Like everyone, I am self-Isolating with family and staying home as much as I can because I'm the designated driver for shopping essentials. While I'm at home I have been looking through my treasure trove of saved household hints, tips, and recipes. I thought I would start to share these along with the regular posts from the Wartime era.
Many of these useful hints and tips are tried and tested over time, in today's world they still are relevant. The useful hints and tips for today are all about gardening. As always these are frugal tips and won't cost you the earth and many of the items can be already found at home.
GARDENING TIPS:
1 tbsp (20g) Epson salts dissolved in about 1 pt (550ml) luke warm water is a marvellous tonic for plants, especially roses.
Eggshells ground finely may be used not only as a fertiliser but also a slug deterrent.
After putting garden waste on a compost heap, cover a black plastic bag weighed down with stones. This gives the best and quickest conditions for rotting.
Don’t throw away those nettles; when they have rattled put them into a bucket outdoors, cover with water, and leave for 2 to 3 weeks. The resulting strongly smelling liquid is an unrivalled fertiliser, especially good for tomatoes.
Eggshells ground finely may be used not only as a fertiliser but also a slug deterrent.
After putting garden waste on a compost heap, cover a black plastic bag weighed down with stones. This gives the best and quickest conditions for rotting.
Don’t throw away those nettles; when they have rattled put them into a bucket outdoors, cover with water, and leave for 2 to 3 weeks. The resulting strongly smelling liquid is an unrivalled fertiliser, especially good for tomatoes.
Bury banana skin and crush eggshells near the roots of rose trees to supply them with extra vitamins and minerals.
Garlic grown near roses is supposed to keep them clear of Aphids (greenfly).
Use leaf mould on your garden instead of expensive fertiliser. Collect autumn leaves in sacks, put a brick on each sack and by spring your free leaf mould is ready for use.
Use an old bicycle pump as a pest killer spray in the garden.
To get rid of ants in the garden, sprinkle some talcum powder.
Sprinkle salt on paths and brickwork crevices to get rid of weeds and grass. Salt will have the same effect if sprinkled on the roots of weeds in the garden. Sprinkle salt on slugs to kill them. (*Always be cautious about using salt as it will also kill everything else too.)
Spread soot or coal around the lettuce bed to keep off slugs.
Remove green fungi from a cement path or patio by pouring on water containing bleach, then scrub with a brush.
I hope everyone is having a good day or evening. Staying safe at home. And being kind to one another.
Hi Shiralee,
ReplyDeleteGood gardening tips. I've used the epsom salts on roses before. I'll have to try the others. Hope yall are staying well!
Blessings
Good hints, Shiralee. We have heaps of grasshoppers here that are eating all the plants so I am a bit reluctant to plant our my veggie seedlings as they will disappear overnight I think.
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