Store Apples and Pears Through Winter Without a Root Cellar
You don’t need a root cellar to store apples and pears through winter. A cardboard box, some newspaper, and a cold garage will get you fresh fruit into January for almost nothing.
-
-
Free Grass Clippings Mulch: How to Do It Right
Grass clippings are free summer mulch most people are literally throwing away. The trick is drying them first, keeping layers thin, and knowing which lawns to avoid. Here’s how to do it without the slime mat.
-
Fifth Season Gardening: Grow Food All Year Cheap
Most gardeners stop growing in October. Fifth season gardening treats those shoulder months as free growing time instead of dead time. Here’s how to stretch your harvests year-round without buying much.
-
Guerrilla Gardening Seed Bombs on a Budget
Making seed bombs costs almost nothing, and there are plenty of neglected spots that could use a little help. Here’s how to make them, what to plant, and how to do it without being a jerk about it.
-
How to Buy Native Plants Cheap (or Free)
Native plants look expensive at a regular garden center, but there are way cheaper options if you know where to look. From native plant society sales to conservation district programs to free divisions from neighbors, here’s how to fill your yard without spending much.
-
DIY Mud Kitchen Kids Can Love from Scrap and Pallet Wood
I built my daughter a mud kitchen from two pallets and a thrift store bowl for under six dollars. She made me carrot stew. I ate it. Worth it.
-
Free Organic Mulch: Where to Find It Before Summer
Free organic mulch is closer than you think. From arborist wood chip drops to coffee grounds from your local cafe, here’s where to find it, how thick to apply each type, and what that saves you versus buying bags.
-
Growing Cucumbers Cheap: Which Type Is Worth Your Space?
Slicing, pickling, or burpless? Picking the right cucumber saves you from a harvest you can’t use. Here’s how to trellis cheap, fix common problems, and not panic when the first flowers don’t set fruit.
-
Hugelkultur Raised Beds: How Much Soil You Actually Save
Filling a raised bed with bags of soil gets expensive fast. Hugelkultur lets you pack the bottom with wood and yard debris, which means you need way fewer bags on top. Here’s how the numbers actually shake out.
-
Seed Tape for Carrots (No More Thinning Regret)
Making seed tape for carrots takes about 20 minutes, costs almost nothing, and saves you from crouching over a row thinning seedlings you never wanted to thin in the first place. All you need is toilet paper, flour, and a toothpick.
-
Cheap Potato Planting: Scraps, Seed Spuds, and No Regrets
You can start potatoes from kitchen scraps or cheap seed potatoes and get a solid harvest either way. April is the right time in the Pacific Northwest, and the whole operation can cost almost nothing if you know what to cut.
-
Build a Hugelkultur Bed for Free with Yard Waste
Got a pile of rotting wood and a mountain of leaves going nowhere? You’re halfway to a hugelkultur bed. Here’s how to build one for free with nothing but yard waste and a little patience.
