Dirt CHEAP Tricks for an Abundant Garden 💰
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Don't let inflation give you nightmares. Take charge: Keep calm and carry on gardening!
If only we had a magic wand that could magically make groceries cheaper! Well, we have the next best thing - Ben's top money saving tips for an abundant garden! With over 20 tried and tested inflation-busting tips and tricks, you can cut your grocery store bill while getting healthier food for next to nothing.
Sound good?
Binge watch these videos! Swat up and get more bang for your buck!
🌱 X 🤓 = 💰💰💰
Did somebody say raspberries and blueberries?! Yum! (Bat your eyelids at your fruit bush friends!) For our video on that, see this link:
For • Grow Healthy Berries F...
Want to 10X your plants? See this video:
• Budget Busting Plants:...
For more on how to maximise and multiply grocery-bought herbs see: • Grow Endless Herbs!
Or to create your own herb garden, go to: • DIY Easy Herb Garden f...
Protect your plants with a quick and easy cold frame or hoop house:
• 3 Thrifty Ways To Keep...
Want more compost and soil for free? Check out how to collect and use leaves in your garden:
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...and how to use your kitchen and household waste to build soil: • Nature Builds Soil Thi...
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I haven’t even started gardening properly yet
But I’m getting so much info from you
Your passion is infectious
Thanks so much. Hope you get started soon. 😄
If using paper pots or loo roll inners, make sure all of the paper/card is buried at planting time, the paper/card can wick water away from the plants into the air quite quickly. If you cannot get all of it planted then cut it off so it is below soil level...Steve...😃
Thank you!! Must trim mine back from my sunflowers tomorrow!!!
Good advice, many thanks.
Good morning Ben, I have to smile at the similarities between our places. I am a country and an ocean away but a similar latitude. I was noticing all of your foliage in the back ground and you could easily be in my back yard. My Star Magnolia is right at the same stage as yours. I also have a Rosie helper, except she is black....and a cat :-). I always enjoy your videos and I too am always looking for a way to save $$ to accommodate my gardening habit. I am lucky to have a lot of Big Leaf Maple that give me loads of leaves for composting and mulching. Thankfully, I have yet to expose too many of my tenders from their winter leaf blanket, because we are getting an unseasonably late, cold spell this weekend, and we are even supposed to have an accumulation of snow tomorrow. This is on the heels of 72 degrees a couple of days ago :-( Spring..... Happy gardening!
Wow! Are you in the PNW? We are having the same weather!
Hi Valerie. Sounds like you might be in my old stomping ground of Portland, OR? Or somewhere in the PNW anyhow. Great to hear you are of the same mindset and your garden is at a similar stage. I hope it shakes off the late cold snap ok. Happy gardening!
@@GrowVeg I am! Bizarre weather here, this year! We just got snow in mid April! I think most of my plants are ok, but a lot of trees broke, and paralyzed the region...
@@GrowVeg I am in the PNW all right but the furthest north of the next state up. I am in NW Washington. Spring has been all over the place so far, so I am exercising patience and so far have put very little in the actual ground. I am very excited to see that all of my fruit trees and berry bushes that I planted last fall are all coming to life. We had a big heavy snow early in the winter that bashed down a lot of plants. Portland is a great place and that is interesting that you spent time there. Happy planting to you too!
@@lindajauron-mills3109 I am - Upper Left - AKA NW Washington.
So many great ideas!
Any issues using old galvanized containers as pots?
Galvanized containers are fine 👍
I was just wondering if I could use leftover curtain fabric to protect my plants instead of buying special horticultural mesh, so this is perfect timing. You said 'net curtains', does it have to be plastic or would any fabric do? My leftovers are from cotton voile curtains. They would let in the light for sure but I'm worried it might be too fragile, or birds might be able to pick it apart. The pigeons & magpies in my garden don't kid around!
