Now that Spring is officially here, I am excited for one of my favorite hobbies which is gardening. To begin with I have found some tips for composting and what you can compost around the house. Composting is the process where you gather unwanted garbage that you would otherwise send to the dump and let it decompose so that you can use it as fertilizer in your garden. The link to the page is 100-things-you-can-compost. I honestly did not know that tampons, latex condoms, latex balloons, or the contents of your vacuum cleaner can all be composted. If you are an avid gardener or are just starting out, this article is a must read for anyone interested in composting - if nothing else, this how much money you will save on fertilizer simply from throwing your garbage into a separate bin.
Something else to consider if you live in a limited area is container gardening. Something like this:
Something else to consider if you live in a limited area is container gardening. Something like this:
This is perfect if you don't have a big yard/garden.
The verticle or hanging garden can be built out of pvc gutters and this site hanging-gutter-garden shows you how along with everything you will need to build it. Wooden pallets can be used to build raised garden beds as well as cinder blocks. A perk of raised garden beds is that weeds are less likely to overtake your garden which has been my downfall the past couple of years. This site 20-creative-ways-pallets-in-your-garden/ shows your some really awesome ways to use pallets in your garden and for cinder block gardening, have a look at this:
If you would rather, you can always stick with potted plants for your garden but you can also go DIY with that and use old containers as pots. Coffee cans, milk jugs, juice containers, yogurt cups, and pretty much everything else that holds a liquid substance can be used to grow plants (just remember to poke a couple holes for water).
- Another tip is to use hay underneath pumpkins, squash, and melons to keep them from rotting when they touch the soil.
- Pine needles can be used as mulch in a garden as nothing can grow through it.
- Pine cones and/or packing peanuts can be used to fill the bottom of large pots to cut the weight and improve drainage.
- Baking soda can be placed around the outside of your garden because nothing will grow in it which allows you to keep weeds and grass from invading your garden.
- A simple cheap laundry basket can be used to grow potatoes.
- A plastic tote can be used as a compost bin.
- Milk jugs, water bottles, and soda bottles can be used to irrigate plants in your garden if you cut off the bottom and place it upside down in the ground/pot next to your plants so that it drains like a funnel.
- You can plant the top of a pineapple in a pot and another pineapple will grow from it.
- Tomato plants can be grown in garbage bags.
- Vinegar can be used to kill your weeds on walkways and around the edge of gardens but don't use it near your plants (and it is better for the environment than Roundup). For in the garden, smother weeds with newspaper.
The best part about gardening is that you have the fruits of your labor, no pun intended, that you can eat later as part of a healthy diet. Strawberries, melons, tomatoes, and so many others are fairly easy to grow in your own backyard so get out there and play in the dirt for a while. At the very least you can say you spent some time outside.
Song of the day: Doctor Who Theme metal version
Movie of the day: The King's Speech
