A Growing Insole

My mother's favorite thing was shoes. She was a sweet, kind woman who never complained and really never asked for anything. But when she had the opportunity - she loved new shoes. My father on the other hand did not really care for shoes all that much, but was a die-hard gardener. Put them together and you get a wonderfully whimsical shoe planter!

Garden Walk Garden Talk had a fun photo of a shoe planted with sempervivums...

All of Donna's pictures are beautiful.  This one adds a touch of whimsy!

...in her last post In the Greenhouse with GWGT. 

There is another blog called Shoe Planter Crafts that is dedicated to gardeners on a budget - what fun!

How to Make Shoe Planters from Children's Shoes

And Shoe Metro has Weird Shoe Wednesdays...



Blackberry Creek Home Arts has some wonderful pictures of unusual planters...

Including this boot bragging these beautiful pansies.

So, next time you are about to recycle those Reeboks or shed your Skechers - just remember, they could provide a humorous habitation for some grateful greenery.  (It gives a whole new meaning to Nunn Bush!)

Get your hands dirty!

Using Willow as a Root Stimulator

Any of you who have worked with willows (Salix) before know that they root very easily.  In fact many people who have Globe Willows in their yard got them from friends who handed them a stick and told them to stick it in a bucket of water.  There is a reason that they root so easily - they contain a natural chemical called indolebutyric acid (IBA).  IBA is a natural growth regulator.

The offshoot of this is that you can use willow as a root stimulator when taking cuttings.  I know I am a little early in the season to be talking about cuttings (Unless you are in Australia!), but I thought it was a good topic to get us all excited for the upcoming spring!

When taking cuttings you generally dip the bottom end of the cutting in a rooting hormone.  I am not as wealthy as I would like to be, and always looking for a way to be self-sustaining, this is an inexpensive (free) and self-sustaining way to give my cuttings a head start on life.

Here's what you do:

Salvaged Material Planter

This is a planter I made from scrap pieces of composite decking (TAMKO Evergrain - to be specific). 

Composite decking makes great planters because it lasts forever.  The only down-side is the cost - it is quite expensive.

If anyone in your neighborhood builds a new deck, stop over and tell them you would like their scraps when they are done.  After they look at you like you're crazy they will most likely be happy to get rid of it.

Get your hands dirty!

Free, Easy, Permanent Plant Tags

Well, pretty much permanent...

Here is a way to mark your plants that won't cost you anything and will last for a loooonnnnggg time.

Save your lids off your canned food.  Most gardeners can something.

Pick up an inexpensive stamp set. Here is one at Amazon.com.

Now you just need a hammer.

I punch the name of the plant on the lid and punch a hole in the top with a nail.  Now you just attach it to a stake or directly to a pot with a bit of wire.  Easy, cheap and (somewhat) permanent - what more could you ask?!

Get your hands dirty!

Filling Raised Beds

I have been a huge proponent of raised bed gardening for most of my life.  My father gardened in raised beds and taught me all of the benefits you get from gardening that way.

Recently I have listened to several podcasts and read a few blog posts from people advocating building raised beds.  Great!  The one thing I was less than happy to hear / read was when they finished building their beds.  They then went on to recommend going to the local garden supply to buy peat moss, steer manure, topsoil, etc... to fill their new beds.

My Little Garden

How to Make Newspaper Pots

It may seem early to be talking about starting seeds, but depending on how many plants you are starting it can take a little time to make all of the pots!

As you know, if you've been following my blog, I am poor.  So, I am always looking for ways to save money.  This is one of those ways:

Hypertufa

 Hyper-What?  HyperTufa!!  (Pronounced  hi-per-two-fuh)

What is Hypertufa?  It's an artificial stone made of various materials - usually a mixture containing one or more of Portland Cement, Perlite, Vermiculite and Peat Moss.  Hypertufa was invented to take the place of Tufa which was used to make garden planters, troughs, garden art, etc...  It has the appearance of stone, without the weight. 

It is great for making garden planters that will last for a

long, lo-ong, lo-o-ong time!