If the fabric is too closely woven it can trap moisture and your plants will suffer from mildew and rot...I lost a batch of sprouts this way
They could work, yes. Anything that lets the light and air through, but that keeps the bugs out.
To save money on buying pots i visit my local cemetery where they have a skip to put rubish in so i salvage empty plant pots from itxx
I get old mirrors at the local dump. I use them to reflex light back to shaded plants.
Super idea!
I do this with houseplants
@@justanotherfaceinthecrowd My wife frowns upon my dump collections, so I have to relegate them to the outside. Houseplants probably give you a good effect, as they might make it appear that you have twice as many.
Brilliant!
I don't use potting mix at all. I use cheap compost bags from Aldi or Lidl and just sift it a bit so the larger chunks are not in the way of seeds. Use the larger stuff at the bottom of a pot.
Me too and it works wonderful!
Yes pound shop has brilliant fine compost for £3 for forty litres ideal for seed sowing.
Great idea!
In my experience you don´t even have to close the bottom of toilet rolls if you want to use them as pots; You can also cut or tear them in half if you want to put more shallow rooting seedlings into them. You could also make some larger pots with a folded closed bottom from milk or juice cartons- either from the whole carton for bushes or trees, or from a halved carton. The everlasting, non-recyclable laminate they´re made from is too good to be thrown away after a single use anyway. I´d guess you could even cover a roof with it if you wanted to.
I have some peas on the windowsill currently in toilet rolls with no bottom on 👍🏻. Good for root development and allowing oxygen in
I like folding the bottoms bc it gives me a good excuse to get some peace and quiet in the potting shed.
Made my day, Nils. Have been doing all of these as an 'experiment' on my own! Tried the closed bottom, full toilet rolls last year, but found they grew mold & even mushrooms on the outside. So thought I'd try smaller w/ open bottoms, thumb packing in the starting mix and maybe pot them up once before they go outside. You're a fellow after my own heart. Happy gardening!
Great advice and ideas, thanks Nils.
Ben, I love your videos! There are some great ideas here! Thank you for doing what you are doing…it’s good work!
And thank you for watching.
Love the budget friendly videos with all the hacks and tips! They help a lot when you’re on a tight budget. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Christine
I love the paper pot trick & the toilet tissue roll.
I won't need to buy one.
Another label idea is to use old window blinds.
Window blinds!! I was kicking myself for throwing out my yogurt pots before realizing they'd make nice labels, but I do have an old set of blinds in the basement. Thanks!
@@evage99 old plastic spoons and knives work great too! I would throw them in the dishwasher and new labels.
Plastic window blinds for making labels works much better than metal ones. The metal ones tend to bend and fade.
oh! I love the Princess cup potting mold! Your ideas are fabulous and so needed in this crazy world-is-nuts time. Cherish your warmish weather, coming Wed. night we're looking at 15 F cold, I'm getting a propane heater in my greenhouse just in time. I've got over 600 seedlings in there! Thank you so much for your cheerful videos and wonderful words of encouragement, they are much needed!
You are very welcome - thanks for watching!
Awesome ideas Ben! I use the toilet paper rolls for sowing seeds and then transferring them directly inground. Turned out great. I also use old plastic food containers. Sour cream container is a great size. Used plastic storage bins we weren't using anymore for growing garlic, ginger, and bok choy. Once you start paying attention to what you have around the house, you can save money and it's kinda fun.
Absolutely Shonda. 😃
I've found a good time to stock up on seeds is at the end of the season when stores are trying to get rid of them. I got all my seeds half price at the grocery store last fall hehe
Smart move!
If you have sea close enough, you can find many things like wood, nets or sometimes even pots that you can use in the garden. Also you can collect seaweed to make your own conditioner (just check first if it's legal where you live)
I’m germinating my seeds this year on top of my fish tank, warmest place in the house!
