Wednesday, March 22, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
VEGGIES: It’s a
challenge but it
can be done
Gear up to garded od a budget
By Kyl Pokorny
Oregon State Extension Service
Continued from page 22
but rotating the crops annually
to different parts of the garden
will help decrease those poten-
tial problems.
Trees, especially aspen, that
are close to the garden can be
a serious threat. Their roots
extend in every direction for
water and nutrients and can
dominate a garden bed quickly.
Frost is a way of life in
Central Oregon — and can
occur any month of the year!
Watch the weather predictions
and be prepared to protect
tomatoes, squash, and young
corn with special row cov-
ers or old sheets. Water-filled
plastic covers, like “wall-o-
waters” give good protection
to tomatoes in a light frost. A
thick blanket of straw or hay
can protect most plants from
serious cold weather. A green-
house can be used for starting
seeds in early spring in a pro-
tected environment and can
extend the growing season for
some plants into the winter.
And if you get really seri-
ous about gardening and have
enough room, build a root cel-
lar for storing your crops!
23
Corvallis – “Gardening is
like any other hobby,” said
Brooke Edmunds, a horti-
culturist with Oregon State
University Extension Service.
“It takes some level of invest-
ment. But it doesn’t have to
be that expensive. There are
shortcuts.”
Some of them are easy.
Buying smaller plants is a no-
brainer if you’re looking to
save money. Some techniques
— think saving seeds or mak-
ing compost — take more
effort. But all of Edmunds’
tips bring the same result -
keeping your wallet fatter.
Adopt some of her advice to
start saving money on your
gardening budget.
Use seeds instead of starts.
Although there’s an initial
investment of lights, trays and
planting mix, it doesn’t take
long to make up the money
and start saving dramati-
cally. “You’ll get a lot more
plants – some packets have
100 seeds,” Edmunds said.
“You’ll have enough to trade
with friends and get a wider
variety.” To save even more,
reuse trays. If plants grown
in a tray didn’t show signs of
disease, just clean with soap
and water. If there was damp-
ing off or any other kind of
disease, wash them and then
disinfect with a solution of 1
part bleach to 10 parts water.
To save even more, sprout
seeds in egg cartons, news-
paper rolled into cylinders
or plastic cartons with holes
punched in the bottom for
water drainage.
Buy smaller plants. If
you’re not the impatient type,
buying smaller plants – a
4-inch pot instead of 1 gal-
lon or a 1 gallon instead of
a 5 – will save you a pretty
penny.
Make your own com-
post. “It takes more time,
but it saves a lot of money,”
Edmunds said. “Use your
kitchen scraps and garden
waste and start building your
own.” If you’ve got your own
chicken or livestock or know
someone who does, mix that
into the compost pile for an
even richer end result. Make
sure you let it decompose
well. A good rule of thumb
is until there are no pieces of
recognizable bedding left.
Shop sales: Search out
plant sales, usually abundant
in spring. Check newspaper
calendars, ask friends, con-
tact Extension master garden-
ers in your area to see if they
are holding a sale or know of
any. At nurseries, shop dur-
ing the dog days of summer
or in late fall. Also, some gar-
den centers have a corner set
aside for plant “seconds.”
Save seeds. Collecting
seeds at the end of the sea-
son makes sense when you’re
looking to save money or
even if you’re not.
Hold a plant and seed
swap. Dig up plant “babies”
or divide larger plants. Set
aside some of those tomato
plants you started from seed.
Brew some coffee, invite
some friends who have some-
thing to share and throw a
party.
Make use of recycled
materials. Garage sales, thrift
shops and the classified sec-
tions of newspapers and
online shopping sites often
have gardening parapher-
nalia, everything from used
brick and rock to pots and
old tools, at greatly reduced
prices or free. It’s also fun
to forage for natural materi-
als such as interesting stems
or stones to make edging or
bamboo poles for fences.
Build your plant collection
with cuttings. Propagating by
cuttings can be as difficult or
easy as you want to make it.
Neil Bell, an Extension hor-
ticulturist, advocates for the
easy way, which has enriched
him by thousands of plants
over the years.
Attract beneficial insects.
Instead of reaching for chem-
icals or even organic prod-
ucts, plant things that attract
beneficial insects that will eat
the bad bugs and balance out
your garden’s ecosystem.
Split a load of mulch.
Save on delivery costs by
buying a load of mulch or
compost with a neighbor.
Save even more by keeping
your eyes peeled for arborists
taking down trees. They’ll
often share wood chips that
you can turn into mulch.
More detailed information
on these topics is available at
http://extension.oregonstate.
edu/community/gardening.
Resources include garden-
ing tips, videos, podcasts,
monthly calendars of out-
door chores, how-to pub-
lications, and information
about the Master Gardener
program.
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