Tips for Dirt-Cheap Gardening

Excerpted from Dirt-Cheap Gardening

by Rhonda Massingham Hart

CONTENTS

7 Ways to Increase Your Plantings Cheaply

Multiply Your Plants by Learning to Propagate

The First Step to Big Savings: Good Soil

Cultivating Cost-Effectively

Develop Wise Watering Systems

7 Ways to Increase Your Plantings Cheaply

Obtaining plants for your garden can run up potentially enormous expenses in your gardening budget, depending on the plants you want and how you go about getting them. However, with a little investigation and some hands-on propagation, you can be thrifty and have all your favorite plants.

Invest in longer-living plants and perennials that will come back year after year.

The longer a plant lives, the more you will get for your money. Like us, plants have a somewhat predetermined life span. The entire life cycle of annuals is a single growing season, while perennials come back year after year. Although annuals are cheaper than perennials, you must replace them every year. A dollar spent on a six-pack of petunias may seem like a bargain compared to $3 for a single candytuft, until you multiply the cost over several years. You only pay for perennials once.

Choose disease-resistant varieties for longer-lived plants.

Two rosebushes are next to each other in a border garden. One is practically defoliated, with the remaining leaves covered in black blotches. The other has full leaves and boasts blooms to boot. What makes the difference? Some plants are just naturally more resistant to disease than others. Physical and chemical attributes account for much of the mystique of natural resistance. We may not always know why some plants resist illness, but we do know disease resistance exists. Unfortunately, resistance often varies with climate or locale. Still, resistant varieties help save money otherwise spent fighting plant diseases or replacing lost plants. Look for varieties that are resistant to diseases particularly prevalent in your area.

Don’t assume that because you bought certified disease-free plants or resistant varieties, your plants will never get sick. The rest is up to you. Just as you can keep susceptible plants healthy with proper care, disease-resistant plants can get sick if not maintained properly.

RECOMMENDED DISEASE-RESISTANT VARIETIES

Plant

Resistant Varieties

Fruit

Hardy Kiwi

Issai

Raspberry

Many varieties

Strawberry

Allstar, Earliglow, Guardian, Surecrop

Wineberry

Rubus phoenicolasius

Vegetables

Asparagus

Jersey Giant, Mary Washington

Bean (snap)

Derby, Greensleeves, Tendercrop, Top Crop

Bean (pole)

Kentucky Wonder

Bean (lima)

Eastland

Broccoli

Green Comet, Emperor Hybrid

Corn

Burpee’s Honeycross, Camelot (white)

Cucumber

Early Pride Hybrid, Salad Bush Hybrid, Sweet

Success, Amira Hybrid

Eggplant

Vittoria Hybrid

Melon

Ambrosia Hybrid, Bush Charleston Gray, Ediato

Muskmelon, Dixie Queen, Sweet’n Early Hybrid,

Sweet Dream Hybrid, Sweet Favorite

Pea

Green Arrow, Maestro, Sugar Bon, Sugar Snap

Pepper

Golden Summer Hybrid, Gypsy Hybrid, Bell Boy,

Lemon Bell

Potato

Kennebec

Pumpkin

Baby Bear

Spinach

Melody Hybrid

Tomato

Super Beefstake, Roma, Better Boy, Parks Whopper,

Better Bush, Celebrity, Big Pick

Watermelon

Crimson Sweet

Turfgrass*

Bluegrass

A-34, Birka, Nugget, Sydsport

Fescues

Biljart, Highlight, Scaldis

Bentgrass

Northland, Waukanda

Ryegrass

Derby Ensporta

*For best disease resistance use a blend of three or more bluegrasses and fescues for lawns.

Trees

Apple

Liberty, Priscilla, Prima

Chinese Chestnut

Dynham Hybrids

Flowers

Coreopsis

Early Sunrise

Geranium

Tetraploid hybrids

Marigold

Marvel hybrids

Nicotiana

All varieties

Roses

Rugosa species and hybrids

Zinnia

Star White

Don’t waste money and time growing crops that are cheaper to buy than grow.

An important consideration for a cost-effective plot is to grow only those crops that are cheaper to grow than buy. Why toil over a bed of spuds when you can buy 10 pounds for $1.59? Actually, there are a couple of sound exceptions to this rule. If your heart’s desire is for a vegetable variety unavailable at the grocery store, grow your own. If you worry about an organic diet, grow your own. But if cost is a factor, leave the cheap vegetables to the truck farmers. See the chart on page 5 for details on vegetable production rates.

To find great deals on plants, join your local garden club and participate in its plant swaps and sales.

One of the best reasons to belong to a garden club, apart from the friendship, is that members give each other or sell cheaply perfectly good plants. Plant swaps or sales are standard among clubs and a great way to increase your plant collection. If you are not a member of a formal club, create the same opportunities simply by talking with others about your garden and theirs. Once people know you are a plant nut, they offer you all kinds of plant items.

To save money on seeds and plants, and to increase your selection, join a seed-savers exchange club or plant association.