Smart move
I am growing seeds from the mini pepper I bought in Costco. They sprouted quickly compared to the seed packets I bought from the store that doesn't sprout most of the time that I tried every year. I also propagate plants from cuttings for the annuals so I don't have to buy them next growing season. I enjoyed learning more from you in this video. Thank you! ❤️🙏
I'm growing Cherub tomatoes from Sam's!
Likewise, we're growing dried peas bought cheaply from the store for pea shoots for salads and both pumpkin and butternut squash seeds from commercial produce bought for the table. All sprout very well and cost little or nothing extra at all.
@@trockodile That's the way to go! Free seeds and they germinate better. I have a sprouting sunflower. Thinking of planting them to have more seeds for planting and sprouting next season and winter time.
Great job everyone! 😀
After many frustrating experiences with paper (egg carton, newspaper, toilet paper rolls, etc-also peat pots!) I am convinced plastic pots are far better for seed starting and seedlings. Fibrous materials wick water away; well-drained plastic conserves and stabilizes moisture. Yogurt cups, drink cups, etc (with drainage holes added) are free and can be recycled after using a few times. I even bleach between uses, though I have friends who scoff at this extra step.
When I started gardening, I thought I had to buy fresh seed every year, but it's not true. Now I keep my packets dry and cool in ziplock in the fridge and use them for years. There are a few veg varieties that need fresh seed, but most do fine like this. I think one of the ones that prefers fresh seed is onions, or maybe carrots? And my packets are on their second or third year.
I find generally that the smaller the seed, the shorter the shelf life. Having said that, I've just sprouted a hundred+ carrots from seed from 2019! We'll see if the carrots themselves are healthy :)
Yes, from experience onion seed isn’t very long lasting.
I have a plastic bin cabinet I've put in front of a sunny window and taken out every other drawer for my seedings. I turn it clockwise every other day and my seedlings are doing fantastic! I also lined the sides with foil to reflect the sun all around. I wish I could share a picture.
I'm also using food skewers for my morning glories and nasturtiums to climb until I can get them outside. I'm in zone 4a so I still have about a month until it's safe.
But, my cat likes to nibble the nasturtium leaves 😕
Yes I wish you could post a picture also! Is this cabinet made with a number of vertical plastic drawers? I’m thinking of how I can recreate your idea. Would also be good fir me for hardening off!! I’m in Canada in zone 4-5 and still getting -2 Celsius at nights
What a genius idea - love your ingenuity.
Hi, great video, I use tree branches as canes as we often have to trim back a tree for an elderly neighbour, they dont have to be completely straight either. I also have several new ash trees that have grown in my garden, I cut it off when its about 6 foot tall and it re grows again, so I just use those too. Keep up the good work!
Re use old rasberry or thorny bush branches to grow peas and beans up.
Great idea. Raspberry or willow can root if you use them as plant supports, just a word of warning!
Thanks, great video! Can I ask you the type of dog breed you have? That little guy looks so cute! 😍
Of course. She’s a cavapoo
I find all sorts of usable materials in skips and junkshops. Old drainpipes cut in half lengthways to create semi circular planters for peas or strawberries. Any decent wood to build planters, shelves for the greenhouse, jam jars to make nettle tea in and other garden amendments, I found some metre square decking panels in the street last week and used them to build my own compost bin. Its a real buzz finding and reusing materials. I find if I have an idea in my head, in no more than a couple of weeks ive found what i need in the street somewhere - selective perception at work. ;-)
great, I love scouting about for stuff. But having moved a few times recently it really depends on where you live as to what's available and the price of fuel means I can't go too far now to look. I've been looking for some greenhouse shelves for a wile and nearest I could find was a wooden shoe rack for a fiver, I prefer free ;)
Smart repurposing folks!
You're speaking my language. I do at least half of these. Nice to see.
That soil lasagna idea is genius. I most definitely will be implementing it moving forward.
Indeed, the more that prices go up, the more worth it is to grow your own.
