What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[TooCheep]

Buy a Quality Potting Mix and/or Seed Starting Mix

People don't understand the difference between different kinds of soil offered at retail stores. The following video does a great job breaking down the differences, which ones are worth buying and how you can "convert" from one to another:

 

[gtaus]

If you still have any of this mix left and want to use it up for seed starting I would sift it. If you add in some perlite it will help lighten the mix further.

If I were going to use it in a large planter I would not sift it but still add in some perlite.

Hope this helps.

Thank you. That is also what I am thinking. I plan to sift the potting mix, add some vermiculite and peat moss. I have both of them on hand so I would not have to buy anything new. That should lighted the potting mix up quite a bit and improve the quality.

Of course, I understand that potting soil/mixes from different brands might not have the same quality, but I was surprised at how much lower quality the stuff I bought this year was compared to what I bought last year. My only excuse is that the plastic bag was opaque and I could not see the potting soil until I opened it at home. Like I said, I was almost immediately disappointed in the stuff I bought.

I think I could have improved the potting soil with your suggestions of sifting and amending, but when I bought my potting mix the vermiculite and peat most was still outside, under the snow, in containers. So, that was not a good option at that time.

 

[Smokerbill]

I never had a basket for carrying veggies out of the garden so I made one today... out of a cardboard box. Don't laugh too much, it works!

 

[gtaus]

Handy Small Pruning Chainsaws

I have a couple of Ryobi 6 and 8 inch one-handed small pruning chainsaws. I find I use them more and more for lots of my yard cleanup projects. I paid about $60 each, without batteries, for my pruning chainsaws.

I have been using my pruning chainsaws for the last 4 weeks on small jobs and yard cleanups, and have yet to us any of my full-sized chainsaws this year. I find most of my yard jobs just don't require a full-sized two-handed chainsaw.

Yesterday, Menards sent out this ad...

They sold out in less than 24 hours. I don't know what the quality of that particular North Tech pruning chainsaw is, but that price is unbelievable. I post this Sold Out ad item only because I know that Menards sometimes will repeat the same ad a few weeks later. In the meantime, you might be able to look around for reviews on that item if you are interested.

To be certain, you cannot compare these small on-handed pruning chainsaws to a full-sized chainsaw. However, most of my yard work cleanup only requires cutting up 2 to 3 inch round branches into smaller lengths to toss into my fire ring, for example.

I really like the ability to hold a branch in one hand and cut it with the pruning chainsaw in the other. It makes yard clean up go much faster than when I used a full-sized chainsaw that required both hands on the chainsaw.

For years, I used reciprocating saws with pruning blades and thought that was the best option. But my reciprocating saws still require both hands on the saw and using them one-handed was not the way they were designed to be used. The reciprocating saw was off balanced when using only one hand. Also, because the saw blade moved only back and forth maybe 1/2 an inch, it would often grab a smaller branch and just shake it to death. Having said that, the reciprocating saw with a pruning blade was my main tool for yard clean up for about 15 years. Until I got my pruning chainsaws...

There are a number of advantages to these small pruning chainsaws. One-handed operation is certainly on top. Other benefits are that they are so light and don't normally require lots of bar oil. Because the chain rotates around the bar, it will pick up a small branch and draw it into the chainsaw stop, allowing you to cut it better than the reciprocating saw which would probably just shake that small branch to death. Battery operation on these pruning chainsaws is a great advantage over gas chainsaws, if, like me, you have to fight with starting a full-sized chainsaw that you only use maybe a few times per year.

I imagine that lots of people would probably never need anything bigger than a small pruning chainsaw to cut up that occasional branch that falls down after a strong wind. You can save lots of money by buying one of these smaller pruning chainsaws if you don't really need a full-sized chainsaw. Even so, these small pruning chainsaws could save you wear and tear on a much bigger chainsaw which is not needed for most yard cleanup.

Again, I know nothing about the quality of this specific North Tech 4-inch pruning chainsaw at Menards. But if does not work for you, you can return it. If it works for your needs, then you would be saving a lot of money compared to buying a full-sized chainsaw. Just about every tool brand is selling their version of these pruning chainsaws. I just have not seen any sold at this low of a price.

 

[gtaus]

Repair Plastics Instead of Tossing Them Out

A few years ago, I purchased a Plastic Welding kit from Amazon...