Gardening magazines often have a seed-savers exchange section. Someone has saved variety X and would like to trade for Y. These are a great way to get seeds — often rare or heirloom varieties that are hard to find elsewhere. There are seed-saving clubs, such as the Seed Savers Exchange, the members of which trade thousands of seed varieties. In addition, plant associations abound for nearly every kind of plant — from alpines to water lilies. National groups usually send out a newsletter in which members often list plants they have to offer. If you have a real passion for a particular kind of plant, get involved with the local chapter of the appropriate association.

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF VEGETABLE PRODUCTION RATES (PER 10 FOOT OF ROW)

Be a penny-wise shopper.

• Blossoms are the one feature that attracts buyers most readily. Yet seedlings that have been forced into bloom in order to make them more tempting to buyers can actually result in less productive plants in the long run. The stress of life with few roots and a big head slows plant vigor.

• Look for compact, vigorous plants that appear healthy. Pass by plants with dead or yellowing leaves or those that have grown leggy. Be wary of unstable stems or plants that look poorly rooted. Well-rooted plants will recover from transplant shock much more quickly than those with poorly developed roots. If you can find plants that are not yet in bloom, consider them first.

• When buying perennials always look at the roots, because that is the future of the plant. A healthy root system ensures the plant will live to bloom for years to come.

• No matter what type of plant you are buying, look it over thoroughly for any signs of pests or diseases. Never buy sick or infested plants at any price.

Find out when a nursery is expecting a new shipment so you can shop for the healthiest plants.

Plants arrive at the garden center from the supplier in the best possible condition, given the rigors of shipment. They sometimes go downhill from there. When scouting for plants, call and ask when the store expects to receive their shipment from their best supplier, and show up when the plants arrive. Not only will you get the healthiest possible plants, but you will also get first pick.

You won’t get a bargain if you wait for plants to go on sale. If a plant has been sitting on a rack for months, especially if it does not receive proper care, then it probably won’t amount to much. The best bets among such plants are perennials, but only if the price is really low. If you feel you can bring a plant around, then by all means take a cheap gamble. Otherwise, spend wisely and buy early.

Multiply Your Plants by Learning to Propagate

Cutting a piece from a plant and having a whole new plant form may seem like magic to nongardeners, comparable to cutting off your finger and growing a twin, but taking cuttings is easy. You can take cuttings from the stem, leaves, or roots of various plant species. It is a step-by-step procedure with varying rates of success, depending on the plant and your proficiency. Getting cuttings is another story. If you already have plants of which you want more, of course it is quite simple. But if the plant of your dreams is in a stranger’s yard or a park, the acquisition becomes not only a challenge, but also an opportunity.

There will always be exceptions, but few gardeners object to a friendly compliment about their plantings. And what greater compliment than to so admire something another gardener has grown that you politely ask for a cutting? It can be a doubly rewarding experience; you get plants and make friends. If you appear presentable, courteous, and knowledgeable, you will assuage any fears that you might damage their precious plants. Offer to propagate a cutting for the gardener, as well as yourself. This one almost always works!

Use stem cuttings to propagate plants throughout the year.

Stem cuttings are referred to as softwood, greenwood, or hardwood. Softwood cuttings are those taken in the spring before new growth begins to harden. They are the easiest to root. Greenwood cuttings are taken in the summer before the stems have fully matured. They root a little more slowly, but on average are more likely to survive. Hardwood cuttings are taken from mature stems at the end of the growing season. They are usually the slowest to root. Often one method works better than the others for a specific plant; even varieties within a species respond differently.

PLANTS SUITABLE FOR TAKING STEM CUTTINGS

Softwood

Greenwood

Hardwood

Cuttings

Cuttings

Cuttings

Climbers

Climbers

Climbers

Black-Eyed Susan Vine

Clematis, some

Bougainvillea

Clematis, some

Euonymus

Honeysuckle, some

Climbing Hydrangea

Grapes, some

Kolomikta Kiwi

Glorybower

Honeysuckle

Virginia Creeper

Hedera Ivy

Trumpet Vine

Ivy Geranium

Morning Glory

Perennials

Fruit

Clematis

Blueberries

Fruit

Daphne

Currants

Guavas

Pelargonium

Figs

Pomegranates

Helianthemum

Gooseberries

Veronica

Grapes

Perennials

Raspberries

Aubrieta

Shrubs

Dianthus

Barberry

Phlox

Bottlebrush

Shrubs

Primula

Camellia

Boxwood

Verbena

Cotoneaster

Viola

Daphne

Butterfly Bush

Holly

Cotoneaster

Shrubs

Oregon Grapes

Dogwood

Flowering Maple

Rhododendron

Elderberries

Fuchsia

Roses

Forsythia

Heath

Hydrangea

Rose of Sharon

Japanese Aucuba

Lantana

Russian Olive

Mock Orange

Philadelphis

Viburnum

Privet

Potentilla

Weigela

Rosa rugosa

Roses

Spirea

Trees

Viburnum

Trees

Arborvitae

Weigela

American Sweet Gum

Cedar

Birch

Cypress

Trees

Catalpa

False Cypress

Dawn Redwood

Colesium Maple

Hemlock

Ficus

Flowering Plum and Cherry

Holly

Mulberry

Juniper

Poplar

Ginkgo Biloba

Magnolia

Sycamore

Goldenrain Tree

Privet

Willow

Smoke Tree

How to Take Stem Cuttings

1. With a sharp knife, slice the stem of the parent plant approximately 1 inch beneath a node.

2. If you must transport the cutting, gently wrap it in a moistened, absorbent paper towel.

3. Trim the end of the stem to just below a node. Often you can take several cuttings from each collected stem. Snip off any flowers and all but two or three leaves.

