gardening on the cheap

Have you ever seen an idea or product on TV or in a magazine that looks cool, but you aren't quite sure you want to buy it due to price (this happens to me alot). Well this happened to me again with this product. One day while shopping at our towns big box store I manage some how to place one of these things in my shopping cart. Then as I started placing my items on the checkout belt I began wondering "do I really need this? can I make this myself?" Suddenly the cashier said she wanted one too, but thought she could make a homemade one-I totally agreed with her-and right then and there I decided to save myself 9.99! (thanks Ms. Cashier wherever you are :) A couple of weekends later I got a bucket with drilled holes in it, placed some torn newspaper in the bottom, and with a green plant plastic tie anchored the tomato plant to the bucket, added soil-

and there it is my homemade tomato planter! Not to pretty but cheap, I wonder if its going to work, we'll see.

Another thing I've being doing for my gardening is just keeping a simple compost bin outside on my deck. Actually I started doing this last summer. I just got a big container drilled holes in it, then placed leaves, torn newspapers, soil and compost (that I purchased), and then some veggie scraps. I did add a couple of worms in it last summer, but I think I need some more (I don't believe those worms from last summer made it through our terribly cold winter). I try not to overload the bin with too much stuff because it can easily get out of control-especially since I have such a small space in the first place. I use veggie scraps only-nothing else (adding meat and dairy scraps lends to the possibility of attracting unwanted creatures-yikes!)

A new thing for us this year on the gardening scene is that our family is participating in a community garden. We purchased a garden area from a local farm and we are currently working hard to get things planted out there. Its fun, but also intense at times (like trying to till clay like soil with weeds growing everywhere). I'm so excited about this project and even the hard work it entails. So this is the summer of growing-in many ways.

(please share any frugal gardening tips you have, that would be great)


(small compost bin)