Cheaper, Better, Faster (29 page)

Gardening
—cleanup with soap on a rope

Put a bar of soap in the toe of a pantyhose leg, tie a knot
over it, and tie the other end to an outdoor spigot. You can easily wash up after working in the garden.

Gardening—cleanup with soapy hands

If you don't wear garden gloves when gardening, coat your hands lightly with a mild liquid soap. The dirt washes off easily.

Gardening—compost bin

To make a compost bin, all you need are four wooden pallets (free, or really cheap, from stores or warehouses). Stand the pallets on their sides and wire them together into a square. When you need to remove compost, open one side like a door.

Gardening—fertilize
with ashes

Ashes from a wood-burning stove or fireplace make wonderful fertilizer if you need to raise your soil's pH. Collect the ashes and scatter them around shrubs and bushes. Use ashes with caution, though, because applying too much can create serious soil imbalances. Limit applications to 25 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

Gardening—hosiery for tomatoes

Save old pantyhose, nylons, and tights for your garden. Cut them into long strips and use them to tie tomato plants to stakes or tomato cages. They are also great for tying other vegetables like string beans, cucumbers, and climbing plants to fences. Nylons are better than string because they “give” and don't cut off the plants' circulation the way string, wire, or twist ties do.

Gardening—melon pedestals

Set baby melons and cantaloupes on top of tin cans in your garden. The melons will ripen faster and be sweeter.

Gardening—photograph your hard work

Take pictures of your garden in bloom. This is a great way
to keep a record of what grew well and what plantings you particularly enjoyed.

Gardening—pickle juice for acidic soil

Work leftover pickle juice into the soil around an azalea or gardenia bush or around any other plant that needs acidic soil.

Gardening
—tools, avoid rust with car wax

Prevent rust on garden tools by cleaning them with car wax.

Gardening—tools, avoid
rust with petroleum jelly

To keep garden tools from developing rust, rinse and dry the tools, then coat the metal parts with a thin layer of petroleum jelly.

Gardening—tools
, brightly colored handles

Paint your garden tool handles bright red so you can spot them easily in the grass or garden. If your neighbor has taken notice of this terrific tip, you might want to select a color other than the one he chose.

Gardening—tools, cleaning with sand

Keep a bucket of sand sprinkled lightly with mineral oil in the shed or garage where you store your garden tools. When you're done using the tools, scour them with a bit of the sand to keep them clean and rust-free. The oil will leave a light protective coating on the blades to prevent rust.

Gardening—tools, gear hut

Get a large weatherproof mailbox, roomy enough to hold small garden tools and gear. Stake it in the ground in a convenient spot under a tree or near a hedge.

Gardening—tools, grips

Put a pair of kids' bicycle handlebar grips on the handles of your gardening tools to give yourself a firmer, more
comfortable grip when doing yard work.

Gardening—tools, rust spots

Rub the rust spots with a new steel-wool pad soaked with soap, then dipped in turpentine. Finish by rubbing with a crumpled piece of aluminum foil.

Gardening—watering

Gardens need an inch of water a week. But how do you know how long to water to achieve that goal? Place a can, pot, or glass under your sprinkler and see how long it takes for the container to collect an inch of water. Once you have this information, install automatic timers on your watering systems. Watering less often for a longer period of time allows deep penetration and reduces the amount of water consumed.

Gardening
—weeds, grass clipping prevention

Place grass clippings around plants to keep down weeds. The clippings also retain moisture and are a good source of nutrients.

Gardening—weeds, under carpet

If you want to set out vegetable plants but are overwhelmed by the immensity of the project because your garden is covered with weeds, try this unorthodox tactic: Take a large piece of old carpet and lay it over the garden patch. Make X cuts with a utility knife at the location where each plant should grow. Lift up the cut carpet flaps, dig a hole beneath, and sink the seedling. Water as usual and watch your plants grow. You won't have to worry about weeds because they won't be able to penetrate the carpeting.

Gates—seat belt those
gates

While you're at the junkyard, pick up a few seat belts from discarded cars. The straps make great gate latches. Just nail one to your wooden gatepost and the other to your gate. If it is metal, attach both strips to the post, then pass
one buckle end around the upright member on the gate and back to the other. Seat belts are weatherproof, easily installed, don't cost much, and never get out of alignment the way most conventional latches eventually do.

Lawn—cheap sod

If you have more time than money and need a new lawn, visit your local sod farm and purchase their “scraps,” which are the odd-sized roll ends. You will have to patch them together, which takes time, but you can pick up these odd pieces at a tremendous savings.

Lawn—dog
spots

To prevent those yellow dog spots in your lawn, feed your male dog a couple of tablespoons of tomato juice every day. This also works for female dogs, but not quite as well.

Lawn—mower care

If you won't be using your mower for several months in the winter, drain the gas and disconnect the spark plug. If you can't drain the gas, add a gas conditioner to the mower tank and your gas can to prevent the fuel from going bad.

Lawn—sawdust and seed

When seeding grass by hand, how can you tell if you've missed any spots? Mix fine sawdust with your seed; you'll be able to see the sawdust and the missed spots easily, and the sawdust will not adversely affect the new lawn.

Picnics—ants can't swim

Keep the ants away from the food on your picnic table by placing each table leg into a bowl or paper cup of water. Ants can't swim—they can't even float—so they'll leave your food alone.

Picnics—ants
hate coffee

Spread dried coffee grounds or whole cloves around the picnic area. If you are on a solid surface, draw a white chalk
line around the perimeter. For whatever reason, ants won't cross that line.

