Simple ways to save money while you garden
That avocado pit, sprouting garlic clove, or tomato sitting on your kitchen counter may look like the beginning of a free garden. Sometimes it actually is—but social media videos can make growing plants from grocery store produce look far easier and more productive than it really is. Some kitchen scraps can produce useful new growth,…
Finding an unexpected packet of seeds in your mailbox might seem like a gardener’s version of free money. Before you scatter those mystery seeds into a flower bed or tuck them into a pot, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants you to stop. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says non-compliant seeds,…
Turning this year’s garden waste into next year’s free soil amendment is one of the best money-saving tricks a gardener can use. But tossing everything you pull, prune, or rake into the pile can also turn home compost problems into next season’s garden problems. It’s generally a good idea for home gardeners to leave out…
Garlic belongs in the fall garden, but the calendar matters more than many gardeners realize. Plant too early and the cloves can push up tender growth before winter, while planting too late can leave them scrambling to build the root system they need. That makes garlic a little different from the vegetables that demand attention…
Walk into a garden center in autumn and it can feel like every plant has suddenly developed a nutritional emergency. Bags of fertilizer promise stronger roots, better winter performance, and a more impressive garden next spring, making that end-of-season purchase seem like an easy decision. Many established plants do not need a late-season feeding, and…
Those tiny holes appearing in fall vegetables are more than ugly little souvenirs from the garden. They can point toward the particular pest nibbling away at leaves, and the shape, size, and location of the damage can help narrow down the culprit. A few ragged leaves do not automatically mean a garden disaster, but ignoring…
Fall garden centers can make a gardener feel wonderfully reckless. One minute, the plan calls for a few replacement plants, and the next minute the cart somehow contains enough mums, perennials, and ornamental grasses to require a financial debrief on the drive home. Before spending $200 on new plants, take a tour of the garden…
Fall garden clearance has started, and that means garden centers are making room for the next season while shoppers get a chance to snag useful supplies for less. The catch? A red sale sticker does not magically turn a struggling plant, outdated product, or wildly inappropriate purchase into a bargain. The smartest clearance shopping focuses…
Poison ivy can look like nothing more than a crispy pile of garden debris when the season turns, but that dead-looking material deserves a very wide berth. Burning it can send urushiol, the oily substance that causes poison ivy’s infamous rash, into the smoke, creating a much bigger problem than a few itchy spots. The…