Comments on: Frugal (patient) Gardening

By: charley

charley — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:18:20 +0000

if you learn what the baby plants look like you may find lots of plants near where you had basil last year.
take any kind of Willow ane cut a small branch into 3/4 inch sticks put them in a pan. cover with water. bring to a boil to sterilize then steep for 1?2 hour. and sit 24 hours. save the water and dispose of the wood. use the water to root things by putting the cutings in it for 24 hours. it works well for me on Roses, blueberries.
blueberries make a very good bush around the house as they are nice in spring ,summer[berries], fall [red]. good in pots on the patio. and free from a friends bush, via cuttings.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:14:40 +0000

I’m going to try this…thanks.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:13:55 +0000

I’m told that you can freeze fresh basil with a bit of water in ice cube trays then bag them for future use. Never actually tried this but plan to.

By: This is What Frugal Looks Like: Kristen from The Frugal Girl — Almost Frugal

This is What Frugal Looks Like: Kristen from The Frugal Girl — Almost Frugal — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:02:58 +0000

[...] Frugal, Patient Gardening [...]

By: hubergal

hubergal — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:41:00 +0000

I grow tons of basil each year, and have found that it is easy to grow new plants from the previous year’s seeds. After the basil plant has flowered, let the blooms become dry and brown. Then, pinch the blooms off and keep them in a cool, dry place (out of the sun) until late winter. Roll the dried blooms (what’s left of them) between your fingers, and the tiny basil seeds will pop right out. I start the seedlings indoors and then transplant them into the soil when the weather is warm enough (I wait until just after Easter). Voila-lots of new FREE basil plants!
Cheers!

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:02:46 +0000

What a great post. This how I always garden. I collect seeds for next year. I take clippings and start them. So many people ask me why I dont just buy the plants!
Well- it would be fun, I suppose to have a perfect garden all at once- but there is something exciting about watching your garden grow…literally!
Year after year it gets better and I feel such satisfaction!
I have friends that do the same thing and its so much fun for us to get together and share seeds and clippings!
I wouldn’t have it any other way !

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:55:07 +0000

You mentioned not having a garden and not much in the way of flower beds, so what are you going to do with your compost?

Use it on your lawn. (A job for your husband, I guess.) Spread it thinly over your grass and it will thank you mightily.

By: Franci

Franci — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:17:20 +0000

I love how I can plant just a few plants in my garden every year around autumn and then see my garden improve every summer. It gets better and more beautiful every year!
I think of it as a summer-to-summer thing, rather than ‘what will I see happening this summer?’

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:59:46 +0000

Tobye – I’m sorry to have to tell you that gardening gloves don’t keep your nails clean. Maybe dishwashing or latex gloves?

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:37:33 +0000

Great post. So interesting because during my No Buy Year I have naturally started some simple gardening and it does indeed take patience. Since I consider myself a very impatient person and think that learning patience is one of my life lessons, I guess I’m on the right track! Your basil looks so pretty.

Also, before I joined the Compact, when I would look through catalogs I’d mark the page when I saw something I liked. That way I’d have to go back to it if I wanted to order it, and I usually forgot about it instead. It was a small exercise in patience not to call in the order right away.