4. Dip in rooting hormone, if desired. These products prompt root cells to divide. Place cuttings in a moist rooting medium. Some plants, such as geraniums and coleus, will root in a glass of water.

5. Cover cuttings with plastic.

6. Pot or transplant cuttings when new growth shows.

If you master the art of taking stem cuttings, you may find yourself suddenly surrounded by new plants. Some plants root more easily than others. If a cutting does not root well in the spring, try again later in the season. Since plants mature at different rates in different climes, and even in different years, there always will be some variability. Keep records to refine the practice for your area.

Use leaf cuttings to propagate fleshy-leaved plants.

Leaf cuttings can be taken any time during the growing season. This method of creating free plants is well suited to houseplants. Roots form along the veins and usually several new plantlets emerge from each leaf cutting.

PLANTS SUITABLE FOR TAKING LEAF CUTTINGS

African Violet

Hen and Chicks

Begonia

Peperomia

Cape Primrose

Sedum

Gloxinia

How to Take Leaf Cuttings

1. Cut a healthy leaf from the parent plant.

2. If you must transport it, wrap the leaf in a moist towel.

3. Place it in a moist rooting medium. There are different ways to do this. The leaf may be set upright so the blade is in contact with the rooting medium. You also can cut several nicks along the length of the veins and press the leaf flat, veinside down, in the rooting medium. Or cut the leaf lengthwise and insert into the rooting medium with the cut side down to expose the veins.

4. Cover with clear plastic.

5. Water it and keep away from direct sunlight.

6. Pot new plants after a few leaves appear.

Three methods of planting a leaf cutting.

Place in soil and cover with clear plastic

Use root cuttings to propagate dormant shrubs or trees.

How to Take Root Cuttings

1. Gently dig through the soil to expose young, growing roots, approximately pencil size. Herbaceous perennials may be thinner.

2. With a sharp knife cut the root straight across, and place an angled cut farther down the root. This way you can tell which end is up.

3. If you must transport the cutting, wrap it in a moist paper towel.

4. Remove any fibrous roots. You can divide long cuttings and shorten thinner ones to between 3 and 5 inches. Make a fresh, slanted cut in each piece to designate top and bottom.

5. Dip the cutting into rooting hormone.

6. Insert the cutting into a moist rooting medium with the slanted end down and the straight-cut end level with the surface. For thin roots, lay them sideways, and cover lightly with soil. You can root some species, such as lilac and sumac, directly into the garden site.

7. Pot or transplant roots after a few leaves develop.

PLANTS SUITABLE FOR TAKING ROOT CUTTINGS

Perennials

Shrubs

Anchusa Azurea

Bayberry

Bellflowers

Glorybower

Blanket Flower

Pacific Wax Myrtle

Bluebell

Sumac

Creeping Phlox

Cupid’s Dart

Some Geraniums

Globeflower

Japanese Anemone

Oriental Poppy

Use layering to propagate plants with long, flexible stems.

Layering stems to produce new plants is almost too easy. By either covering a section of stem with soil or simulating that effect, the stem sprouts roots. Once rooted, the stem can be separated from the parent plant and transplanted.

Simple layering works best during the dormant season. Cut a small nick into the bottom side of a stem and anchor it into prepared soil, either on the ground or in a pot. It helps to stake the tip of the stem. Leave it alone, except to water, until the end of the next growing season. If the roots are strong, then cut the new plant from the parent and transplant.

Serpentine layering involves anchoring a long stem to the soil in several spots. It is a great way to make several copies of plants, such as clematis or climbing roses, that send out long, flexible stems.

Tip-layering works like simple layering, except you bury the tip of the vine. This method is especially effective for raspberry and blueberry varieties.

Simple layering: Make a nick in the plant’s stem and cover it with soil to produce new plants.

Air layering tricks the stem into believing it has been anchored in the soil. Remove any leaves that are in the way. Make a sleeve from plastic wrap and fit it over or around the stem; wrap the bottom with tape. Make a slanted cut upward into the stem with a sharp knife, and quickly pack around the stem with moist sphagnum moss using the back of the knife. Pull the sleeve up, pack fully with more damp moss, and seal the top of the plastic sleeve firmly with tape. Eventually roots will show through the plastic. At this point, cut the stem off just below the new root ball and pot up the new plant.

PLANTS SUITABLE FOR LAYERING

Simple

Serpentine

Tip

Akebia

Bittersweet

Trailing Blackberries

Campsis

Blueberry Climber

Raspberries

Forsythia

Campsis

Honeysuckle

Clematis

Air

Kalmia

Citrus

Potentilla

Ficus

Rhododendron

Magnolia

Roses

Wisteria

Air Layering

Step 1: Make a slanted cut upward into the stem.

Step 2: Pack the cut stem with sphagnum moss.