Thank you for sharing this video. You always have great information. 😁👍🥰
Great video - going to put some of theses ideas into practise, starting today 🤗🌱 Happy gardening everyone 👍
I always use potting soil mixed with fresh soil and now I'm finally getting a nice compost of cardboard eggshell coffee grounds and grass clippings built up. I love the toilet roll pots idea that will save me some cash. Gardening seems to have taken over My life this year lol every day I find there is something that needs to be done. Great information on this video Thank You! 👍
It can take over. Just don't let the joy of the process escape, keeping things on a smaller scale if you need to.
@@justsayin5609 So True its easy to get caught up in the busy tasks and forget to enjoy it. Thanks for the reminder :)
It's Spring! I always end up carried away in Spring :)
i live in an apartment building and i only grow flowers but still enjoy all of your videos!
Lots of flowers are edible... info on Utube. Cheers.
Thanks so much!
The alton brown of gardening.
Thanks for all the great ideas!
Alder trees grow like weeds here (Pacific Northwest/USA) and we use saplings as garden supports for everything from wisteria to garden hoses. For pole beans, I pound in 10' lengths of old well pipe (galvanized steel or iron, depending on the source of the pipe), stick an eyebolt in the open top of the pipe, and tie baling strings on to make a teepee for bean vines.
We are also starting a seed library here (I'm a librarian) and soon neighbors will be able to "check out" seeds to plant and grow, with the hope that they will save seed to donate back. Since nearly every gardener I know has unused seed in a box somewhere, we are getting plenty of donations.
Wow, love that community seed library idea, so great!
Brilliant idea!
I grow all my seedlings in yoghurt pots. I started vermicomposting as well and it works great for my growing plants, they love it !
did you buy your worms? They are very expensive where I live costing almost 40 euros for 1 kilogram of these worms. I was thinking of finding a way of collecting some of the worms my little garden has.
@@begadmorsi7041 I collected the worms from a manure heap along the road, I never bought any. These red worms are excellent eaters ! I now have three big plastic containers full of them and I feed them every week. The UA-cam chanel of « AV » helped me a lot to start my bins. I now just put a lot of damp cardboard, pulverized egg shells ( I use a pastry roll to do so) and a bit of food that would otherwise have gone to my compost heap in the garden.
I have been doing this for four years now. I put the containers in my cellar because here ( I live in the Jura mountains in France ) the temperature outside can go far away below 0°C ( this year we had -18°C !). They are comfortable as long as they have food and moisture.
You can also find those red worms at the bottom of your compost heap in May or June. At the time mine was destroyed by boars…
@@valm7192 this is very interesting. Thank you so much!
Yet ANOTHER great video. Thank you.
Great video Ben. I have a small garden, but just put in another compost bin. The home made compost is far superior. Look forward to next video on saving my gardening budget 👍😁
I don’t buy potting mix. Instead I use multi purpose compost for everything including sowing seeds. I just break it up with my fingers and so far, everything has germinated! I’ll reuse old multipurpose for seeds too. I mulch using my own made compost
Very thrifty. 😎👍
I would insist on the princess fairy cup, actually! ;) Thank you for another great video. So much wonderful advice here. That's such a great idea about packing the bottom of pots with something other than potting soil. And yes to getting creative about pots! I've used broken buckets as pots and they've worked beautifully. The cracks along the bottom provided excellent drainage. One time, I came across people throwing away a bunch of plastic boxes that were used in offices. They were very happy for me to take them away. I got about fifteen new pots for free and only had to drill drainage holes. They won't last forever since they weren't made for outdoor use. But at least I can get a few years' use out of them, and won't have to buy new pots in the meantime. Thank you again and I'm going to check out the hoop cage video - never thought about making my own before! :)
You're very welcome - thanks for watching. :-)
I’m using bougainvillea canes as supports this year. Will see how they do.
