101 Almost Free Gardening Projects

By Hilery Hixon

Gardening can be almost free! Discover frugal projects and ideas for the garden with 101 Almost Free Gardening Projects through Planning, Building, Growing and Harvesting.

Beginning with the Planning phase, make the most out of the garden space through clever ideas and design principles.

Building for the garden can be fun and easy. Grab some tools and learn how to make an inexpensive trellis, a planter box from scrap lumber and more!

Explore more ways to grow plants and save money, including seeds, vertical gardening and food.

Do more with what is grown with Harvesting projects, including harvesting a birdhouse.

Gardening and projects go hand-in-hand. Experience more in the garden with 101 Almost Free Gardening Projects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hilery Hixon
• Release date: Jan 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458104342

Hilery Hixon

Hilery Hixon has a passion for gardening. Her greenhouse began as an experiment and grew into a way of life. She lives in Southern Nevada with her husband, Jack Russell Terrier and two cats.

Book preview

Introduction

When I was in third grade, I read in a magazine about an experiment with celery. I went running up to my mother asking if we could do the experiment. She took me to the kitchen and we retrieved a stalk of celery from refrigerator. She helped me make a fresh cut on the end of the stalk, and then I put the stalk in a glass of water. We put several drops of red coloring in the water and left the glass on the kitchen pass-through ledge. As patiently as a third-grader could, I waited three days.

After the three days were up, my mother and I cut the stalk in half and could see the red food coloring in the veins where the celery had taken up the colored water. I was hooked.

All my life, I have loved projects. This book is a fusion of two of my passions: plants and projects. I created this book to share ideas to interact with the garden without breaking the bank.

Enjoy the projects and adapt them to best suit you and your garden.

Now get out there and grow!

Planning

Start a Garden Journal

For those that are already avid garden journal keepers, by all means keep doing what you are doing! For the reluctant journal-keeping gardener, I have a super easy way to get you started with your journal and to keep at it.

Materials

Spiral Notebook

Stapler (with a handy supply of staples)

Pen

Most of us already have these materials lying around the house however they can be picked up for just a couple bucks at any discount store.

Start your journal by writing the year and season at the top of the page.

When you plant seeds, purchase plants and order from catalogs, take a minute to staple the packets, plant tags and clippings from the catalog to each page. Leave empty space around each item to scribble in a few notes.

The note taking process need not be arduous, simply include a couple bits of information:

Where the item was purchased

When and where in the garden it was planted

As the seasons progress, jot down when seeds sprouted, when plants bloomed, when fruits and vegetables were harvested and if you liked the harvest. All these bits of information can be included on the pages where their respective tags and packets were stapled.

The garden journal is an invaluable tool come winter when it is time to place seed orders. I love to try new varieties of tomatoes. I often refer to my journal to remind me of the ones that were winners in my eyes so I can reorder those seeds and to also not reorder the seeds that performed poorly in both the growing and tasting departments.

No Fail Container Garden Recipe

Container gardens do not need to be complicated. A few rules of thumb will keep your containers looking professionally designed and growing beautifully.

Start the container with a good, light potting mix. Every good planting starts with a foundation of good soil.

Select plants that have the same temperature, light and water requirements. A lily and a barrel cactus would not make good neighbors in a container!

Choose plants that complement each other with color. Leaves of different shades of green make for better contrast than plants that are the same color as their neighbors. Great contrasts are chartreuse leaves with maroon leaves.

Decide on three plants of these types for the container: tall, textural and trailing. The tall plant should be spiky or add height to the container. The textural plant will be full to fill out the container with interesting foliage. The trailing plant should spill over the edges.

Surefire Butterfly Garden Recipe

A butterfly garden needs to cater to butterflies. Give them something they cannot resist and the garden will be full of butterflies.

Plant flowers in drifts to attract butterflies. A bunch of flowers in one color will allow butterflies to see them from a distance.

Butterflies need to be able to land on flowers. Flowers like Black-eyed Susan that are flat and open give butterflies the ability to land on the flower and feed on its nectar.

Check with your local Cooperative Extension. Many have lists of plants that attract butterflies local to the area.

Keep Nuisance Birds Away for Almost Free

Birds eating newly planted seeds or pigeons roosting on the balcony are common gardener agitations. Commercial bird deterrents are often ineffective because the birds quickly become accustomed to the deterrent, realizing it is not a threat. This almost free bird deterrent quite possibly could save your seeds!

Materials

Reflective ribbon (like Mylar), 1-2 foot lengths

Garden stakes, 1-2 feet (optional)

Hammer (optional)

Construction stapler (optional)

The reflective ribbon can be found