Step 3: Pull up the plastic sleeve and seal the top and bottom with tape.

Step 4: When roots show through the plastic, cut the bottom stem off.

The First Step to Big Savings: Good Soil

Rich, healthy soil is the first step toward success in the garden. It may be the single most important factor in determining the health, longevity, and productivity of your garden plants. Rich, healthy soil sustains healthy plants that are more productive and give you the best possible return for your gardening investment. The more you put into your soil, the more you will get out of it. Fortunately, what you put into your soil doesn’t have to be expensive — it’s quite easy to implement a variety of low-cost soil care and maintenance techniques.

Start with healthy soil for healthier, longer-lived plants.

Soil provides physical support for plants and a reservoir for nutrients, water, and oxygen. Some soils do the second part better than others. Sandy soils drain quickly, providing plenty of oxygen, but they also lose water, and dissolve nutrients too quickly. Clay holds minerals and moisture well, but drains poorly. The magic ingredient for improving either type of soil, or any type in between, is humus.

Humus is organic matter that has gone through a degrading experience. Organic matter is the remains of previously living things, such as plants, microorganisms, bugs, and us. When added to sandy soils, humus improves water retention by attracting water molecules. When added to clay, humus improves drainage by breaking up the clay particles that naturally cling together. Humus also provides fuel for millions of microorganisms that reside in the soil. As they break the humus down, microorganisms release elements necessary for plant growth.

High levels of humus are a sign of well-managed soil. It is best to add small amounts of humus each year and build the soil up, rather than dump it all on in one application. This is important because in the process of breaking down organic matter, microorganisms tie up precious soil nitrogen, which must be replenished. A good rule of thumb is to add not more than 4 inches of organic matter each year to any garden area.

Incorporating humus into your garden can be as cheap or expensive as you make it. Not surprisingly, the cheaper ways are more work than the expensive ones. The ideal way to incorporate humus is to compost. Barnyard manures also provide plenty of partially processed organic matter. Of course, garden centers offer bags of dried organic matter in the form of peat moss, processed compost, and steer manure. The advantage of compost, manures, or commercial products containing fertilizers is they also contain soil nutrients, usually including necessary nitrogen. So while it is less expensive to compost your own, the good news about buying bags of fertilizer is your money will be well spent.

Tomatoes Tell All

Here is a reason to grow tomatoes even if you don’t like them. They are sensitive to soil abnormalities and show distinct symptoms in cases of soil deficiencies. For instance, the youngest leaves of tomatoes grown in iron-deficient soils turn yellow between the veins, with the base of the leaflets showing the most discoloration. The youngest leaves on tomato plants grown in calcium-poor soils turn purplish brown. You can grow tomato plants for their diagnostic skills.

Don’t waste money giving plants more nutrient supplements than they can absorb.

With the exception of carbon, which plants take from carbon dioxide in the air, as well as hydrogen and oxygen, which they derive from water, all other elements plants use must come directly from the soil. So what do they need?

The major elements are those listed on plant food labels as N (nitrogen), P (phosphorus), and K (potassium, available as potash or K_2O). Many soils are naturally high or low in any of these, but nitrogen is the most water soluble, and therefore the most likely to leach away (and into groundwater supplies). Although incorporating organic matter (i.e., humus) means you will probably have to add nitrogen, adding more nitrogen than plants can take up is a waste of money.

The elements plants use less of are called secondary elements. They are no less critical to healthy growth than the major elements; plants just require smaller doses of them. They are calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S). Don’t waste money by adding these to your soil on a yearly basis, because plants take them in slowly, and they don’t leach away. A single application usually lasts several years.

Trace or micronutrients are those that plants require only small amounts of. They include boron (B), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), and chlorine (Cl). Short of a soil test, the best way to tell if you need to add any of these is by plant response.

Use readily available, free or low-cost soil amendments.

Before you run down to the garden center, consider some alternative low-cost soil amendments, where you can get them, and how they will help your garden.

Compost. Your own backyard is the best and cheapest place to find this valuable soil amendment. You also will find it in the garden center’s soil amendment section. Also, cities and counties are getting into the act with community composting. You can find huge heaps of the stuff near your local trash dump. Bring your own containers or a pickup truck, and get your share for nothing or a nominal fee.

Mushroom Compost. If you happen to live near a mushroom grower, they are an excellent source for low-cost or free compost. Mushrooms are grown indoors in huge containers filled with fine, dark, crumbly compost. Before growers plant mushroom spawn in containers, they steam-sterilize the compost. After a couple of months, growers harvest the mushrooms and clear out the bins. This used compost is still rich in nutrients and organic matter. A few little mushrooms may pop up, but since you know they are an edible variety, eat up.

Sewage Sludge. Plants treat sewage for disposal using two methods, anaerobic digestion and air activation. Digested sludge is much lower quality as a fertilizer than the activated type. Activated sludge is usually much more expensive. Either type of heat-treated sludge is safe to use around your yard and garden. Inquire at your local treatment plant.

