Money saving gardening tips + our strawberry patch!

Don't these strawberries look yummy!  They sure tasted yummy.  When we moved into our house last year we were pleasantly surprised to find we had a strawberry patch in the back yard.  The bowl of strawberries above was picked yesterday (aren't they pretty).  Needless to say I have been eating strawberries for the last 2 days LOL!

This is my favorite time of year.  I usually spend lots of time outdoors planting and working in the flower gardens.  What I don't like is having to spend lots of money doing it.  I couldn't believe Walmart was asking almost $8.00 for a bag of  Miracle Grow potting soil (it wasn't a big one either lol!). The price of flowers seems to have skyrocketed too!  Here's some money saving tips to help keep the cost of one of my favorite hobbies down:

• When I buy flowers I save the plastic containers they come in (the round plastic ones are the best).  I turn one upside down and place it in the bottom of one of my large flower pots. This provides drainage for the plants and takes up space so I so don't use nearly as much potting soil.  Annuals don't need a lot of  room for their root systems because they have such a short growing season, dying with the first good freeze.

• Sprinkle salt between decorative rocks or patio stones to keep grass from growing and to kill weeds.

• You can also use full strength vinegar to kill grass and weeds between rocks and in sidewalk cracks.

• Here's two recipes for pest control: #1 mix a tablespoon of dish soap with a cup of cooking oil.  Mix 3 tablespoons of this with 1 quart of water and spray on plants. #2 Steep about 6-8 cloves of garlic with some red pepper flakes in a quart of water.  Let this mixture set for about a week and then spray on plants.

• Another use for vinegar:  Clean the white salt buildup on clay pots by soaking them in undiluted vinegar.

• Stale coffee and coffee grounds make great organic (and cheap) fertilizer. They provide many trace minerals as well as  nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.