We have a very active curbside recycling program in our area. Putting pride aside, I have collected a lifetime supply of plant pots from the neighbours 'blue bins' that plastics gets sorted into. You sure learn who the 'amateur' (money wasting cheaters....lol) are! Best tip here? Filling bottom of containers with organic debris. For the past couple of years I've done pretty well in containers out of necessity, and with a little effort this will save quit a few dollars! Thanks Ben. A big hug from southern Ontario, Canada 🙋♀💌
Cheers for the big hug! 😃
Yes yes! Absolutely appreciate frugal tips! The prices are getting out of hand!
I had several old plastic trash cans leftover from renters, so I cut them in half and used the half’s as planters. Once the plants start growing you can’t even tell the difference. 😁
I use old garbage cans for my composting
Do you have a discord server for people to swap tips and show off their garden or plants etc?
Sadly not Tony, but that’s a great idea
@@GrowVeg it’s really easy to set up and if you need a hand creating the boards and pages. I’ll be happy to lend a hand
Great examples Ben. I do theses with my favorites. It's how I got some of my amaranth seeds for this season. I decided to just plant fresh pepper seeds from the store bought ones, and tasa, too many plants. The toilet paper pots are great, especially for tomatoes and beans.
Thank you, Ben! I was looking into gardening but saw it was so expensive, so I didn't bother. But now your tips helped and I'm going to start planting this spring!
That's really great to hear Heather!
I’ve got a fabulous basically free fertilizer recipe called fermented plant juice. Early in the morning when the plants outside are expressing their dew, go cut the tips of vigorous growing grasses and weeds in your yard. Collect at least a packed cups worth. Next you’re going to massage the same amount per volume of brown sugar into the tips of your plants. Keep this in a glass jar with a breathable lid on top like a paper towel or cheese cloth with a rubber band securing it. You’re going to leave this to sit on your counter for seven days, stirring once per day. It’s going to make a syrup, kind of like putting sugar on cut strawberries. After the seven days, you’re going to strain the solids out and reserve the liquid as your fertilizer. If there’s not enough liquid, you can add a little bit of water and stir well before straining the solids. Store in your fridge and use 1-2 teaspoons per gallon of water. The tips of vigorous growing plants and weeds in your yard have a lot of growth hormones when you collect them at the time they’re expressing dew. Dandelions are a great choice but collect a variety of all that grows vigorous and natural. Weeds with especially long taproots are a great choice. This will have pretty much all the nutrients and micro nutrients you need. I’ve had great success with this!
What a great piece of advice, thanks so much!
Perfect timing Ben. We all like to save a few pounds where we can. I recently purchased 80 hawthorn hedging plants and managed to take over 100 cuttings. That means some free hedging for me and next year there will be even more when I prune them.
Boy am I dumb! Trimmed a box hedge and boxed up the trimmings to put out for recycle. Still might be able to rescue a few cuttings to fill in a bare spot. Clearly I still have a few things to learn..lol. Thanks!
@@justsayin5609 It is a learning curve for us all and we all start somewhere. I have made lots of mistakes and still do :)
Genius thinking. 😀
I just started my first veggie garden plot and I have been saving the cooled down water from boiling veg to use on my plot. Spuds are enjoying it!
I bet they love it. 😃
Herbicide sprayed pastures yield killing chefs to the garden. No wonder so many of my efforts failed.
We use £1 buckets with holes drilled in as a cheap large pot (for potatoes, tomatoes, etc) as they're much more resilient than a lot of bigger flower pots and they're a fraction of the price. Our current ones are from B&Q, but we've loads from years past that are still going strong. A single bucket of potatoes is enough for a meal for 2 and can be left in the bucket all winter if needs be, so no hassles with storage, and harvested by simply tipping it into a wheelbarrow, pick up your spuds and wheel the compost off to a bed that's needing a top up.
Genius. What a clever, frugal solution.
I only have two window sills I can use to start seeds off but it works. I use empty mushroom boxes as bases to put small pots in (would also fit home made ones!) and the clear berry pots which are great. I like the protection idea using sticks, bottles and net! Love these videos Ben, many thanks!
