Gardening SRO ..sudden realization of the obvious. ..to save money

I think we all try to save money by using our brains to hack a cheaper but effective duplicate of specialty items. I don't much care for the term hack but it lends itself to this little blurb..

I've messed about with sèed and seed catalogue storage /filing.

This year I got a fat binder , 3 hole punched the catalogues and stored them in the binder because there are so many great tips in these publications that I want to save them. Until next year's new publication arrives.

Then I thought those clear sleeves would be great for the seed packets. So I added several.

Then the binder was bottom fat after seed packets filled up the bottom of the sleeves and then the binder wouldn't sit nicely.

So.. I slit the clear protector horizontally halfway down, just the top and cellotaped the bottom of the top slit. Now I have a two tier set of pockets. Cheap!!!

Now if I could find a cheap flame thrower.... just been shoveling again... and it is 17f and I'll have to shovel again before midnight... anyone else got a hack to share?

 

Nice one!
I use the obvious toilet rolls for early-sown peas and beans, using mushroom plastic cartons to hold them (11-12 filled rolls per 500g carton)
The brown flat-mushroom trays hold 3 small pots, and so are used for the young chilli plants...

Bedding-plant trays (the 10 large plugs, with loop handle) are used for all my chilli sowing. 2 seeds per plug, 5 plugs per variety. Which normally gives me 10 plants per variety (weaker seedling is eased out, and put in a second plug). Spare plants are then sold at church to raise money for refugee ministry, with growing instructions. I got lots of people excited about chilli-growing last year!

I do a lot of patchwork, cutting out the good fabric from worn shirts, jeans, sheets, etc. The worn/thin/torn fabric, plus any seams, gets layered on the compost heap (experience shows that jean waistbands take more than 3 cycles to rot, so now go in rubbish bin). It all helps!

I'm sure there are other things I do, but can't think just now..

 

I keep any empty snail shells I find in the garden; they make effective and rather decorative cane toppers.

The orange plastic ball currently floating in the garden pond to stop it freezing right over was a freebie - found abandoned in the park down the road.

Those lightweight plastic stacking trays used to deliver lettuces and other veg to caterers are handy for lots of things, if you can scrounge some. I use some for storing stuff in the shed, others for housing trays and pots of plants in the mini-greenhouse.

Some of the plastic trays in which packs of chicken drumsticks, etc, are sold make good sturdy seed trays, with a few holes poked through the bottom.

 

KFC & McDonalds coffee cups are just right for Peas& Beans.

 

Ooh I'm liking this thread! My grandma has always used those big yoghurt pots as plant pots since I can remember, and those plastic pots you get hummus in as plant pot trays to stop water going everywhere.

 

I went to pick up a friend of mine who was getting released from the hospital and while I was waiting for them to discharge him, I kept eyeing his IV bag. So I talked the nurse into cutting off the pointy bits and the bag that had contained the morphine so I had the rest of the set up - just the saline bag, lines, the little roller thing to adjust flow. Should have seen the weird looks I was getting I've slit an opening near the top of the bag and I'm going to add a heavy mix of fertilizer to make a "mini" fertilizer drip for my capillary system

 

All you need now is a defibrillator to resus. any plants that may seem a bit near death!

 

I buy a pack of plastic "pint" cartons . Drill a few drainage holes in the bottom , and they are perfect for my sweet pea planting . I double plant sweet-peas , and the pint cartons are big enough and deep enough to give a very good root run They wash easily at the end of season , so prob get three uses from them .

 

From Morrisons, I buy the spare flower buckets that they tape together. They are supposed to be 8 for 99p, but frequently there are 10 in the set. Stick a heavy duty soldering iron through the base a few times for drainage and they make good robust pots. A lot cheaper than individual pots and less brittle.

 

Anyone out there who feeds their dogs with trays of meat....just thought they would make ideal seed trays! We use 1 tray a day so can soon add up to a good supply.

 

Another idea....I’ve saved a few foaming pump dispensers... thought it would be handy to use when wanting to use washing up liquid foam to kill off greenfly etc (instead of using killer sprays). Easy to just keep some soapy liquid in and pump the foam directly onto the plant instead of having to whip up the suds in a bowl etc

 

Yes, @Snorky85 I too save bottles - particularly the spray bottles. Good for spraying neem oil etc.

 

@CanadianLori What do you use the neem oil for? I heard it STINKS!

 

Aphids. I never noticed a particularly bad smell and if there is one, it doesn't linger. I use spinosad for just about everything else plus some homemade stuff too.

 

Oh I thought I'd read it stank. Some people use it to treat dogs with bad skin conditions and I'd read it absolutely stinks. lol