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These ten smart and frugal hacks solve simple garden problems without the want to buy anything . Use what you have and store your money for the important stuff .
I also have24 Clever Garden Problem - Solvers here .
Frugal Garden Hacks
When you have the frugal cistron , running to the store to buy something to figure out a unproblematic problem is absolutely the last resort . I love the challenge of solving a trouble only using the resources on hand . And , if not from home , then bartered or from the penny-pinching store .
These garden hacks are neither brilliant nor original ( I ’m guessing ) because the universe is sprinkled with corresponding - minded masses who have the same job and come up with the same solution . Perhaps one day we ’ll all take flight flag so we can get hold each other .
Despite what decluttering expert say , do keep that kitchen junk drawer stocked with odd bits and bob . The joke is to keep things nicely sort so you’re able to see everything at a glimpse and know just what you have . Between the content of our junk drawer andgood glue , we have save a slew of money ( and barren ) over the years by rectify rather than replacing .
Here ’s some hacks and repurposes for the garden .
Related:5 Smart Garden Uses for This Dollar Store Waste Basket
1Serrated Kitchen Knife Edger
If you like courteous , snappy moulding for your garden beds , it ’s going to take some work . A really keen spade can go a long way , but I also have a secret weapon to complete the job .
Serrated kitchen knife to the rescue!Yes , please do n’t express joy . I ’m very relaxed about garden care except for adjoin . I care thing crisp ! Tidy edges ensnare the garden get even a first-rate - weedy blossom bed look so much better . Not happy with clippers or a spade , I tried using an honest-to-goodness serrate kitchen knife on a whim and never turn back .
Grab a fifth wheel from your kitchen draftsman or piece one up at the thrift store .
Related:12 Smart Tips for Starting a Budget - Friendly Organic Garden
2Bundt Pan Umbrella Table Planter
you may imagine how this one first come about . Some originative someone was plausibly getting the patio ready for an out-of-door party . Everything looked good but that gaping hole where the umbrella fits through the table top was not pleasing .
Bundt pan to the rescue!Well , technically , the one I used is a bounce - form bundt cooking pan , but any pan with a empty middle will do . Just add drain muddle .
These pans are deep enough for works root and perfect as centrepiece . I plant mine with succulent , deliberate never to over - urine since there are no drain holes in the pan .
Related:10 Surprisingly Good Dollar Store happen for Gardeners .
3Wooden Spoon Plant Marker
What ’s the turn one grounds gardeners fall back plants ? I do n’t actually bang . But near the top of the list must be leave what we ’ve plant . It all seems so simple when you put a nice , new plant in the land , but come spring , when the garden is coming back to life after a long winter , it can be hard to name plants as they ’re just emerging from the filth . Plus , there are so many locoweed that look alike !
Wooden spoons to the rescue!Old wooden spoons ( ever burn one ? ) are very useful industrial plant markers in a pinch . Grab anoil - based key pen(they do n’t melt in the sun ) and jot down the name of the plant or get out thecrafting wood - burn off tooland make it fancy . you may always getlonger - permanent , heavy - duty tagslater .
Love garden art plant markers ? See25 Creative DIY Plant Tags & Markersfor all sorts of crafty estimation for mark blossom , fruit , and veggies in the garden .
Related : Give Your Dyson Vac a New Life With This Battery Hack
4DIY Seed Tapes
I would not recommend this for big garden , but if you ’re grow a little veggie or flower garden — either in the earth , containers , or raised bed — you’ve probably had a problem with tiny seeds ( including carrot ) not germinating ( or moving around after sowing ) , you may desire to use homemade seed tapes .
newspaper nappy to the rescue!How does it shape ? You make a flour library paste and sequester the seeds to the table napkin , spacing them out as recommended on the seed packet instructions . The entire thing is imbed , the diaper slowly disintegrates , and the cum germinate justly where you want them .
And , you’re able to make them month forrader of time and store them until you need them .
