Tips for the garden
- We were in Wal-Mart yesterday, and I happened to spy a huge trash bag with some still-green, but (I thought) obviously dead plants in it. I said to the checkout lady, “Are you throwing that away?” When she said yes, I asked her if I could have it for my compost heap. THAT ALONE would have been very cool… free compost and a couple of free (el-cheapo but good for assorted purposes) plant pots.Well… I was in for a suprise! In that bag we found about 30 “air ferns” - you know, those stupid little “fake plants” that don’t need any water, and are hot-glued in little pots? About ten of them were destroyed, but the others were salvageable. The kids were thrilled! We also got about two dozen little tiny clay plant pots, which were immediately pressed into use for air ferns, with a few left over. Bobby will use them for cacti when they grow from his seeds. AND we got a huge Boston Fern that’s still quite alive. It’s ragged and needs a good trimming, and hadn’t been watered in days… but I am pretty sure I can save it! AND we got two very dead-looking New Guinea Impatiens. I thought at first that they’d been harmed by the recent frost, but I called Mom regarding whether they could be helped and she inquired about the soil. Well it was so dry that it had pulled back from the container edges by half an inch! AHA! So we’re trying to water it well for a few days and see what happens. If that doesn’t help, I’ll cut it back bit by bit and pray… and see what happens. At the very worst, I got some compost out of them (and a couple of hanging baskets). But Mom thinks it’s possible to save them, so we’ll try!Also, while we were at Wal-Mart, Kayti found a poor bedraggled geranium that someone had ripped out of its pot and left to die. Being the tenderhearted child she is, she determined to save the plant!! She sought the help of the Lawn & Garden manager, who didn’t think the plant would survive I guess, because she let Kayti have it!
UPDATE: In the past few weeks, we’ve seen all of these plants take off and grow! The fern is still bedraggled, but it’s putting forth new growth. The geranium looks none the worse for its experience. Of the two impatiens, one is filling out nicely, the other is taking more time for healing. I suspect that by the end of summer, both will be doing quite well.
- We recently found out that Starbucks will give free coffee grounds for composting!
- Eggshells are very useful in the garden. Crush them well, but don’t powder them. They’ll enrich the soil with calcium and keep slugs and other soft-bodied critters away.
- Like I said before, I’ve not had a lot of luck with seeds over the years. I’m trying to discover what I’ve done wrong. So instead I buy seedling plants. I shop around in the spring and find good prices. For example, I just bought a small thyme plant for $1.40, and split it into four plants. Thyme spreads fairly quickly, so before long I’ll have more than I know what to do with! I also bought two mints - a peppermint and a spearmint - for a combined cost of about four dollars. These will bring us years of enjoyment, and I’ll be able to give little plants to friends and relatives. When buying plants, you have to look at the cost to benefit ratio: How much does this plant cost (calculate the cost of the plant, fertilizer, time, effort) versus the cost of groceries. A single tomato plant bought for 49 cents will give you many tomatoes for little cost (fertilizer - use compost, or a couple of dollars will buy enough fertilizer to do the whole garden. Here in the south, they recommend some lime to amend the soil. Again, you’ll purchase enough to do many plants. So for each plant, you’re paying less than a buck… not bad if you consider that you can’t buy a *good* tomato at the grocery store… and you can’t buy very many for a dollar!