long way, so make the most of those rainy days and nighttime hours. And if, by some chance, you happen upon that so-cute copper Labrador retriever weathervane that is on sale for ONLY $369.00 (ha!) do what I did and step. away. from. the. keyboard. Until next time, I wish you well.
kimmie7 is a graphic designer and the author of several poems and short articles. She is a homemaker, small business owner, homeschool mom and wannabe tightwad. She lives with her husband – who wishes she were more of a tightwad, and her son – who is glad she isn’t, a dog that eats anything and a cat who won’t.
Summer 2010 Canning
Tomatoes 75
Sweet Hot Pepper Relish 13
French Onion Soup 18
Green Tomato Salsa 27
Salsa 52.5
Green Tomatoes 3.5
Pickled Green Tomatoes 21.5
Tomato Juice or Salsa Juice 12
Chicken noodle soup 20.5
Total 243
Well, you got me stumped. I’ve grown just about everything, but I’ve never grown a chicken noodle soup plant :-)
I do grow basil among my tomatoes and note it sure does cut down on horn worms. And after one bad year of cukes long ago, I am going to do pickles again this year.
Are you using potting soil for the seeds? If so, don't. Use regular soil instead. I wasted soooo many pepper seeds before I got the peppers to grow.
I grow container tomatoes here in southern New England,in the partially shady backyard of the apartment building where I live,which is pretty much surrounded by other tenement houses and crumbling,big,old factory buildings. Also,it can stay chilly here into June.
Have you ever seen the movie Hachi,about the loyal dog,starring Richard Gere?
The last railroad track scene was filmed on my street and the house where I live is in the last shot taken from a nearby hill,to give you an idea of the terrain,which is not tropical,warm and full of rural goodness for tomatoes.
Your situation is probably way different,yet tomatoes are tomatoes and some of the things I’ve found they like are a handful of plain old epsom salt mixed into their soil,mix in a coupla cups of perlite,some plain old regular lime that can be used in gardens,maybe 3/4 cup to a pot,throw in a spadeful of peat moss,some all purpose veg fertilizer or special tomato food according to directions,water and mix well. Then plant and water again.
Water thoroughly regularly and keep in a sunny location. Protect if your sun is too intense. Plant basil or some other congenial plant in their pots. Pick off bugs as needed. Enjoy your crop. Good luck fellow tomato grower!
Pinging The gardeners.
Try high tunnel hoop houses. They are the ticket for ultimate small scale production.
Great article Kimmie7.
I want to garden so badly!! I’m bound and determined to do it this year (so-hoping!!) I have such a “black thumb” - I kill everything I touch, unlike my dear grandmother, God rest her soul, who could plant a dead stick in the ground and make it grow!! But - try, try, try again....we’ll see what happens. Great article - and Ping Me!!!
oops - already been Pinged - haha!!
” But - try, try, try again....we’ll see what happens “
I tried my first garden last year, and spent months of TLC, hard work, and copious amounts of money (it’s more expensive than it looks) and had a garden going that was the envy of my neighbors — unfortunately, it was also the envy of the local critters...
First, the bugs got my spinach, and then the gophers ate the roots off of my zuchini.. I sucked it up and soldiered on - malathion for the bugs, and traps for the gophers - and then, in one nite, the local wild pigs came down from the hills and ate everything even potentially edible, and trampled everthing else....
So, I spent the end of Summer and Fall staring at the wreckage and telling myself “Never Again!!”
An attitude I carried with me until last weekend, when I noticed that the local WalMart had started to put up the parking-lot garden supplies area, and the seed displays had reappeared inside - and I realized that I hadn’t been ‘cured’, at all....
“Try, try, try again..” , indeed.....
We all need to keep this in mind
I read about a guy in England that took up that challenge for the patio gardeners. I think he charged $15 per visit and was being quite successful at it!
I know it was not your purpose in the article to go into this...
...but the reason is inflation. The price of everything and particularly food and gasoline is going up and up, people are feeling the squeeze, and every tomato the garden supplies to the kitchen is a help.
I'll leave for another time the discussion of potential future governmental control of food resources.
ping
How much sun do your peppers get?
