Frugal Gardening Can Produce a Rich Harvest
4
A s we get ready to garden this spring, it is bringing back memories of last year, when we saw empty supermarket shelves, a bit of a food scarcity, and a return to vegetable gardening for many of you. That, in turn, created empty seed racks and a new emphasis on saving seeds. We hope even more of you will be gardening in 2021, and Master Gardeners want to help you learn how to grow all that food in a way to help your budget. Be sure to call our clinic with your questions. We are here to serve you with free, science-based information. Begin with the soil you have and enrich it. There are multiple ways to do this, and many are absolutely free. Making compost with kitchen scraps is a simple Dirst step. If you do not have a compost pile going, put that on your 'to do' list for sure, but for now, bury those carrot peelings deep in your garden area. 1 Frugal Gardening Can Produce a Rich Harvest There are many ways to cut your expenses without compromising crop quality. by Diana Pieti for Yakima Valley Master Gardeners Master Gardeners have learned to recycle many waste products to grow their plants. Here, a simple one-use plastic yogurt cup, becomes a free pot for starting a tomato. JIM BLACK PHOTO For information on the Yakima County Master Gardeners Program: https:// extension.wsu.edu/ yakima/home-garden/ master-gardeners/
Transcript of Frugal Gardening Can Produce a Rich Harvest
A swegetreadytogardenthisspring,itisbringingbackmemoriesoflastyear,whenwesawemptysupermarketshelves,abitofafood
scarcity,andareturntovegetablegardeningformanyofyou.That,inturn,createdemptyseedracksandanewemphasisonsavingseeds.
Wehopeevenmoreofyouwillbegardeningin2021,andMasterGardenerswanttohelpyoulearnhowtogrowallthatfoodinawaytohelpyourbudget.Besuretocallourclinicwithyourquestions.Weareheretoserveyouwithfree,science-basedinformation.
Beginwiththesoilyouhaveandenrichit.Therearemultiplewaystodothis,andmanyareabsolutelyfree.MakingcompostwithkitchenscrapsisasimpleDirststep.Ifyoudonothaveacompostpilegoing,putthatonyour'todo'listforsure,butfornow,burythosecarrotpeelingsdeepinyourgardenarea.
1
Frugal Gardening Can Produce a Rich HarvestThere are many ways to cut your expenses without compromising crop quality.
byDianaPietiforYakimaValleyMasterGardeners
Master Gardeners have learned to recycle many waste products to grow their plants. Here, a simple one-use plastic yogurt cup, becomes a free pot for starting a tomato. JIM BLACK PHOTO
For information on the Yakima County Master Gardeners Program:https://extension.wsu.edu/yakima/home-garden/master-gardeners/
Digaholeoratrenchandaddthepeelings,cover,andinjustafewweeks,theywilldecomposeandyouwillseewormsthatnotonlyatethem,butprovidednutrient-richmanure.YoualsomayDindmanureavailablefreefromareafarms.Usechicken,cattleorhorsemanure,anddigitintothegarden,butdon'tapplyittogrowingvegetableswhenfresh.CheckCraigslistforpossiblesources.Neverputanymeatscrapsintoyourgardenorcompostpile.
Duringthespringandsummer,addyourlawnclippings,andduringthefall,addtheleavesyouhaveraked.Bothofthesecanbeworkedintothesoilslowly,butfornowusethisasmulchalongsideyourplantsasaweeddeterrentandtohelpholdmoisture.
Digthisintothesoilalittleatatime.(But,donotuseyourlawnclippingsifyouhaveusedaherbicideorotherchemicalsonyourlawn.)Otherfreeadditivescouldincludecoffeegroundsfromareacoffeeshops,shreddednewspaper,andoftenourlocallandDillhasfreecompost.CallaheadtoconDirmat(509)574-2450.
Seeds can save you money
Growyourowntomatoandpepperplantsfromseeds.Usewashedyogurtcups,eggcartons,orcreatewonderfulpotsfromnewspapers.Theyareeasytomake,andonlyrequirethepapers,scissorsandasmallcansuchasonethatcontainedtomatopaste.SearchMakingNewspaperPotsonYouTubefordemonstrationvideos.Besuretopunchholesinthebottomofplasticpotsandotherholdersthatdonotpermitwatertodrain.
Seedscanbeexpensive,sobeginbywatchingforsalesatthelocallevel,andbrowsefornurseries
2
online.Beawareofapproximatelyhowmanyseedsareincludedorwhatthepackageweighs,andalsobemindfulifyouorderisonline—theremightbeshippingcharges.Seedsshouldbedatedforusein2021,butmaystillbeviableifolder.Makethistheyearyoulearnhowtoproperlyplant,store,andsaveseeds.
Whenyouplanttinyseedssuchasradishesorcarrots,takeyourtimeandtrytospaceeachseedoutperthedirectionsonthebackofthepackage.Ifyoucrowdthem,youmightDindyourselfthinningoutthebabiestomakeroomfortherootsnexttothem.
Ifthishappens,donottrytopullthemout,becauseitwilldisturbtheplantsyouwanttoleave.Instead,takesmallscissorsandsnipthetopsoff.Usethetinyradishleavesonyoursandwichesorsalads,andsnipthetinycarrottopsintoyoursoup.Noneedtowastethisgoodfood.
Experiment
Plantyourfamilyfavorites,butincludecropsthatcangiveyoumore.Manyvarietiesoflettucemaybecutwithnewgrowthfollowing.Useaknifeorshearstocutwhatyouwant,thenwaitforanewcropfromthesameroots.
Cilantrotendstobolt(gotoseed)inoursummerheat,butthenithasaDlowerthatyoucaneatonyoursalad—orletitproduceseeds,whichiscalledcoriander.
Allcilantroplantpartsareedibleandseedscanbestoredforcooking.Thesameistrueofchivesandgarlicchives.Snipthemtoaddtoyourmeals,butthebloomsarealsoedible.Rootvegetableslikebeetsandturnipshavetopsthatcanbeeatenaswell.
3
Don'tforgettokeepthingsgrowingallspringandsummer,thisiscalledsuccessionplanting.Whentheradishesaredoneproducing,plantsomethingelseatthatspot.Readthebacksofseedpackagesforgoodinstructionsandnotehowlongittakesasecondcroptomature.
Moresuggestionstosavemoneyincludebeginningaseedswapamongfamily,friends,andothergardeners.Createyourowntrellisesfromprunings,andusethosetrellisestogrowupwardtosavespaceforotherscrops.Takefulladvantageofareastoplant,includingcontainersandtheparkingstripifyouliveintown.Getyourcompostbinstartedbyusingrepurposedmaterialsyoumightalreadyhave,suchaspallets,fencing,andoldboards,orbargainwithothersforpossiblesupplies.Useeducationalresourcessuchasthelibraryandonlinesitesthatinclude“gov”or“edu”intheextensionforthebestinformation.AwonderfulgardeningsiteatWSUishttp://gardening.wsu.edu/vegetable-gardens/.
Or,callourofDiceat(509)574-1604oremailatgardener@co.yakima.wa.usforhelpwithanyofyourquestions.Enjoyalltheamazingfresh,healthyproduce,andifyouhaveanabundance,sharewithfamilyandfriends.
!
4