Thanks Christina. Sounds like your windowsills are very productive.
I always start all my seeds that need warmth on the lids of my tropical fish tanks, inside they are around 24°c so the top is around 18/20°c so just right.
Thanks so much for the video!
Outstanding video, Ben. Thank you again for your excellent content. DA
Great! Thanks and looking forward
I have enjoyed watching your videos to get inspired to build my garden. I may not be the most patient but I really want to propagate from cuttings. Thank you for you relaxing and educational videos!
I repurpose my magnetic door net using it to either create shade or to attach it to the front of my mini greenhouse 😉😁🌱☀️
Great idea!
So many useful tips! I stopped using loo rolls for pots because I found that some of them grew some rather revolting moulds after a few weeks, no idea if said moulds would be toxic but as most of what I grow gets eaten I didn’t want to take any chances. Yoghurt pots and similar are great and can be used again and again. For the last few years I have used the stems of sunflowers to make pea frames for the next year, they don’t last as long as proper canes but as we grow sunflowers every year we have a continuing supply. Some are odd shapes but I think that they look good with peas and beans climbing up. First lots of peas are growing in cut in half lengths of guttering, a new technique to me for this year but the little plants are thriving, apparently one just slides the contents of the guttering into a prepared trench and, by magic, a row of peas is born (I know that it isn’t really magic but like the idea of a ready planted, growing row) 😁
Love the idea of using sunflower stems - another reason to grow them, if one was needed!
Simple Brilliance!
Thank you. Helpful and succinct.
Lol. I save all toilet paper and paper towel rolls. I not only use them for planting starts but also save all dryer lint to put into the rolls, cut the rolls in1/3’s or 1/2, add dryer lint,melt wax and dribble over them. Voilà fire starters.
I save a fortune on garden supplies by going to our local car boot sale - and it's a social event to meet up with a friend. There's a lovely, very green-fingered lady who sells very healthy plants, often for just 30p or 50p. I get a lot of supplies for a lot less than in the shops; netting, pots, one stall was selling a wide variety of seeds with long dates for 3 for £1, also a good find was a Spear & Jackson spade for £7 that just needed a good clean. Medium sized ceramic pots are usually £2 to £3.
love a car boot sale although I will never forget the time I bought a money plant for 50p and it had vine weevil and it killed all the rest of my house plants. I went to one last week specifically looking for garden stuff and unfortunately there was nothing, so need to keep searching.
What a fab way to source gardening items.
I recently bought basil 🌿 from the supermarket, now I have at least 12 pots of plants👍🤓excellent tips once again.🌿🥦🥕👍
I bought my first basil plant 16 years ago and have continually propagated new generations.. I make 2 dishes per week using basil as the star of the dish. One is pesto on sourdough and the other is pesto over spaghetti .G'day from Australia. 🦘🐾🐨
Great job both of you! Can never have too much basil!
when I needed to fill some beds with better soil and I didn't have the money, I initially asked if they made compost and no, they didn't they sold bags of commercial. So, then I asked them if they had any spent potting soil that they woudn't reuse I could have and they let me go out where they dumped some mums and other stuff. So I filled a 40 gallon plastic horse trough and I had a cow mineral feeder tub probably 30 pounds and I filled that up. Which was really nice of them to do that. It was kinda funny, I was in back of the greenhouse at the end of the parking and this lady thought I worked there and asked me if there was a butterfly bush anywhere. I looked like I worked there I had my shovel and my wheelbarrow, so I thought I can help her find this bush. I owe the greenhouse at least that.
Great to have found all that lovely potting soil. :-)
I've just learned that coffee roasters generate heaps of 'chaff' and hessian/burlap bags - which they're often more than happy to give away as it saves them the disposal cost. The chaff is ridiculously light but is great in compost bins and I'm using the bags under wood chips as an added weed suppressor.