Most of the time I just toss out broken plastic stuff. It's probably not worth fixing. However, today I was using a plastic watering can that had a few leaks in the bottom, and it was getting my shoes all wet. I swear I think I only paid about $2.00 for it back a few years ago, but that same watering can is now selling for $5.00 at Menards...

For that price, I took out my plastic welding kit and repaired the watering can myself, filling the holes/cracks using the plastic welding rods that came in the kit. No more leaks.

I would not buy a plastic welding kit for just one project, but over the past couple of years, I have used the kit enough for it to have paid for itself and then some. Mostly used on plastic stuff that I cannot replace, or where a simple repair gets the unit back in service. Heck, today it saved me another $5.00.

The plastic welding kit is something that I imagine not too many people are aware of for use in repairing plastic stuff. Over the long term, it will probably save you some money. If you don't mind fixing stuff and extending the useful life of a product, you might want to consider a plastic welding kit.

YouTube video of plastic welding repair...

 

[gtaus]

I chipped up some small branches yesterday with my little electric Sun Joe CJ602E woodchipper. That woodchipper is really only good for small yard cleanups. You can chip up branches about 1-1/2 inches round max. But what it is designed for, it works pretty well.

I used the wood chips I made yesterday to put into my chick brooder today to freshen up the brooder litter for the chicks...

Chicks are still under red light in the brooder for a few weeks. But the picture shows how well the Sun Joe chipper chips up those branches.

I don't use my Sun Joe chipper very much anymore. It's only good for small branches, and chipping wood in that chipper takes a long time. But, as long as I had to clean up fallen branches off the lawn, I might as well use them for something useful, like litter for the chicks in the brooder. That electric chipper is about perfect for making wood chip bedding for the chickens.

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[Smokerbill]

Does anyone grow potato onions, aka, multiplier onions? These are NOT the same as Egyptian Walking Onions.

You plant a bulb in the fall, and get 5-8 the next end-of-summer.

Supposedly, they aren't supposed to flower. Mine never have. Until this year. Just about every single one is flowering. I was wondering if cutting off the flower would make a larger set of onions. So I cut some off.

Then I started reading from this site.
https://sites.google.com/site/kellysgarden/potato-onions
specifically this page:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Id1Zd06_mcLIQ6FjymBueqxd7mWwLX2PBeNsSOdv6I/edit?hl=en

I'm going to collect seed from the flowers and try growing them next year. Just for fun, and the who knows factor.

I followed this link that was in one of the above articles and found this picture. Looks like a great way to save a little money by making seed starter pots with newspaper.

Would it be better to use a square form (like an A1 steak sauce bottle?) instead of the round bottle?

 

[TooCheep]

Would it be better to use a square form (like an A1 steak sauce bottle?) instead of the round bottle?

Frankly, the plants wouldn't care. The main benefit would be that you can squeeze more square inches of seed-starting soil in rectangular form than round, but if you aren't pressed for space, the gaps won't matter.

I'd be more concerned about using paper pots instead of plastic in general. Although there are issues with plastics, I've had bad experiences with cardboard planters and mold in the past.

 

[gtaus]

I followed this link that was in one of the above articles and found this picture. Looks like a great way to save a little money by making seed starter pots with newspaper.

Would it be better to use a square form (like an A1 steak sauce bottle?) instead of the round bottle?

You can make a square starter pot out of any round form. Check this out...

All you need to do is flatten the round tube, then fold it in half again. That gives you 4 equal sides. Cut the bottom tabs and fold them in. Now you have a perfect square pot.

 

[gtaus]

I'd be more concerned about using paper pots instead of plastic in general. Although there are issues with plastics, I've had bad experiences with cardboard planters and mold in the past.

@Smokerbill, I agree with @TooCheep on this point. I had all kinds of mold growing on my paper roll and toilet paper roll plant starting pots. It did not work for me. But I have heard other people that have had success with paper rolls. I did not.

I have had great success using plastic 3-inch net pots. They hold more potting soil, you can grow the plants in them longer, the roots air prune themselves, and there is almost no transplant shock when you put the plug into the final garden bed. Although not free, you can get a pack of 50 for less than $10.00 and use them year after year.

I can grow my pepper and tomato starts in the 3-inch net pots for up to 8 weeks without having to up-pot the plants. That is a real advantage in time savings for me. You can get net pots in other sizes as well, both larger and smaller. I took the recommendation for the 3-inch net pots from a YouTube video that I watched years ago.