A really, really Frugal Gardener

Marie, I re-read my post and it made me feel tired as well.   I am almost happy that it is raining right now so that I can lounge around for a bit and have a coffee or two and play with my dog in the kitchen as he hates the rain. 

He gets all excited when I get dressed and say in my English Barbara voice  "Walkies?".

We step out the door, down the drive and as soon as he puts his foot on the wet concrete, turns and drags me back inside.

NB: Barbara  ? was a very well known dog trainer in England, many years ago, and could make any dog do what she asked of it.  At the moment I cannot remember her surname. She had a rather loud high-pitched voice but all the dogs loved her.

I am going to make myself another cup of coffee.

YOU ARE AMAZING!   I cannot even imagine 'rolling' a pallet anywhere, let alone with groceries and a dog.  

Here's to ya, kiddo!
 
CC

CapeCoddess wrote:YOU ARE AMAZING!   I cannot even imagine 'rolling' a pallet anywhere, let alone with groceries and a dog.  

Here's to ya, kiddo!
 
CC

+1

Yall have often heard me mention my country boy network. I guess the big score of the fall was camp fire wood several truck loads of used scaffolding boards  I used them for fire wood but with a lil scraping (they had paint drips on them)  They woulda made great box material.  I gave some to a friend for heavy shelving in his shop.  They were free and I still have enough wood left to last to the summer.  Here is a good frugal score.
http://cappyandpegody.blogspot.com/2014/11/whack-em-stack-em-burn-em-up.html


OHHH and the fire pit was free too.

cricket wrote:
 http://cricketsongfarm.blogspot.com/2014/05/recycled-vegetable-basket-from-lamp.html

I agree, very nice!

Kelejan, all in one day amazing!

Triciasgarden wrote:Kelejan, all in one day amazing!

No, Tricia, that was over two days and today I did not do very much at all accept plant seven very old sprouted potatoes. 

I am frugal as well:

1.  I trade seedlings for the annual fee for a spot in a community garden
2.  I get free manure (horse, cow, rabbit), free coffee grounds, free leaves, etc.
3.  I've received free 55 gal rain barrels complete with spigot, top screen, etc.
4.  Just found a relatively cheap source for 275 gal IBC Totes (square plastic storage container surrounded by an aluminum frame) $50.  They are going on Craigslist for $150
5.  I trade tomatoes for the heavy duty plastic crates that tulip bulbs are shipped in (like large elongated milk crates) - perfect for carrying/moving/stacking flats of seedlings.
6.  scored big last year when someone gave me three grow lights for free...48", 4-lamp T5 fixtures.
7.  won a Geo-Bin compost bin in a drawing...also bought another heavy duty coated wire bin at a reduce price through the county extension service...came with a "free" soil thermometer/probe.

I love reading about all these free and almost free stuff.

Whether one is rich or poor, people can garden without all the expensive landscapers and rock gardens and paths.

The essential plants, seeds and Time is the same for all.

Wow, Landarch

NICE!  That's wonderful, Landarch!!

Excellent!  I love to hear when someone gets a bargain/freebie.  And, congrats on winning the compost bin!

Old shower curtain liner that I just changed out: I use them to cover the seed starting table, cover the crops during a cold snap, as a Windbreak and to drag leaves, debris and compost from here to there.

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Old shower curtain liner that I just changed out: I use them to cover the seed starting table, cover the crops during a cold snap, as a Windbreak and to drag leaves, debris and compost from here to there.

CC

CC ... That is exactly what Mrs TD suggested when I said I needed a cover outside for my seedlings. I never did get around to doing it but it's a great idea.

Just place a row cloth or old sheet over the plants/seedlings first; otherwise, the plants may freeze to a plastic shower curtain.

WOW! What a GREAT thread! I read every word with my morning coffee.  I could write a book about frugality, but it's about time to get to work, so I'll just share our latest score.

We lost 2 little redwoods to the drought last year. "Luckily" they were under the electric wires running to our house, so PG&E removed them, free. They cut the trunks into firewood, then mulched the rest. We asked if we could have the mulch. I don't know what they usually do with that stuff, but they dumped 3 huge truckloads of it on our property until we yelled STOP! 

When it came time to build our waist-high sfg garden, we used that stuff to fill the bottom 2 feet of the beds. It saved us hundreds of dollars in fill material.  We still have enough left to mulch the garden paths and compost the rest.

donnainzone5 wrote:Just place a row cloth or old sheet over the plants/seedlings first; otherwise, the plants may freeze to a plastic shower curtain.

Good idea! Or use an old door screen or window screen first which is what I use if the hoops aren't up yet.  But this will only work if you have a few inches between the top of your box and your MM like I do.

That is a good score, country! They charge us fifteen bucks a truck load here even if it's our own trees.

Yikes! That stinks!   The quality of this stuff isn't very good -- I think their chipper wasn't working right. The stuff is full of twigs and skinny branches, but the price was right and it will all decompose eventually. 

My first SFG at this location was free, discarded window boxes, which are still going strong! Free, previous homeowner. MM of course not free!

Free maple leaves all the time! Just sweat equity there, have to rake, move, etc. Not exactly free! But really great material.

Compost isn't free, just repurposed and reused.

My favorite seed company (Sustainable Seed Co) is offering 30% off all seeds. If you check general merchandise stores that only have seeds in the spring, you might find 50% off or more. Since most seeds are viable for more than a year, I'm gonna stock up now for the winter and next summer. 

Visit your friendly home improvement center to beg some paint stir sticks. They're just the right size for sfg dividers. 

We have TV dinners called Steamer something-or-others. I save the containers for seed-saving. I put a coffee filter in the steamer part, pour in the clean, soaked, seeds, and let them dry, while the excess water drains into the bottom dish. These are pear tomato seeds from a volunteer I fell in love with this year.)

Love it!

Love it! The seeds don't stick to the coffee filters too badly?