Simple ways to save money while you garden
Once the tomatoes, peppers, and squash come out, an empty vegetable bed can look like it’s finished working until spring. In reality, bare soil can lose nutrients, erode during heavy rain and give winter weeds plenty of open territory, while planting winter cover crops can keep that same soil protected for pennies per square foot….
Spring garden centers have a way of convincing us that our soil desperately needs another bag of something. Fertilizer, lime, compost, sulfur and specialty amendments can quickly turn a simple vegetable bed into an expensive project, especially when you’re guessing about what the soil actually needs. Fall soil testing replaces much of that guesswork with…
When frost threatens your pepper plants, most gardeners immediately think about harvesting the peppers—but this may also be your last chance to collect next year’s seeds. Saving seeds from a favorite plant costs practically nothing and can turn one successful pepper into dozens of potential plants next season. The catch is that saving pepper seeds…
One chilly night can wipe out months of herb growth surprisingly quickly, especially when a warm fall suddenly turns cold. Basil is particularly vulnerable, but container-grown rosemary and other tender herbs may also need help when temperatures tumble. Fortunately, protecting herbs from frost doesn’t require an expensive greenhouse or a cart full of garden supplies….
The first frost doesn’t necessarily have to end your vegetable garden, and you don’t need an expensive heated greenhouse to keep harvesting. A simple cold frame—a low, enclosed growing space topped with glass, polycarbonate or another transparent material—captures solar warmth during the day and provides plants with additional protection from cold nights. The trick is…
Fall cleanup can leave gardeners staring at piles of leaves, spent vegetable plants, and other organic material that looks like waste but could actually become next year’s soil amendment. Instead of bagging everything for disposal and buying bags of compost in spring, you can put much of that material to work now. Fall composting takes…
When the garden starts shutting down for winter, it’s tempting to toss the shovel against the shed wall, drop the pruners on a shelf, and promise yourself you’ll deal with everything in spring. Unfortunately, a few months of moisture, dirt and neglect can turn perfectly usable tools into rusty, dull, or cracked ones. Proper garden…
Your summer tomatoes may be finished, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your raised beds need to sit empty until spring. With the right crops and a few inexpensive adjustments, cold-weather raised beds can keep producing lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots and other hardy vegetables well beyond the traditional gardening season. Raised beds are particularly convenient for…
Every fall, gardeners fill bags with something they may turn around and pay to replace a few months later. Fallen leaves can become mulch, compost and organic matter, making them one of the most useful free materials your yard produces. Instead of hauling them away, strategic leaf mulch uses can protect exposed soil, suppress winter…