from Garden Anywhere-
Wine boxes make great planters. Brace the corners, preserved with 3 coats of Danish oil- lets the wood breathe. Drill drain holes.
Old dresser drawers can make planters- preserve, drill, brace, also line with plastic
Oil tins, drill drainage holes around bottom edge, not on the bottom for planters
other planters for herbs- coffee or cookie tins w/holes poked for drainage
Use bags that soil or mulch came in to line a planter box
Grow small succulents in grit in an old wooden cd rack, or line w/plastic and grow herbs/flowers in soil
grow in a plastic bag! just buy bag of compost or potting soil, poke holes in the bottom, grow straight in that- tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, chard, peas, potatoes etc.
Grow potatoes in a huge pot, plastic trash bin or just a bag of soil. Tip out onto a tarp to harvest.
Buy basic potting mix with coir not peat or peat moss (unsustainable). Use perlite, vermiculite to lighten soil if sand use sharp or horticulture sand not play sand (too fine, retains the water) or builder's sand (might have lime)
Grow cilantro, kale, celery, broccoli in winter with a little protection. Use flexible supports and put bubble wrap over to protect and let light in.
Hanging windowboxes dry quickly in the wind, water each day, feed 2x/week
Grow sempivivums and sedums in bricks with holes! mix 2 parts soil, 1 part vermiculite, pack into a hole, insert rosette w/a root, soak brick in tray of water until saturated. Then you only have to water by sloshing over brick when very hot- porous brick breathes and holds enough moisture from rain for the succulents
Put houseplants outside in summer when temps are over 60. Wind makes them stronger. If indoors, move away from a hot window at least 3 feet, light more intense can scorch.
Work with seasons for best results, sprout things in spring (even houseplants) tropicals in early summer
"Grocery store plants"
Papaya- clean the seed, make soil mix 1/3 vermiculite, plant 1/2" deep water and cover w/plastic put in the sun. Repot when you can handle the seedling. Water frequently; if it dries out dies
Mango- from a rotting fruit best. Clean and dry seed, split coat and take out the bean. Plant flat 1" deep cover in plastic bag remove only when seedling is 2" tall. Likes moist, fertile soil and lots of sun.
Citrus- ripe or overripe fruit best. Sow in summer. 2/3 soil, 1/3 crushed gravel good drain w/shards. Cover pot with 2" of grit. Don't let it dry out. Transplant to a 3" pot when you can handle by the leaves. Feed every 2 wk in summer
Avocado- Pot in soil when it has leaves. Put in an 8" pot immediately. When 12" tall prune of top 1/3 to a bud.
Chickpeas- grow for a summer plant. It sets fruit and dies by autumn.
Houseplants need fresh soil every year or so. White chalky deposit on pot rim means overfeeding.
When away, seal plant or just pot in plastic bag- tie around stem. Keeps moisture in. Move out of direct light, but not in darkness. Use plastic bottle waterer- poke holes in a lid, cut bottom off, upend neck in soil fill with water. Gravity waters it slowly.
Organic matter helps roots by maintaing air pockets in soil.
Carrots prefer sandy soil.
Push a straight thin wire into your soil. When it bends (if you haven't hit a rock) you've hit compact soil (hardpan).
To test your soil quality dig 1 spit deep and look for life. 3 worms = good, 5 worms = excellent, 0 worms = bad. 10 or more living things it's doing well! Test with red cabbage. Boil 2 cups chopped red cabbage, let cool. Put 2 TB soil in a cup, fill half with water, stir. Add 3mm cabbage water. If it turns purple/blue = neutral, green/yellow = alkaline, red = acidic.
Weigh your weekly kitchen scraps. For every pound of scraps, 2 pounds of worms will eat it per week.
Leaf mold is best for seedlings. It breaks down by fungi. Shredded ready in 8 mo, whole ready in over a year. Put in plastic bag, poke holes, leave it be.
Spend as much on the hole as you do on the plant, when setting out. Not just money, time and consideration for the right conditions. Put "something helpful" in the bottom of the hole. Perennials- compost. Succulents, lavender- grit for drainage. Seedlings- worm castings.
Tease roots out to encourage them to spread into the soil, otherwise they could keep growing in circles as when confined by the pot. Be brutal to be kind. Trim off some roots, new root hairs grow there. The best tree holes are square.
When planting a new tree, add mycorrhizal fungi not compost or manure (will just rot, or keep the roots "at home"). Fungi help it be an independent tree.
Make plant stakes tight on the stake, loose on the stem with a figure eight tie
When collecting rainwater, add 1 small cup veg oil it will suffocate the mosquito larvae (not hurt the plants)
Slow-release fertilizer is good for pots, containers
Use insecticidal soap in the evening when the good bugs have gone home.
Milk sprayed on foliage discourages mildews.
Slugs hate copper, coffee, sawdust, salt. Use as deterrents. They love beer. Use as traps.
Spider mites like dry conditions. Spray the plant w/water, especially undersides of leaves.
Rosemary and sage good for sore throat. Make a tea 1 TB dry or 2 TB fresh rosemary steep in hot water 5 min, add honey and dash lemon juice. Or boil honey, lemon, garlic, rosemary, sage and hyssop, steep as long as possible. Good for colds.
Soiled hands? rub in sugar and dishsoap paste. Wash off, rub again with sugar and olive oil. Sugar scours off the dirt, oil replenishes your skin.
Make the ground firm around brassicas, not only when planting but also throughout growing season.
for my garden