from Waste Free Kitchen Handbook

Egg dye: 

• Boil 1 cup of water with vegetable matter. 
• Simmer covered 15-30 min. 
• Strain liquid, add 1 TB white vinegar. 
• Put eggs in and let soak for 30 min.

Colors: 

• 1 cup purple cabbage makes pale blue
• 1 cup red onion skin makes purple
• 1 cup yellow onion skin makes orange/gold
• 1 bag red zinger tea makes purple
• 1 cup shredded beet makes pink or red
• 2 TB ground turmeric makes yellow

Stone Pit Syrup (nectarine, peach, plum, etc):

• Boil 2 cups water 
• add 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup fruit pits
• Let cool, keeps in fridge up to 3 weeks

from You Grow Girl

Stick tools into a bucket of oil mixed with sand to clean and sharpen them

Fluorescent shoplights suspended on chains work great for seedlings. Baby plants do fine in the cool light or use one cool and one warm bulb for full spectrum

When sowing seed flats, press soil down with the bottom of another container

Sterilize your garden cutters in bleach 1:3 water

Soak clay pots for cleaning in bleach 1:10 water

Geranium herbal insecticide against leaf hoppers

Wait to set pepper plants out until nights stay reliably above 55°

Spray pepper plants and tomatoes with epsom salts dissolved in water for the magnesium, it prevents early blossom drop

Sorrel likes to stay moist. Try new varieties: 'rhubarb pie', 'silver shield' or French type

Stevia hates wet feet- dump its saucer promptly or don't use one

Lemon balm likes rich soil in part shade. Move mine?

Grow jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke) in container for the flowers, harvest for the root after frost

Grow calendula use the petals as substitute for saffron in rice and other dishes

Use a fine strainer to separate seed from its chaff

from Garden Open Today 

Miniature Daffodils do best in good drainage- plant on a slope. 

Rhododendrons do fine dug and transplanted even at mature size- if affordable, don't hestiate to buy a large one. 

Grow Morning Glories where the sun does not reach them until afternoon. They flower longer. 

Best way to grow lots of lilies: buy Lily bulbs, plant them and let flower, collect the seed and plant immediately when ripe into trays. Bring into cool room for winter. Next spring prick out the young plants and move into individual pots. Plant out into the yard following spring. 

Float Water Lilies in a bowl indoors: drop hot wax into the center of the flower when it is just placed, and the petals will stay open instead of wilting soon. 

Save Fish in a pond from getting eaten by herons and raccoons by giving them a refuge. Let a drainpipe lie on the bottom and they will hide in it from the predators. 

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