Be Silly. Be honest. Be kind.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Trash to Treasure Gardening
by Anita Sands Hernandez
Contributed by www.Frugal-moms.com Inc.
Many of my garden features came out of the trash. My wood
edging (for raised beds) came as throw away lumber, from
alleys. My mower, shovels, trowels, clippers, wheelbarrow
are mostly from families who moved out, left 'em in front
of house! When families move, catch them as they're
packing. Ask what they're selling. They'll usually give it
to you.
Boulders and saplings are straight from the countryside. I
get mutt peaches, then graft in the branches of my pals'
hybrid peaches. Bricks are frequently left out on curb.
You knock on door, ask if they're throwing them away. Drag
them home in the trunk, Wet them, chisel off cement. In
nature you find many rocks, plants, wildflowers. Walk dogs
at night, you'll see cuttings and seed pods galore. Other
gardeners will give you seeds and cuttings.
If you're on the Internet, any garden, homesteaders,
self-sufficiency or frugality list or posting board will
make you friends. You'll get four dozen daily email
letters which were posted to the board. You get the entire
bulletin board daily. Soon you'll not only have dozens of
friends, you'll have seeds and cuttings coming daily in
the mail.
Free Information
If you need information on any of the above. Go to small,
private nurseries to ask questions. Also, the internet has
boards, chat groups, websites. Always volunteer to trade
plants for info. Tell nursery men or internet pals that
you have some wonderful Amazonian daturas, would they
likeone for their kindness? Ask them to stop by your
garden and pick it up. Daturas are easy to root from
clippings, so you can always have a dozen on hand. It's
something I wouldn't want to plant more than ONE of in the
ground. A hallucinogenic tree with a huge showy trumpet
flower. Or get a chorus line of Prideof Madeiras, cuttings
and seeds. Exotic stuff to share.
Start Collecting Your Own Seeds
Never deadhead ALL the flowers! I am currently mailing
eugenia seeds and canna lilly seed abroad. I also let my
calla lillies go to seed, a beautiful process. Cut away
the wilted white flower, leaving the yellow pistil which
develops a bunch of huge green grape-like seeds, which
turn bright red. They are just as pretty as the flowers.
Maybe prettier. And lavendar cuttings are everywhere.
EVERY kind of cutting is everywhere. Get exotic stuff and
trade it for info. The best source of all is the local
gardener from your newspaper. These people are
encyclopedic and will trot to a new garden at the drop of
a glove. Let marigolds go to seed, zinnias. I have those
florists' sunflowers which have many medium flowers on a
Xmas tree shaped tree. Each year take seed heads from the
best colors, before the birds finish 'em. I notice even
finches can eat those seeds! I grow decorative gourds. I
use good carnuba furniture wax on them so they last for
years. The week before Thanksgiving, people in supermarket
parking lot buy them all in an hour! (A reason to save
plastic bags!) Every year pick the best gourds and don't
wax, just dry them, to get seed for the coming Spring.
Free Gardening Magazines
Check out the mag stand. Read for an hour. Requires
photographic memory. The important things DO stick. Or
take notes on your cuff. That is where I learned that
brick pieces no bigger than 3 x 4 wereuseful, that now the
country look has flagstone walks with one flat flagstone
or cement square surrounded by dozens of those brick
pieces, embedded to be level. It's a great look. Be sure
to check out the library as well.
Free Potted Plants
FLORISTS and sometimes NURSERIES have dumpsters behind
their back door full of treasures. Florists have orchids,
hydrangas, holly, Spring bulbs, chrysthanthemums, pots of
soil with dried up plants, yards of tulle, ribbons and
organza from weddings, baskets, spray paint, all this
costly treasure stuffed in their trash dumpsters Sunday
night. Ferns, ivies. You create a shade lath or tent or
shade cloth covered area to revive them, a year later
they're primo once again and inbloom. Why pay 59$ for a
roll of shade cloth? Try wedding tulle!
No Waste
Half the battle in gardening is to tolerate NO WASTE.
Pouring money on a garden is not necessary, so that's the
primary waste most gardeners do. But also consider space
as a resource. There should be NO WASTED SPACE. Lawn is
wasted space. If you use it sit or walk on, leave yourself
a 6 foot square piece somewhere, put a chair or two on it.
That's all the lawn anyone reasonably needs. If the kids
want to play baseball, send 'em to local park. Cheaper on
the windows. If the dog wants to run, take him to the Bark
Park or run him at night when you do cuttings patrol. YOU
ARE GOING TO GROW GROCERIES on what was your lawn. Serious
business. Lawn is frivolous. And any bare corners you
haven't gotten to yet, just is laziness.
Get busy on those bare corners. Even in summer, we can
soak the soil deep one day, let it drain the next, then
dig at dawn or dusk, when you won't risk a stroke. Add
your amendments. Move in those seedlings from the lanai,
that are big enough to not be vulnerable to the heat, and
stretch shade cloth over entire garden. Young plants
cannot tolerate summer. Even summer plants like tomato or
zinnia.
Lawn clippings in the green trash can are an abomination.
They can be rotted down into new plants or soil, so why
let the city use them to make compost so they can sell
your own garbage back to you? LAWN CLIPPINGS is your new
religion. It is predicated on preventing HELL happening.
If you've ever seen the exhausted, thin, parched soil
under an old lawn, you'd know what HELL we're talking
about. To prevent your neighbors sinning and driving fine
SOIL to Hell pick up their green trash can's contents,
compost it along with your own yard clippings. The
resulting mulch will be spread thickly on your new garden.
Maybe you can't save the soil under their lawn, but since
they so badly want to export their tilth, take it!
Free seed vs. Wasted Seed
Didn't the bible say 'Spill it not?' Most people have
jars, cans and bottles and baskets full of seeds from last
year. Also, their garden gave them unmanageable amounts of
seed. These all surprisingly will plant up just fine.
Forget the concept of hybrid varieties that can't
replicate. As only the SPECIAL zinnia was in their yard,
it's likely that the children are SPECIALS, too. As for
outdated seed packages....They tell you that the
germination rate of 2 year old seed is slightly less than
fresh but if 9 out of l0 is now 8 out of ten, it's not a
deal breaker. Won't put your nose out of joint. Ask pals,
neighbors, and internet garden club chums to do seed
exchanges with you. Surf over to Liszt.com and pick some
gardening lists.