Green Manures. When you spade green vegetation into the soil, you add precious organic matter, nutrients, and moisture. Green leaves, weeds, grass clippings, and cover crops such as clovers, buckwheat, rye, and oats return nitrogen, carbon, trace minerals, and other nutrients to the soil when turned under. Legumes, such as clover and alfalfa, make exceptional cover crops because they take nitrogen from the air, and convert it into a usable form for plants. One word of caution: If your plants go to seed, don’t turn them into your garden soil — unless you want more of them.

Animal Manures. Where there are animals, there will be manure. The first rule is never use cat, dog, or swine manure in your garden. These types of manure harbor parasites and disease organisms that can be harmful to your health.

Racetracks, livestock breeding farms, dairy farms, rabbit runs, poultry farms, petting zoos, and nonpetting zoos often are overjoyed to have someone actually volunteer to haul the manure away! Most manures should not be used fresh in the garden; salts will burn plant roots. Compost it first, or spread it over the soil in the fall so it has time to mellow.

Rendering Plants. Organic gardeners are familiar with additives such as blood meal (rich in nitrogen), hoof and horn meal (high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium), and bonemeal (rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium). These are by-products of the slaughtering process and originate at rendering plants. Purchased in small quantities, these products are usually quite expensive. Most rendering plants sell these only in bulk, such as 25-ton tractor-trailer loads. Make friends with a plant worker who may be able to get you a smaller quantity!

Restaurants. Coffee grounds from espresso bars or coffee brewers are a good source of nitrogen. Ask the brewer to empty coffee grounds into a container for you to pick up once a week. The grounds are fairly acidic and useful in lowering pH levels when heavily applied.

Lumber Mills. Sawdust is the only by-product of turning trees into boards. Composed of cellulose, sawdust is a good form of organic matter for your garden. Don’t add more than 2 inches each year, as it requires a lot of nitrogen to decompose. For each ton of sawdust, a garden burns about 3½ pounds of pure nitrogen. Offset this by adding 17 pounds of ammonium sulfate, 11 pounds of ammonium nitrate, or 8 pounds of urea. Avoid cedar sawdust, because it is toxic to some seedlings. Alderwood dust decomposes more quickly than others, such as fir or hemlock.

pH Simplified

Acidity and alkalinity describe measurements of the pH balance. The pH level is measured on a scale from 1 to 14. A level of 1 is extremely acidic, 14 extremely alkaline, and 7 is neutral. Each number represents a 10-fold difference in acidity or alkalinity. Soil that has a pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic than soil with a pH of 7. Most plants prefer a slightly acidic soil, while some, such as blueberries, prosper only in very acidic soils. Very high or very low pH affects the availability of soil elements to plants, which makes pH a key factor in nutrient supply.

Minimize fertilizer costs by using a carefully timed combination of chemical and organic mixtures.

A common misconception is that synthetic fertilizers are better than organic. Another misunderstanding is that organic is better than synthetic. You can make political or environmental arguments for synthetic or organic fertilizer, but the plants can’t tell the difference as long as the nutrients are available. However, don’t forget the many benefits of adding humus to your soil, which only organic amendments can supply.

Brand labels mean nothing to plants. It’s the fertilizer analysis that counts — the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and, when present, sulfur in the product, in that order. As mentioned on page 16, these are the major elements plants need (except sulfur, which is a secondary element). Trace elements are also necessary, but manufacturers may or may not list them on labels. Organic fertilizers are much more likely to include these than are chemical formulas.

Plants can only use nutrients that have been reduced to the molecular form. Chemical fertilizers work quickly because they have already been processed into the molecular form, allowing the nutrients to be available at the time of application. Organic fertilizers, on the other hand, must first be broken down by soil microbes and, as a result, release nutrients over a period of time. This activity depends on soil temperature. Below 70°F., soil microorganisms work very slowly, which makes the nutrients in organic fertilizer unavailable to plants in cold soils.

Chemical fertilizers dissolve fairly quickly in water, which makes them easily accessible to plants. Their labels instruct gardeners to water thoroughly after application. Unfortunately, this ready solubility also means that chemical fertilizers, unlike slow-release organics, leach more quickly from the soil.

For the best results with the least expense, strategically combine the two types of fertilizer. In the spring, while the soil is still cool, apply chemical fertilizer to lawn, flower borders, and vegetable gardens. Once the soil is warm, switch to compost or another low-cost organic source.

Mixing your own organic fertilizer costs less and allows you to tailor special compounds for particular plants.

Although the measurable amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in synthetic fertilizers usually costs less per pound than those in many commercially prepared organic fertilizers, organic fertilizers are not necessarily more expensive than synthetics. Once you know, roughly, the fertilizer analysis of organic compounds, which varies with different sources, you can mix your own fertilizers, balanced for your particular needs, at a fraction of the cost of a commercially prepared organic fertilizer.

This is where ingenuity and the willingness to scrounge for something pays off. I never buy fertilizer, and you don’t have to either. So long as you supply the plants’ nutrient requirements, it just does not matter to them where the nutrients come from, or whether it is an organic or synthetic source.

You can customize fertilizer to meet your particular needs by comparing the N–P–K requirements of your garden and the N–P–K analysis of various organic fertilizer sources, and then mixing to match.

Determine the pounds of product it takes to yield 1 pound of nitrogen with this formula: pounds of fertilizer product needed equals 1 divided by the percentage of nitrogen the product contains.

