10 Thrifty Tips

Be creative with your containers

The phrase 'neccesity is the mother of invention' is one that I subscribe to on a daily basis, especially when it comes to my garden.  We are lucky enough these days to be able to buy whatever we want for our gardens, but this can become quite expensive. However, with a little creativity and some thrifty thinking we can save ourselves a lot of money.

Here are 10 Thrifty Tips you can use in your garden:

1. Get creative with containers
Plants and seeds will grow in just about any container. Save margarine tubs, egg boxes, loo rolls and plastic meat trays to fill with compost and sow your seeds into rather than buying plastic cell trays from the garden centre.  For something a little bit different, plant up old pans, metal buckets and wooden boxes to display bedding plants in the summer.

2. Eat more ice lollies
The wooden sticks you get with ice lollies are perfect to use as plant labels.  Once the lolly is finished, rinse off the stick and leave to dry before writing on the name of your plant and putting in position.

3. Create a mini greenhouse
The threat of frost in late spring is always a concern, especially for those with young plants already outside, so some temporary protection is always advisable.  Take a 2 litre plastic bottle and cut it in half, putting each end over your plants and creating a mini greenhouse.  Just remember to remove them during the day if the weather is warm.

4. Look out for free plants
Many magazines and websites will have offers for 'free' plants.  Most of the time you will just have to pay for postage and it could save you a lot of money in the long run.  A website called Plant Offers does all the searching for you and compiles an A-Z list of what is currently available.  The link to the website is http://www.plantoffers.com/az.html

5. Save your old jumpers
Old woollen jumpers make the best liners for hanging baskets.  Find a jumper big enough to fit your hanging basket then cut out the size required - fill with compost and plants and hang.  Remember the thicker the jumper, the more water it will retain to keep your plants looking better for longer.

6. Make holes in your hose
During a hot spell watering can take up a good few hours every day, especially if you are doing it by hand.  To save time and effort, take an old hose and a screwdriver and make holes in the hose every 6 inches along its length.  Then lay it out along borders, veg beds or wherever you need to water, connect to the tap and let the irrigation commence.

7. Get a haircut
If you have problems with rabbits in your garden, there are two good ways to keep them off your plants.  Firstly take a box of matches and chop off the flammable end, then scatter the plain sticks around your plants.  The smell of sulphur from the sticks will keep the rabbits away without harming the soil.  Secondly, each time you have a haircut, gather up all the hair and sprinkle that around around your plants - rabbits hate the smell and should leave your plants alone.

8. Make your own fertiliser
Two of the best organic fertilisers are from nettles and comfrey and are very simple to make.  Take a bucket and pack it as tight as you can with either plant until you cant fit anymore in.  Then fill the bucket with water and leave for around 1 month.  The plants will deteriorate over that time and produce a very rich liquid fertiliser.  Drain off the liquid and dilute 1 part fertiliser with 10 parts water before use.

9. Dig out your old cassette tapes
Take the tape out of your old cassettes and videos and use it to help tie plants to supports.  Its strong and durable and will last longer that traditional garden twine whilst being soft enough not to damage the plant.

10. Get slugs drunk
Slugs are a menace in any garden and whilst traditional slug pellets are effective, they can also be eaten by birds.  One of the best ways to get rid of slugs is to set up a beer trap.  Slugs love dark, wet places and the smell of beer.  Take a margarine tub and dig it into the garden so that the top of the tub is flush with the ground.  Fill it half full with beer and cover with a stone, allowing a small gap so slugs can get it. The slugs wont be able to resist.