Fd for Thought

&nsbp; Use Marigolds as a natural garden pest repellent. Plant marigolds around the outside of the garden and between the rows to keep small critters like rabbits away from the veggies! Also scatter the "deadheads" from the marigolds around that garden to spread the scent even further. Marigolds will self-seed if you let them. Tilling will bury the seeds too deep but if you leave the area untilled, or pick a bunch of flower heads in the fall and scatter them in the early spring, you will have bigger, healthier marigold plants than you could buy. Submitted by Rachel/SraFrizt
When the leaves come down in the fall from the huge trees in your yard, throw them on the garden as is. When Spring comes, dig a whole for the plant and pile the leaves back up around it. To sow seeds, push the leaves back and recover the soil when the seedlings are well established. Save money on fertilizer and mulch! Submitted by Victoria Gabhart
To Conserve Water If you have a fish tank, collect the water that is siphoned from partial water changes. Use the Nutrient Rich Fish Water to treat the houseplants and the garden. Free Fertilizer! Submited by Kristina Lowe
Start seeds for nightshades and herbs early indoors. Split the rental of a rotatiller with a neighbor. Get free manure/straw from a horse owner. Plant only nonhybrid seeds. Stagger plantings of perishable vegetables like lettuce for a staggered harvest. Plant regional species. Water at night and in early morning. Dry, Freeze & Can your surplus. Collect seeds from your plants. Join a Seed Exchange. Mira O'Connell
Give your children their own gardening equipment (a small hand shovel is sufficient) and their own garden plot that they are responsible for. They plan what they will grow and plant it, with help as needed. It wonderful to watch their faces as they see the fruit of their labor develop! Submited by Sue Rericha;
Use layers of newspaper as mulch, but don't use too many layers or you may need to check your soil's condition to see if any nutrients are out of balance. Another great mulch is grass clippings from the yard. Just be careful if you have applied any weed killer to your grass--don't use the clippings for a couple of weeks--especially on seedlings or young plants. Also check with the landfill in your area to see if free or low cost mulch is available from them! Submited by Rachel/SraFriz
If you live in a short season area and you still have green tomatoes, bring the plants in and either hang the whole plant upside down or wrap the tomtatoes in newspaper and store in a dark area. Many of the tomatoes will turn red. Submited by Mira
To protect your strawberries over the winter cover them with a lightweight mulch. Submited by Mira
To keep those house plants in tip-top condition: A problem with many homes in winter is low humidity, which causes house plants to turn brown at the leaf tips and drop their blossoms. Humidity can be increased by setting pans of water around the edges of the space, and placing pots on watering trays lined with pebbles. Make sure that water is allowed to collect below the tops of the pebbles so the potting soil is always well-drained and never saturated. Submited by Mandy Benton
Start getting your garden seeds from seed exchanges. They are from hobby gardeners usually that save seeds at the end of the season. If you save seeds as well you can exchange seeds sometimes. Otherwise, some gardeners will be willing to sell you seeds. Seed exchanges are a great place to get ungenetically modified seeds as well as seeds that came from pesticide free gardening. Here are a few sources to start your search. The Seed Exchange Mother Earth News gardening Forum Seed Savers Organic Gardening Message Boards Submitted by Mira
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