Brilliant tip Anderson, thanks!
I've started using those bags to grow potatoes in.
May only last a season but they are free.
Have planted onions in one and will see what happens.
You can have them standing up , and then rolled down to the height you want or laid down , filled with compost, cut into like a tomato grow bag. Seems to work.
I will 100% be growing bamboo in my future dream garden. What a great idea!
I have young shoots trying to take over my back yard but that's Good I will relocate them and let them grow. can never have too many bamboo plant stakes.
Yea I heard they can take over but I guess it depends
with the toilet tube pots, you can unfold the bottom before planting to help roots grow
Or don't bother folding them at all. I keep them upright in a foil roast pan, water from the bottom and 'thumb pack' them firmly before planting the seeds.
I am using the paper sacks my flour and sugar come in for some larger plants I can't set out just yet...crazy cold snap. I just rolled down the top a bit and put potting soil in popped in the plants. They are holding up well so far. Anything that is going into the trash or recycling box gets scrutinized for how it can be repurposed. Some commercial baking sheets that we picked up at the thrift shop and discovered too late won't fit our oven are now my plant trays. One liter plastic bottles with a side removed are serving as propagating containers when laid on my heat mat. I put the cut out part over the opening and will cut out the end and scoot out the seedlings. Reusing large zip close bags to hold a few yogurt containers each on the heat mat for propagating as well. They will be cleaned and dried and used again. I also wad up some newspaper to make a plug in the bottom of the toilet paper tube rather than cut and fold.
I love your resourcefulness Jolene. Good effort!
It never occurred for me to grow my own bamboo in (Denver, CO z5b) instead of always buying it. Something new for me to plan for in 2023 - thanks!
Even the price of soil has skyrocketed.
Wonderful info. I'm growing Comfrey for the first time this year to use as fertilizer!
Hello there
Great to hear - it’s a superb plant for homegrown fertiliser.
Great tips, thank you 👍💚🌱
I usually go to the wood behind our house. There i can find beech leafs for my compost or mulching. When a tree was cut down, there are lot's of twigs i can use for trellis. 😊
But i got a point when i watched the hamsters. This green wheal could crack their legs.
Thanks a lot for your great presentation!
There are lots of fenomenal ideas of free pots... Please more!
Have a great day!
Great ideas!
I use maple saplings for plant supports. We have the helicopters from the maple trees falling and I won't pull out all of the seedlings this summer. I will leave a few to get next spring when they are around 6-8 feet tall. I leave some to grow on for walking sticks also.
fantastic channel
we have guinea pigs didn't think of that, also we have chickens and we are going to use their soil for the alottment.
allotment newbies started in january ...toilet rolls full of seedlings...old mushroom pots..bought a lot of seed trays at cheap retail store.
good luck to you all Damo.
You have the most helpful videos, friend!Thank you!
Sorry not been around supporting lately - been in a coma - all is explained in my live. And just to say all videos now posted are not in real time - things previously filmed and edited.
I find Toilet paper rolls tend to wick water, grow mold, and disintegrate far too much to be worth using.
Dried sunflower stalks work great for stakes!!
Thanks Ben. Always great tips for us amateur Gardners. I think the best tips are companion plants and plants to attract pollinators.They do make a world of difference in defending our veggies from pests. Thanks Ben.
Ben excellent advice as always. I have advocated your channel around my allotment and my mental well-being work garden project I am championing on. Thank you 🙏🏼
That is so lovely to hear. Thank you so much for watching. 😃
Excellent, timely video! Thanks!
Ben, you grow your family some beautiful food! 👍A lot of what you mention I do; however, I learned some new things! Thanks!
Rosie's looking as cute as ever.🙂
Thanks Valorie. 😀
I am using the homemade paper pots this year,i was told the roots grow easier in them,and paper breaks down better.
The Real Seed company have a special pack of seeds at a reduced price for low waged or unwaged growers.