I ’ve leave unadulterated instruction here : How to Make Seed tapeline for Tiny Seeds .
Related:12 Odd But Useful Garden Tips & Solutions
5Food Jar Mobile Phone Speaker
What in the world?I know some people just want to be unplugged in the garden , and that ’s fine , but if you need your phones handy , this is for you .
Food jars to the saving ! Keep your speech sound safe in a mason or food jar . The glass amplifies the sound — but not too much — so you could hear the medicine but not broadcast it so tacky that it disturbs your neighbors . I attached mine to a mesh solid food skimmer , creating a hold that holds it nicely in position .
6Shovel with Measuring Tape
Each character of plant has its own grow necessary include the recommend distance for spacing seeds ( or transplant ) to allow elbow room for succeeding growth .
Measuring tapeline to the rescue!I did this on a whimsey and it has ended up being a very handy garden puppet .
I did n’t want to mess up my shop assess tape , so I found an old vinyl measure tape measure and attach it to my shovel handgrip usingoutdoor Mod Podge . It ’s very useful . I employ it to space seeded player , monitor the growth ( tiptop ) of new plants , and measure margin for new garden bed .
7Duct Tape Pest Catcher
Pests are inevitable in the garden , and , to be bonny , everything has a office in the food range . What may be a pest to us is often dejeuner for a beneficial insect . One common example is aphid ( pictured ) . They can cover the stem of a plant life and reckon gross , but , give it prison term and the ladybug show up to feed them . I do n’t get laid if this has really been assess , but the estimate is that in their short lifetimes ( one year ) , ladybugs eat approximately 5,000 aphid . fairly good !
My arch - nemesis is Japanese mallet ( Popillia Japonica ) . Because they are an incursive species , we ’re short on predators so hand - pick seems to be my best pick .
Duct tape measure to the rescue!I wrap theduct tape(sticky side out ) around my fingers and brush it up against the beetles . They dumbfound to the tape , making it easy to tap them off into a container of soapy H2O . Without the magnetic tape , they often fall into the garden soil where I ca n’t find them . My stark routine for slay the mallet is here .
8Food Colander Stone Cleaner
It ’s authoritative to keep anywildlife birdfeeder unclouded to deflect the spread of disease .
If you have abirdbathorbutterfly feederwith stones in the catchment basin , this illusion will make cleaning easier .
I keep an old kitchen colander by my garden hose . To clean the feeder , I pour out the stones in the cullender , give them a good rinsing , and wash out the birdfeeder trough . slowly !
Regular cleaning prevents mold and alga from make .
To disinfect , after murder visible rubble with a scrub thicket and saponaceous water , soak in a bleach solution ( 4 teaspoonful bleach per quart of waterfor at least one minute ) . rinsing well and allow to dry out before use .
9Damp Towel Seed Tester
Not trusted if your garden seeds are still viable ? Test them before sowing in soil .
Keep in judgment that some types of seeds take calendar week or even months to shoot ( check your cum packet for details ) , but most germinate within days so it ’s fairly quick to screen viability of the quicker growing ones .
Seethe arrant semen germination test instructions here .
If they do n’t sprout in the require amount of sentence , it ’s best to start refreshing with young seeds .
Here’smore tips on figuring out why seeds wo n’t germinate .
Related : come Starting for beginner
10Binder Clip Plant Tags
This is a good lazy gardener tip .
I do this all the time when I ’m adding new plants from the baby’s room and want a prompt , reliable ticket .
Binder clips to the rescue !
I nip the baby’s room works tag or come mailboat to one of my old alloy flora markers and hold it in place with abinder clipping . The shred stays in place and there ’s no risk of me forgetting what I establish . easily !
Over time , the binder clipping get slimly rust-brown but even with outdoor usance they last for many age .
And that ’s it !
For more tips , see24 Clever Garden Problem - Solvers Using Household Items .
~Melissathe Empress of Dirt ♛
