HOW to Start Gardening Earlier....AND How I harvested my own bean seeds last year!

I have had cabin fever really bad this year!  I couldn’t wait to start my garden and start harvesting veggies! Soooo...last month, I planted 3 pots of string beans, 2 sunflowers, and 3 pots of tomatoes and have had them in my window sill and next to the slider door.  Sadly, the kids have already damaged the tomatoes beyond repair, along with one of the sunflower plants…and I will have to start again.  HOWEVER, my string beans are doing remarkably well.

The beans I used to plant were harvested from last year’s string bean crop.  I didn’t have to go out and buy seeds!  I learned this trick from an amazing book called, “The Forgotten Skills of Self-Sufficiency used by the Mormon Pioneers” by Caleb Warnock. 

According to Mr. Warnock, there are several types of open pollinating plants that you can save your own seed from year after year.  (String beans, potatoes, and lettuce)  Last year, I followed his suggestion of leaving one of my vines untouched and saved the seeds for the next year’s crop.  I was skeptical…but wanted to give it a try.  I let one vine grow beans until they turned a  brown/yellow crunchy type and harvested the dry beans.  I put them into a paper envelope and stored them in a sealed mason jar inside my refrigerator until I couldn’t take the suspense anymore.  Guess what?  They came up!! 

I have 6 successful bean plants in my kitchen that I am looking forward to planting outside when the temperatures warm up enough!

After seeing the 6 beans come up successfully, I decided to give another one of his methods a try…since he gardens YEAR ROUND.  (I loved his book so much; I bought another one of his called, “Backyard Winter Gardening”.)   I took an old GIANT Brita type container, cut off the top, and created what he calls “Cloche”. 

Cloches have been around since approximately 1623 (and they are also called “bell glasses”)…They are used “to help tender plants from the cold and wet during the worst period of the year.”  Originally Cloches were made of glass…but I was scared my kids would break the glass in my SMALL backyard…so I went the 'modern version' with a more durable plastic—thus the GIANT Brita type plastic jar.  I first planted them outside in the beginning of April.  I was so excited to see plants come up.  After a week, I checked them every day.  I was disappointed because they didn’t come up.  BUT…I was persistent and kept watering every couple of days.  I guess being outside in the colder air they just needed a little more time.  Last week, one plant popped up.  I was thrilled…. I became even more thrilled when a 2^nd popped up several days later.  The cloche method officially works!! 

Now, I just need to find another FREE giant water bottle to create more little greenhouse domes!  I want to have the situation he describes…a garden producing in its prime when everyone else is starting to plant!

Give a “Cloche” a try….You’ll have to be patient…but you won’t be sorry!

Happy Pinching Pennies…

P.S.   Just remember when the plant comes up you have to be aware of temperatures.  I have to make sure my plants don't "cook" during the day, by uncovering them.  I put the cloche back on when the sun looks like it is thinking about going down.  (Right now, that is about 5 p.m., but I am sure it will get later as the day lengthens.)

DIY: Thatching your yard on a dime....

How do I know it’s time to start doing some yard work?  I’m not very scientific about it….I was inspired by some workers taking care of a business’ lawn near my children’s school that I pass by every day.  This week, a thatching and mowing crew was out doing their job…and every year this company has BEAUTIFUL grass resembling a green shimmery carpet.  I guess I just took now and was inspired to do a little “thatching” of my own.

I don’t have any special equipment like theirs, so I just started raking the scattered leftover leaves from the fall and bit of dead grass.  It is amazing how much green showed up and how much better my yard looked.  I had only halfway finished the front yard when my husband came home from work and joined me.  As we worked, my husband suggested that we could look into a thatching blade for our lawn mower that would speed this job up AND do a much more thorough job than our rakes.  I didn’t know such a thing existed!!  (The machines the hired crews use look really fancy and expensive.  And every time there is a thatching fund raiser with the Boy Scouts they usually  ask $50-$100…which is more than I would pay.)  Sooo….my husband went to Lowe’s this weekend and found a thatching blade for $25.  

It has tough REPLACEABLE Nylon Lines...so the tool doesn't have to be purchased over and  over again!!  IF you take the lines out, it is just a "normal" lawn mower blade!! 

I suppose it initially seems a little pricy, but a new blade for a lawn mower costs $20…so only $5 more dollars gets you a new blade AND a thatching device!!  Plus, it does other things besides thatch!


In comparison to hiring a company, taking part in a fundraiser, OR raking until you get blisters and thick calluses…this seemed like the perfect alternative!!  Plus, because our lawn mower has a bag attached to it, the clippings were already bagged for us!  No raking afterwards!  Money well spent: saved time AND money.

It is EASY to install.

1.  Remove your existing mower blade and replace it with the *new* thatching/mowing combo blade.
2.  Make sure your bag is properly attached.  Adjust your height to the desired dimensions.

 

3.  Start your engines...and "mow" your grass like normal...perhaps going a bit slower than usual.

4. Look at all that wonderful GREEN I found underneath all that BROWN!!

Happy Pinching Pennies...

Garden: Increasing your harvest without planting more plants...

Gardening can be a great way to save money!! 

I have a love/hate relationship with gardening where I live.  Our soil is awful and the neighborhood is filled with bugs, so it doesn’t matter how much I spray MY yard….they come back really fast.  However, in our new house (as of the last 2 years) we have had a lot more success gardening than in the previous.  One reason is we have NO huge trees, with massive root systems, invading our dirt.  The other is this product I want to tell you about.

I can’t name one person that wouldn’t like to get more off of just one single plant!!  The first year we tried growing tomatoes here, we had minimal success.  The plant thrived, but I was unhappy with harvest.  After that season was over, I went into the local nursery to ask some questions.  They suggested a “Blossom Set”.   

It is an organic hormone that stimulates the plant to make MORE flowers….therefore more harvest. Last year was my first year using it on our only 2 tomato plants. By mid-summer, our tomato plants resembled a FULL BUSH instead of a plant.

This is SIDVIEW picture of our "bush" last year before the tomatoes ripened....
(I never took a picture of it intending to show its size. I was just in the background of a random picture.)

We harvested SO many tomatoes, especially considering it was only 2 plants.  I became an instant fan!  I didn’t do anything different last year than the year before.  At the specialty “nursery” it was $6.99…which made me croak because I was just “trying” it…but after one full summer of using it and still having a lot left for MORE seasons, I have decided that the product is worth buying.

THIS year, we were on vacation for family reunions during the time that jump started my plants.  When I returned home 2 weeks ago, I started up again.  Spraying once a week, it is has only been 2 ½ weeks, but I can see an increase in flowers on my tomato plants.  In other words, I think it isn’t too late for you to start spraying YOUR plants either.

Easy Instructions:  Spritz flowers weekly.

Happy Stretching pennies….and getting more harvest off your plants!