Great video and now I can use newspaper to make pots as well as toilet rolls. I keep the fruit and mushroom punnets. which u can also use as propagators. I fill bottom of large plant pots with a tear up news paper and cardboard then add the compost. I reuse my old compost mix with fresh compost. I have spuds growing in an old cloth bag. I have quite a few recycled objects that I use for pots.
Excellent repurposing Ami. 😃
I've had good success with growing seeds from shop bought fruit/veg, just check the label to see if it was grown in the UK so you know it's a variety that suits.
You might hink about harvesting your own seeds this year to save even more $$.
Great ideas.
Good advice, thank you. I would suggest tearing holes in the bottom of paper pots and not relying on root strength to permeate the paper. Also removing the tops of paper pots above ground soil because they will wick water, dry the starts and create a barrier. Be mindfull l with pea pots.
Great advice, thank you.
I saw that cutie pie smiling. This year we're growing an assortment of tomatoes, kales, broccoli, brussels sprouts and lots more veggies plus a variety of potatoes like purple viking, purple majesty, yukon gold, red la soda, red pontiac, kennebec and german butterball. My neighbors to my right and left are doing our own little community garden amongst ourselves . Happy gardening.
That’s a superb lineup of veggies. 😋
I mix my old garden soils with fresh peat moss and cow manure or my very small amount of composted materials and I’m quite happy with the cheap soil results I use for propagation as well as seed starting and growing medium
Lots of good budget saving tips!
great tips! Im inspired!😁
I wonder if using the tp cardboard rolls will help deter squash borers
Doubtful. Those are evil, tenacious buggers. The only thing I've found to work is full netting and hand pollination but they're really bad in my area.
Sad to say, but probably not. I heard a recommendation to wrap strips of aluminum foil around the lower stems of zucchini or other squash. You can adjust, if needed, as they're growing. Worked well on one plant in my garden last year. I also plant winter squash under a dogwood tree. As they grow, I trellis them up to the branches, which then serve as a large, roomy trellis. I have bumper crops doing it this way.
Great ideas thk u 👍
Okay. Another money saving tip, playing off of what he ^ said. Gutted refrigerators, laid on their backs (doors removed), drainage drilled into back makes great deep raised beds. Fill the bottom with logs, brush, and anything organic and fill with compost.
Great repurposing!
My main tip is: Limit yourself to what you know works in your climate. I have tried well over 150 verieties over the past decade but reality is only about 25 to 30 really work well and reliable in my climate/soil. So inform yourself and limit yourself there will still be plenty of food and be honest do you even find that much variety of veggies in the supermarket. Trying to grow things that should not grow in your region you will just leave you dissapointed and wastes money. Trust me i tried so many of them. (with the exception if you have a greenhouse ofc) .
And you can use bulk seeds for a lot of types. Like all cabbage/kale family seeds can be used up to 5 years same goes for bean/peas family (sugarsnaps excluded stick to 3 year for those if they have the shrinking raisin type seeds) and they retain a near perfect germination rate.
I planted 2018 climbing beans this year and i had a 95% germination rate. I have sown 8 pots with 7 seeds each and i have 1 pot with 6 germinated and 1 with 5 so only down 3 seeds.
Carrot is more picky and i stick to 2-3 years for those and sow extra in 3rd year.
And corn really only use it 1 year. So buy corn seeds to your demand and discard or sell excess as they will not be good next year. I never had last year corn germinate.
As for bamboo im doing a experiment this year. I'm going to dig deep and spend a lot of money on rebar and paint them a light colour. It costs me hundreds the first time but they should last forever. I have spend more on bamboo in just the last 5 years. I don't find growing it myself a option as i have a tiny garden and it would take at least 3x2 meter to supply me with enough for all beans, cukes, tomatoes, and so on.
Really top advice - thanks so much for sharing it all! :-)
Some cracking ideas there Ben thanks.
Stay Safe,
Barry (the Wirral)