NITROGEN FOR VARIOUS AREAS

Area

Nitrogen Needed

Flower and vegetable gardens

1 pound/1000 sq. ft.

Lawn

1 pound/1000 sq. ft.

Landscape shrubs and trees

3–6 pounds*/1000 sq. ft.

*Shrubs and trees use nitrogen at different rates depending on their size. Measure tree trunks 36 inches above the ground. If less than 6 inches in diameter, the tree will use from .15 to .3 pound of nitrogen per 1 inch of trunk diameter. If over 6 inches, apply at a rate of from .3 to .6 pound per inch of trunk diameter. Fertilize shrubs at the same rate as small trees or apply from .05 to .1 pound of nitrogen per 1 foot of height or spread of the plant.

FERTILIZERS: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND NITROGEN CONTENT

As you can see from the following analysis, some products supply many times more nitrogen than others — and price has nothing to do with it. Urea is one of the cheapest products listed, yet supplies the most nitrogen.

After you figure how many pounds of a material it takes to supply 1 pound of nitrogen, find out how much nitrogen your garden needs. First determine the square footage of your garden by measuring the length of one side and one end, and multiplying the two numbers. For instance, a plot 50 feet by 20 feet is 1000 square feet of garden space. If your own is a 1000-square-foot garden, then you need 1 pound of nitrogen. If it is 2000 square feet, you need 2 pounds. But what if it is 748? Find out how many pounds of fertilizing product you need for your plot with the following equation:

Pounds of product needed = pounds of product needed to supply 1 pound of nitrogen multiplied by the square footage of the garden divided by 1000.

If you opt to use Lilly Miller Tomato & Vegetable Food as your nitrogen-supplying product, then for our example this figures as follows:

25 X 748 ÷ 1000 = 25 X .748 = 18.7 pounds of product for your garden.

If math is not your forte, believe me, I understand. Yet the whole purpose for learning how to figure fertilizer rates is to avoid using too much and thereby wasting it. Besides the cost of the product, there are other consequences to consider if you overuse fertilizer. Most serious is the contamination of groundwater by fertilizer runoff. You may not think the little bit of chemical that runs off your yard amounts to much, but multiply that by your neighbor’s yard, and the entire neighborhood, your city, and beyond. The magnitude of the problem begins to come into focus.

TAILOR-MAKE FERTILIZER TO FIT YOUR PLANTS’ NEEDS

Cultivating Cost-Effectively

The most cost-effective way to care for your garden is to know the growing requirements and weaknesses of each of your plants. Give them a good start on life, and keep an eye on them as they grow, and your garden will reward you with thriving, healthy plants.

Put each plant in the most appropriate microclimate.

Even the smallest yard has a variety of growing areas within it, known as microclimates. As you will learn from nurseries, garden centers, or the instructions on your seed packet, plants all have their own unique growing requirements. Some plants thrive in the shade, while others falter there for a lack of sun. When assessing your chosen gardening area, note your microclimates. They will help you decide what plants to grow and where to put them.

To understand microclimates a little better, look at a typical house and yard, as illustrated below. The north side of the house is shady from midmorning through the end of the day. The east side receives morning sun, but not direct sun in the afternoon. The south side’s yard receives full sun all day long. And the west side of the house does not get full sun until midday, but then bakes until dusk. Each side of the house has a different set of growing conditions and is a distinct microclimate. Additional landscaping will create even more microclimates. A white painted fence along the yard, a pond, trees, and bushes will produce different growing conditions for plants near them.

Know the individual light requirements of seeds you’re germinating so you don’t lose seedlings.

An important consideration for starting seeds indoors is their individual light requirements. Most seeds germinate best in darkness, but some will not sprout without a little light. Knowing the light requirements of the seeds you sow prevents mysterious disappointments.

PLANT GERMINATION LIGHT REQUIREMENTS

Germinate Best with Light

Germinate Best in Darkness

Ageratum

Bachelor’s Button

Begonia

Calendula

Chrysanthemum

Delphinium

Coleus

Nasturtium

Columbine

Other Poppies

Cosmos

Painted Daisy

Foxglove

Pansy

Gaillardia

Phlox

Godetia

Sweet Pea

Impatiens

Verbena

Lobelia

Nicotiana

Oriental Poppy

Petunia

Portulaca

Primroses

Shasta Daisy

Snapdragon

Strawflower

Sweet Alyssum

The light level is just as important after the seeds sprout. If grown at room temperature, they need supplemental light to prevent spindly growth. Plants grown on windowsills will do fine if the microclimate near the window is cool enough.

The alternative is to purchase cool-watt fluorescent lights. Sold as shop lights in 4- and 8-foot lengths, the lights are inexpensive and perfectly adequate for the task. They do not radiate the full sun spectrum, but unless you intend to hold seedlings until they flower, they will not need the full sun spectrum. The range of light waves from shop lights is just what seedlings need. Hang the lights within a few inches of the plants’ tops, and adjust the lights as the seedlings grow.

Maximize your harvest in a limited space by planting in raised beds.