Saving Geraniums Over the Winter

I am a frugal gardener - I'm cheap.  I have a hard time paying good money for plants that are short-lived.  While geraniums are perennials, they are tender perennials and will  not live through the winter in my climate (Zone 5).  I am also a lazy gardener - a plant has to be a fighter to stay in my yard.  If they are wimpy little things that can't somewhat fend for themselves they will not last, and most likely will not be invited again.  So, lucky for me, and the geraniums, they are easy to care for and easy to save over the winter.
There are several different ways to save your little darlings over the winter so you can have BIG darlings next spring:

1. Take Cuttings
Ok, I know what you are saying, "Taking cuttings is not saving my geranium over the winter - it's making all new plants!"  Well, yes.  It is.  But hey - beggars can't be choosers.  It is easy, and you still have geraniums next spring - in fact you will have more geraniums next spring if you do it right. 
Take a sharp pair of pruners or a sharp knife (be careful not to cut yourself - safety first!) and cut a 3-4" piece off the top of the geraniums - the bendy soft wood, not the hard older parts.  Take all the leaves off of the lower part of the cutting, leaving one or two leaves on the top - no flowers.  I usually cut the leaves in half too - remember, the little plant has no roots to feed the leaves.  You can use a rooting hormone at this point, but with geraniums I usually don't.  Stick the cutting (leaves up) halfway into a small container filled with vermiculite or perlite (both available at the local garden center) making sure the pot drains well.  Put a small amount of water in the pot and place it - pot, plant and all - in a big zip-loc bag, or other type of clear plastic bag. Sit it in an out-of-the-way place, out of direct sunlight.  In 6-8 weeks it will root.  Take it carefully out of the container and re-pot it in potting soil.  Keep it in a cool, sunny spot until spring and pot it back outside.  Woo Hoo free geraniums!

2. Force the Geraniums Into Dormancy
Geraniums can be stored similar to the way you would store bulbs.  They stock up all of the life they need in their stems to help them come back to life next year. 
This is even easier than taking cuttings. 
Carefully dig up your geraniums.  Gently remove the soil from around the roots - you don't want any clods hanging on.  Hang the plants upside down in a cool place, like a garage or basement.  Ideally around 50 degrees.  The leaves will wither and dry.  Remove them if they don't fall off by themselves - you don't want any fungal diseases, etc. to climb back up into the stem.  Every month take them down and soak the roots in luke-cold water for about an hour.  In the spring replant the geranium in your pot on the front porch or directly into your beautiful garden and voila - free geraniums!

3. Keep Them in Their Pots
If they were growing in the garden dig them up carefully and replant them in a pot.  Use a pot that is big enough to fit their root ball.  Nobody likes shoes that pinch their feet!  Cut off the top 1/3 of the geranium along with all of the flowers.  Water the pot thoroughly and place it in a sunny location in your house.  Most of us don't have locations that are sunny enough, so you might have to add some additional light.  Florescent bulbs or bulbs made just for plants are available at the hardware store or the local garden center. 

Note from me:  If I have to buy light bulbs and fixtures and pay for electricity all winter to light the little darlings, I think I can afford a new geranium next year.  Call me crazy.  This is not my favorite method of saving a geranium - remember?  I'm cheap. (and poor)  But, if you like it and it works for you - good on ya!

So, there are three ways for you to save your geraniums from a cold and frightful death while giving you the satisfaction of knowing that you saved a little plant along with a few bucks.

Get your hands dirty!

P.S. They are actually Pelargoniums - but that's a story for another day.

Paper in the Garden

In need of more compost?  Have lots of grass clippings but not a lot of brown material?  Here are some ideas for you frugal gardeners out there.

The toilet paper and paper towel rolls that are left when the paper is gone (we called them "doot-de-dooers" when we were kids because you could play them like a trumpet) are great to add to the compost pile.  They break down quickly and they are free.  One less item to send to the landfill.  Most of the paper towels that you use to clean up can be dropped in the compost too!  Just remember not to put anything that would attract rats (meat drippings, etc.), or anything that you would consider toxic - if it's questionable, leave it out.

Newspapers.  Many of us still read a paper copy of the newspaper - a hard habit to give up.  Shred it and dump it in the compost.  Worried about the heavy metals from the ink?  No need - most publishers have changed to soy based inks - completely safe in the compost.  If you are concerned that your local paper might be toxic just give them a call - if they have not changed they will tell you and you can start your own campaign to get them to change.  While on the subject of newspapers - they are also great for bedding in the chicken coop, and a lot less expensive than wood shavings.

Newspaper also works great to keep weeds down in the walkways of your garden.  Just lay out 3-4 layers of newspaper and cover it with grass clippings from your yard for a weedless walkway.  (If you wet down the newspaper before covering with grass it seems to work better and doesn't fly away.)

Remember, Compost Happens - with a little help from you.  If you are not composting start now.  Compost is the best thing you can do for your garden. 

Go get your hands dirty!!