My wife should be submitting her idea! She uses polyacrylamide crystal products to conserve water for her transplants. As she is mixing up a pail of crystals and water to rehydrate them, she adds fertilizers and other water soluble supplements to the water so they are absorbed by the gel particles. Then where ever she puts a transplant in the garden, she puts a handful of hydrated goodies in the bottom of each hole. She saves a lot of fuss with watering and feeding and gives her plants in our very short Vermont growing season a good headstart.

John J Smiler

Recycle that newspaper everyday by mulching your plants with it. Newspaper makes a great weed block when your small seedlings need it the most and then it decomposes into the soil, enriching it with organic matter. Also, newspaper, whether shredded or applied in whole sheets, is a great way to conserve moisture in the soil.

Regards, OldGrafter

My brother taught me this planting trick years ago and it works very well in establishing vegetable and flower transplants very quickly.  Before you put your transplants into the planting hole, fill the hole with a generous amount of water and allow it to soak into the ground. Once the water is mostly absorbed, place your plant into the hole and fill with soil.  This places the water at root level allowing the plant to quickly establish itself.  Happy Gardening.

Linda Demaine

For a greener lawn mix one half cup epsom salts, two tablespoons regular concentrated fertilizer and water to fill a sprayer. Spray lawn with this mixture in mid-spring and late fall to help lawn stay green all the seasons.

Dave Smith

When using soil from the garden to use for making potting soil, it needs to be sterilized to kill diseases or weed seeds.  Most places would say to bake the soil in the oven, which can be very smelly. An easier way is to boil water and pour the boiling water into the garden soil to sterilize it. Then let the water drain and the soil cool before using it.

Lisa Logue

    We save all our eggshells to recycle in the garden.  After drying, and crushing, we spade them into the soil where they replenish calcium without costing us a dime!  This helps prevent calcium deficiency problems like "blossom end rot" in tomatoes. 

Anonymous

One of my favorites to use over the drainage hole in a pot is nylon netting in double or triple layers. This stuff is around 99¢ per 45" wide yard, never decays, and the colors are pretty enough you can leave a ruffle of net showing inside the pot. Or, wrap the pot in more net of complementary or matching colors, tie off with a ribbon, and have a great gift! I also use the excess of improperly cut plastic window screen, which drains beautifully and keeps the soil seriously in place. I have also used non-compostable shipping peanuts, as well as salt free popcorn, in large containers. These also make the larger pots a little lighter.

Sara Cooper

I want to tell you how much I have enjoyed your e-mail's and all of the good info. I live here in South TX and we always have a problem with Bermuda grass getting into the garden, especially in town. I don't like to use the toxic stuff (Roundup) so I cheat a little and use newspaper. I put it down in the fall where I want my bed, usually about an inch thick.  By spring, it is ready to work and the old Bermuda grass hasn't got a chance.

Veronica Jackson