Some gardeners have a long, hard row to hoe, while others work in raised beds. Gardening in raised beds has several economic advantages over rows in a flat plot. The growing beds are separate from pathways, so you can apply fertilizers and soil amendments only where needed, which eliminates waste. Soil in raised beds does not compact and is easy to work by hand, eliminating rototiller expense. Crops can be grown close together, which maximizes the harvest return for the space used. Raised beds create better drainage and the increased surface area causes the soil to warm quickly in the spring, increasing the production of flowers and vegetables.

The practice saves money, but often the setup is so expensive that the payoff takes years to realize. To save money, construct beds from landscape timbers, hewn logs, cement blocks, brick, stone, or any suitable material on hand. Avoid using treated or painted lumber. The least-expensive beds, however, are freestanding.

To create the cheapest yet most efficient and good-looking raised beds, all you need is a shovel. If the plot has not already been cultivated, rent a rototiller first to break up the ground and till in amendments. To design your raised beds over the garden area, run twine between stakes to designate the beds and pathways. You can make the beds any shape or length. Leave about 18 inches between beds to allow enough room for you to work. Make the beds narrow enough to plant or weed from either side without ever having to step into the prepared soil. This prevents the plant-stunting soil compaction inevitable in row gardens.

Once the layout is complete, shovel the topsoil from the pathways, along with liberal amounts of compost or other organic soil amendments, into the beds. This puts the best soil where it will do the most good, while elevating the soil level in the beds. With a rake, flatten the topsoil in the beds.

For maximum efficiency, maintain the beds in the same spot every year. Mulch or manure in the fall to shield the surface from wind-borne weed seeds and insects. Check the beds early in the spring. Due to improved drainage and warmth, they will be ready to plant sooner than you may expect. Spade, rake, and start planting.

Keep a watchful eye out for signs of insect or disease damage so you can take prevention and control steps early and save more plants.

The best site, proper planting and transplanting, using resistant varieties, adequate watering, drainage, and nutritional support all help keep plants in optimum condition. Healthy plants have an edge. They are less susceptible to physical stress, attack by disease, or infestation of pests. In fact, studies show insects recognize and prefer ailing plants.

The best way to manage your garden is to keep a watchful eye on plants. Take time to notice any that may be particularly susceptible to problems. Watch for puddling after rain — this signals poor drainage that could suffocate roots. Look for unusual growth patterns, spots on leaves or stems, curling leaves, or anything that looks out of the ordinary. Glance around the plants for any evidence of pests, but realize that unless they are causing actual damage you may not need to take any action.

Make sure plants are not overcrowded; occasionally thin or divide them as necessary. This is especially important for good air circulation around perennials and shrubs. Damp, stagnant air trapped near foliage often leads to disease. Pruning is important for good air movement.

Provide winter protection for tender shrubs and roses by creating a 1-foot mound of soil around the base.

The good news is the cheapest way to protect plants is also one of the best. For tender shrubs and roses, the best protection is a 1-foot-deep mound of soil at the base of the plant. For grafted plants, including many roses, the extra dirt will protect the vulnerable union where the cultivar attaches to the rootstock. The extra soil also protects the roots, which are the life center of the plant. Add further protection by covering outdoor plants with straw, pine needles, crumpled newspaper, or another bulky material. Wrap the plant and protective materials inside a tarp, sheet of plastic, old feed sack, or old blanket. Secure this insulation with twine or tape. Any perennials or biennials that are not reliably hardy in your area will benefit from a similar cover-up. Some plants get a bad rap for requiring this special treatment, but if you have already made an investment, you should protect it.

Develop Wise Watering Systems

Conserving water is a must for our deteriorating environment. If water costs money where you live and garden, you will have a twofold reason for making sure that you water efficiently and effectively.

Use watering systems that are appropriate for your garden.

If you still use a lawn sprinkler to water a vegetable garden or landscape planting, or if you use an overhead watering system on hot, windy days, you are wasting water. The idea of watering is to deliver an adequate amount of water to plant roots, no more, no less, and nowhere else. Water early in the morning or at night for the least water loss. If you want to keep your water bill down, never water during hot, windy weather.

There are several factors that determine how much water you need to apply and the best method of application. For starters, rainfall is a factor. No matter what plants you are watering in what type of soil, the amount of watering necessary depends on how much nature already supplies.

Another factor is the soil type. Remember that sandy soils drain quickly and that clay holds moisture for a longer period of time. These are functions of how the water moves through the soil, which affects its availability to plant roots. One inch of water applied in sandy soil will percolate down 12 inches. In good loam 1 inch of water will go down 6 to 10 inches, and in clay it will penetrate about 4 or 5 inches. Once water has filtered down beneath plant root zones it is effectively gone.

Finally, consider the plants you are watering. Some plants need much more water than others. New plants, from seeded lawns to bedding transplants and burlap-balled shrubs, require lots of frequent watering to establish their roots. On the other hand, established native plants need very little rainfall supplementation; they have naturally adapted to the area. Some plants, such as madrona, flannel bush, and western dogwood, suffer if watered in the summer.