I am in a North/South valley, so we get the sun late in the morning and its gone earlier in the evening. The plants grow and I even get some peppers, but they take well over 120 days, bear much less than I think they should and the peppers themselves are very prone to rot if it gets too cool.
I container garden indoors in winter using Aerogardens. Last year, I was given some miniature red/orange peppers and I saved the seeds. I am going to plant some around the first of March. I am hoping it will be warm enough, long enough to get a harvest. I have tried supposedly dwarf pepper plants in hydro before, but they dropped blossoms after growing way too tall.
I look for dwarf and miniature varieties of a lot of things, except some tomatoes. I also try to plant mostly early varieties, since most everything that isn’t a cold weather crop seems to take an extra 2 weeks for me. Our last frost is usually May 23 and we can have first frost as early as September 21.
Years ago, I asked a produce manager at the local co-op why sweet red peppers were so expensive. He just answered that they are hard to grow. Now, I have found one grocery store that always has them for way less than anyone else. So, I buy 3-5 at a time, store them in Green Bags and mostly, they last pretty well. I use them in nearly everything.
So you say that your wild pig bait worked, and now you’re complaining? I would rather have a half dozen pigs in the smoke house in the form of hams, sausage and bacon than a whole pantry full of veggies for the winter!
” I would rather have a half dozen pigs in the smoke house in the form of hams, sausage and bacon than “
Me too - unfortunately, there’re two things that stop me — first, the ‘local old-timers’ say that this variety (’Javelina’) aren’t particularly ‘good eatin’’, and second, they’re a semi-protected species in this state, and can only be hunted during a short season - which doesn’t coincide with the garden-molesting season....
So, instead of investing a couple of bucks for deer slugs (the preferred load for Javelinas) for my 12ga, I’m gonna have to come up with a couple of hundred for stout fencing...
Are you trying to grow hots or Bells? Here in eastern North Carolina, most hot peppers are a plant-and-forget. Keep the weeds down early on, and they'll start making peppers in July and not quit until they freeze in November or December. Last summer tobacco mosaic did a number on my tomatoes, but the peppers seemed to weather it okay.
Now if you're trying to grow those big, sweet, blocky Bell peppers like they have at the grocery store (and charge a buck each for during the winter), I haven't yet put all the pieces together on that one myself. I think strong fruit is a matter of:
1) Plenty of phosphorus in your soil, but not too much nitrogen. A little nitrogen is necessary for plant growth, but too much will make your peppers grow stems and leaves and not much fruit. Phosphorous on the other hand just seems to make the plants healthy-looking and strong.
2) Plenty of water. Those grocery-store Bells are downright juicy, and that juice is mostly water. There has to be abundant water available to the plants from fruit set to ripening if you want big, juicy peppers with those thick fleshy walls.
3) Thin the blossoms. Your plants won't make good peppers if they're making half a dozen peppers each. Thin the blossoms down to one or two, and you'll focus the plant's resources into a single pepper.
Like I said, I've never made this work for myself... it's easier for me to just grow stuff that requires less attention... but this is how I'd do it if I were to try.
Great little article there kimmie, and Congratulations on getting published!
What gave me my start on how to be an effective gardener is an old book that is still being published (and available on Amazon) called “Square Foot Gardening”. It’s a great little primer on how to effectively get yourself started, and grow maximum food in an absolute minimum of space. It’s all about building the soil, digging out the beds nice and deep and then refilling them in layers of good soil and compost. It’s a modified form of French Intensive Gardening.
One of the best things you can do is build some sort of large composting bin that will allow you to easily turn the pile and get material in and out easily. You cannot have too much compost and your neighborhood is probably an outstanding source of material. We have a Park near the house and last fall I hauled 2 enormous loads of shredded leaves out of there to fill my compost bin. Mixed with chicken manure and kitchen scraps, my pile stays hot all winter and is incredibly rich. I have to be careful not to leave my wooden handled manure fork stuck in the pile or it might just root.
Effective thrifty gardening isn’t hard but it may take you a couple of seasons to figure out what works best for you. It’s supposed to be fun and relaxing so try not to get too wrapped around the windlass if something doesn’t go just right....figure out what went wrong and fix it, or try something else until you get what you are looking for...
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