Picnics—basket cooler

Turn a picnic basket into a cooler by lining it with slabs of poly foam (from a fabric store) glued in place. As long as you pack items that have been thoroughly chilled, they will stay cool for several hours longer than in the uninsulated basket.

Picnics—flies

Keep flies from the picnic area. Put a vase filled with sprigs of lavender, mint, or elderberry in the center of the table. Be sure to rub the leaves frequently to release their scent.

Planting—bulbs in a hurry

Here's a quick way to plant 100 bulbs in less than 45 minutes. Instead of digging lots of holes for lots of bulbs, dig out the area you wish to plant to a depth of 7 inches. Spread the bulbs out evenly with their tips facing up. Add compost to the excavated soil; then shovel the soil lightly over the bulbs.

Planting—bulb
markers

When you're planting bulbs in your garden and can't finish the project on that same day or weekend, stick wooden Popsicle sticks in the ground to indicate the exact location of each bulb. This way you'll know where to continue planting when you're ready to finish the job.

Planting—garlic

Every time you use a head of garlic, take the last three or four little cloves from the center, plus any that have started to show green, and plant them between other plants and shrubs in your flower beds. Plant each clove about
½
inch deep, flat end down, pointed end up. They will grow about 18 inches tall, and then they will start to dry out. This is the sign it's time to pull out a fresh garlic head. It takes about 5 months to get your first harvest. If you're always planting,
you will have plenty of garlic for yourself and others.

Planting—repotting

Drop a coffee filter in the bottom of a pot before repotting a plant. The water will drain from the pot, but the soil won't wash out with it.

Planting—root rehydration

Before planting bare root plants like roses and grapevines, make sure the roots haven't dried out. Unwrap the roots, remove any packing material, and soak the roots in tepid water for 6 to 12 hours.

Planting—seeds, germination test

Test old seeds to see if they're worth planting. Place 10 seeds on a dampened paper towel. Cover the seeds with plastic to keep them moist. Check the seeds after the germination time listed on the package has passed. If even some seeds germinate, you can still use the packet. Just sow the seeds more heavily than usual.

Planting—spacing

Mark the handles of your gardening tools with 1-inch increments. You will no longer need a ruler when planting or spacing plants, shrubs, or flowers.

Planting—square-foot system

Plant a garden and reduce grocery bills. Consider the popular square-foot gardening method, which requires very little time, space, and trouble. Check with your librarian or online for a how-to book.

Planting—trees with purpose

Plant deciduous trees (the type that lose their leaves in winter) on the south side of your house. They will provide summer shade without blocking winter sun. Plant evergreens on the north to shield your home from cold winter winds.

Plants—acid lovers

For beautiful azaleas, gardenias, and other acid-loving plants, add 2 tablespoons of
white vinegar to a quart of water, and use to water these plants, occasionally.

Plants—no-drip watering

To keep hanging plants from dripping water, place a few ice cubes on top of the soil instead of watering with water. The cubes will melt slowly, releasing only the amount of water that the soil can easily absorb. By the time the cubes melt, the water will be warm enough not to shock the plant. This method is not acceptable for tropical or tender-leaf variety plants like African violets and orchids.

Plants—nutrition from boiled egg or pasta water

Don't throw out the water in which you've boiled eggs or pasta. The calcium and starches are great for watering houseplants.

Plants—portable when heavy

To transport a heavy plant or shrub, roll it onto a snow shovel. You can drag the shovel across the lawn without hurting your back.

Plants—seedlings, detergent scoop incubator

Save plastic scoops from laundry detergent boxes for planting seedling starters. (Of course, thoroughly wash the scoops before using.)

Plants—seedlings, grow lights

You don't need to buy an expensive grow light for your vegetable and flower seedlings. Regular fluorescent lights are just as effective, cost less, and last longer than fancy grow lights. If you combine one “cool white” with one “warm white” fluorescent tube in a standard shop fixture, your plants will thrive.

Plants—seedlings, plastic container hothouse

Those clear plastic containers with the lids attached that you get from a grocery store salad
bar or corner deli make great mini “greenhouses” for seeds you start indoors. Fill the container with potting soil, add seeds, and water. Keep the lid down, and place it on a windowsill in direct sunlight until seedlings shoot through the soil.

Plants—seedlings, wagon hothouse

Baby's first wagon can be recycled as a hothouse for seedlings. Fill it with dirt, cover it with a piece of glass or Plexiglas, and move it into the sun.

Plants—trellis for support

Tie together plastic loops from six-packs of soda cans, attach to a fence or pole, and use in the garden as a support for climbing plants.

Plants—warm shelter

Cut off the bottom of an empty plastic water or milk jug and place over young plants to protect them from freezing.

Pool—aboveground repairs

If your aboveground swimming pool develops tears and cracks, patch them using bathroom caulking, smoothing it onto the damaged, dry pool surface. Leave it on overnight, and it will dry to a flexible, waterproof surface.

Pool—less slippery

Put bathtub anti-slip decals on the bottom of a kid's pool to make it less slippery.

Pool—towel rack

A folding clothes rack makes a great poolside towel rack.

Snow—shoveling

Spray vegetable oil on your snow shovel to keep snow from sticking.

Snow—sweeping

If only a small amount of snow has covered your sidewalks, sweep the snow away with a broom instead of
shoveling it. The job will be completed more quickly and with much less stress to your back.

Surfaces—awnings

If your outdoor canvas awnings are faded and ugly, refurbish them by first cleaning them well and then repainting them with canvas paint.

Surfaces—concrete stains

Commercial cleansers such as Ajax and Comet work well to clean concrete that has been stained by mold or leaves. Sprinkle cleanser on the cement, add water, and scrub with a stiff broom. Allow to sit for a few hours, then rinse.