While there is no one answer to the question of how much water is just right for all gardens, there are some useful general guidelines. The most efficient and cost-effective way to water any plant is to fill the entire root zone with water and let the soil become almost dry before the next watering. The amount of dryness depends on the plant. Let the top 2 or 3 inches dry out for most established plants. Let the soil around a large tree dry down several inches, but keep new or tiny plants moist to the top inch or so. To make sure you are delivering enough water to where it is needed, use a soil probe or shovel before you water to determine the extent of dryness. Repeat the process after watering to see how deeply the water has penetrated into the soil.

Lawns. Use an overhead sprinkler. Water to a depth of at least 6 inches as soon as grass fails to spring up after you walk on it. Avoid frequent, shallow waterings as they lead to shallow roots, which are far more susceptible to heat or drought. Aeration, or removal of soil plugs, helps send water to the root zone. Renting an aerator every other year or so will also help to reduce thatch buildup and combat compaction.

Vegetables, Bedding Plants, and Perennials. Water 6 to 8 inches deep every 4 to 10 days for established plants. Do not wait for plants to wilt before the next watering. Wilting slows growth and reduces crop yields.

Sprinklers are not the best waterers for vegetable gardens because they waste a vast amount of water. More water lands on the leaves, where it evaporates, than anywhere else. Hand watering is as much a waste of time as it is of water. Unless you stand there for a few hours with a water wand, you cannot wet the soil deeply enough to do a worthwhile job. Soaker hoses or drip irrigation (see page 31) are efficient ways to water. They can save up to 60 percent of the water used by a sprinkler. Place mulch over the hose to prevent evaporation.

Cultivate unmulched soil to increase water absorption. Crusted soil forms a barrier against water penetration.

A soaker hose can be adjusted to spray upward or downward.

Trees, Shrubs, and Landscape Plants. Water throughout the drip line (below the level of the leaves) of plants for the most efficient intake of water. Soaker hoses allow you to wind around individual plants. They are great for shrubs such as roses that are susceptible to moisture-loving disease organisms. Since no water rests on the leaves the diseases cannot establish their spores. To allow water to slowly seep down into the soil, mound a ridge of soil around the outside of the drip line to form a basin and fill with water. Remove this soil during rainy weather to prevent waterlogged roots.

Plants on Landscape Berms. Check and water more frequently since they have more exposed soil from which water may evaporate.

New Woody Transplants. Water thoroughly both the nursery soil within the root ball and the native soil surrounding it. Failure to do so may prevent the roots from venturing into the surrounding soil, which can eventually kill the plant. Dead plants are an investment wasted.

Plants in Containers. Water as soon as the surface feels dry. Keep a close eye on thirsty plants such as fuchsias, which often need watering once or twice daily in hot, dry weather.

Protect your plants and soil from water loss.

In a perfect world every drop of water you put on your plants would run straight to the roots and would be used immediately by the plant. But we have to deal with water loss. Knowing how to reduce it saves water and money.

Moisture is lost from the soil in several ways, but you can cut these losses. By incorporating lots of humus into the soil, you will lessen the amount of water that percolates through the soil and out of reach. Humus is a water magnet. A great deal of water is also lost through evaporation from the soil surface. Thanks to capillary action through the soil, which draws water up from below, evaporation can deplete water from deep in the ground. Keeping the soil surface covered with mulch protects against this. Another line of defense against evaporation is to get less of the soil surface wet in the first place. This means replacing a sprinkler with a drip system, soaker hose, or individual water containers for landscape or large vegetable plants. Finally, transpiration, the way in which plants metabolize water, can steal amazing quantities of water from your soil. One large shade tree on a hot summer day can transpire several hundred gallons of water. Misting plants on hot, dry days helps limit the amount transpired and reduces plant stress.

Create your own simple drip irrigation system from a plastic milk jug.

A cheap version of drip irrigation is container watering. Bury a container, such as a plastic 1-gallon milk jug that has had two or three holes punched in the bottom, next to or between individual plants. Keep the containers filled with water and allow them to seep water directly into plant root zones. Tailor the size of the container to the size of the plant.

You can set up a rain barrel equipped with spigot and drip tubing to make your own cheap gravity-flow irrigation system.

Group together plants that need heavier watering so you can concentrate the water in just a few locations.

Be aware of which plants require the most water. Group them together so you don’t waste water on plants that don’t need it. Plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, and ferns need more water than do cacti. Also, if your yard has a naturally moist microclimate, put the water hogs there, not on the driest point of the property. Consider landscape points of interest that do not require water, such as a dry creek bed of rock. Make it appear wet by varnishing the rocks. Position sprinklers to avoid watering sidewalks, streets, decks, and other structures; they won’t grow.

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Nancy Ringer

Cover and text illustrations by Brigita Fuhrmann

Cover design by Carol J. Jessop (Black Trout Design)

Text design and production by Heather Clemow

© 1996 by Storey Publishing, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this bulletin may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this bulletin be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this bulletin is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information please contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247.

Storey books and bulletins are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396.

Printed in the United States by Tech Valley Printing

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hart, Rhonda Massingham, 1959–

Tips for dirt-cheap gardening / Rhonda Massingham Hart.

p.            cm

ISBN-13: 978-0-88266-574-0 (alk. paper)

1. Gardening.             I. Title.             II Series.

SB453.H328     1996

635—dc20

96-43825

CIP