Cheap 'green' gardening practices that work

Who doesn't want to save money? (Doesn't Jimmy Fallon say something like that in his commercials?)

And most of us want to do our part to save the planet—especially when an organic gardening practice doesn't cost us more, or better yet, costs less.

Here are a few inexpensive techniques that have worked for me:

• Plant Onion sets around the perimeter of the garden. Doing so achieves two objectives: You'll have a ready supply of Scallions and larger Onions throughout the growing season, and the Onions help to repel rabbits. This doesn't eliminate the problem, but it helps.

• Stuff small Onions down mole/vole/chipmunk holes. The critters might try to displace them, but if you're persistent, the Onions will keep them away from your favorite garden plants. Plus, they're biodegradable. I noticed a couple of small holes in my front lawn. I saw a chipmunk plop down into them several times, so I knew he was the guilty party. After plugging the holes with small onions, Mr. Chippy moved on. In the fall, I'll cover the spot with new soil and plant some grass seed.

• Place spiky wire fencing around the edges of potted plants to dissuade critters from digging there. In a previous post, I shared how I used Scallions, Cayenne Pepper, cat litter, and spiky evergreens to repel critters from my planters. All of these things worked temporarily, but the spiky fencing has worked now for a few weeks.

• Apply Corn gluten meal to your lawn in place of lawn fertilizers and herbicides (weed and feed). We get Corn gluten meal from a local agricultural cooperative, and apply it before the weeds emerge in the spring, and again in the fall. You might notice a slightly pungent organic scent for a couple of days, but it dissipates with time and rain. Our lawn was one of the greenest on the block this spring (before the drought). And very few weeds emerged. We pulled those that did by hand, but I've heard vinegar works post-emergence, too.

Source: Landmark Services Cooperative

• Plant Peas, Lupines, Beans, or other legumes in your garden to add nitrogen back to the soil. This improves the soil fertility and encourages hearty growth among neighboring plants.

• Plant flowers and vegetables together. Flowers attract pollinators for the vegetables, and the veggies improve the soil for the flowers. Companion planting is a time-tested method of repelling insects and critters and encouraging strong plant growth. Numerous companion planting guides are available on the Web, including a very extensive one on Wikipedia.

• Use untreated grass clippings or Marsh Hay as mulch on your vegetable/flower garden. They break down fast to enrich the soil, and as mulch, they keep weeds under control. While Straw and farm Hay often carry weed seeds, Marsh Hay has fewer seeds. It's now available at many garden centers, and some farmers grow it for sale.

• Place a shallow tub of beer among your plants to attract and drown slugs and earwigs. The tubs have to be refilled every few days and after heavy rain, but if you use cheap beer (the same cheap brand can be used to boil brats), it's not a high price to pay to prevent plant damage.

The next morning: Sorry, this is gross, but it works.

• Locate Roses in a mild, protected microclimate to prevent wind damage and minimize pests and diseases. I don't use systemic insecticides/fungicides on my Roses. I don't have showstopper Roses, and I'm still searching for effective organic treatments that work, but in the meantime growing them in a protected spot seems to help. Some of my Roses grow at the base of a stone wall. The temperature here remains warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Wind damage is minimal.  The spot could use a little more sun to encourage blooms, but the Roses are very healthy with no chemical treatment. Because they're not stressed, they're less susceptible to damage from black spot, powdery mildew, and other diseases.

I've tried all these techniques with surprising success. My sources: Organic Gardening magazine, friends' suggestions, and my own trial and error. The goals: to keep my garden as chemical-free as possible and to save money. Once I got into the mode of finding "green" ways to deal with gardening issues, it became a fun, personal challenge. Plus, it's a good excuse to do some shopping (see my related post under the "products" tab).

Please share your favorite "green" (both organic and inexpensive) gardening techniques. I'm always looking for more.

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On another topic, I'm truly honored that Helene at Graphicality - UK has bestowed PlantPostings with the Illuminating Blogger Award. Thank you, Helene, and I apologize for taking so long to link here. The Illuminating Blogger Award honors bloggers who provide illuminating, informative blog content. To meet the award's requirements, the rules are simple:

• Visit the award site and leave a comment that you were nominated, and by whom;

• Thank the blogger who nominated you by posting and leaving a link to their blog;

• Share one random thing about yourself in your blog post;

• Select at least five other bloggers to nominate because you enjoy reading their illuminating, informative posts; and

• Inform your nominees, and include a link to the award site: foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award.

OK, one random thing about me (this is the first thing that came to mind): I love Pistachio ice cream.

And it says select "at least five" other bloggers to nominate. So, I pick all the bloggers on my blogroll and my favorites on Blotanical. Congratulations!

Thank you, Helene!

Diary of a worried, traveling plant nerd

Friday, June 22: I spend the day watering tender plants. The grass is crunchy and going dormant. Some plants look stressed and unlikely to make it much longer after weeks without rain and temperatures in the 90s. We are about to head to Branson, Mo., early tomorrow morning. This afternoon, my daughter’s friend comes over so I can explain the locks, the cats’ food and water needs, and how to turn on the sprinkler for two specific areas in the garden. I’ve placed all my potted plants under the arc of one of the sprinklers. The forecast looks a little better: highs in the low 80s for the first part of next week. But next to no precipitation in the 10-day outlook.

Saturday, June 23: We hit the road at 5:30 a.m., for a full day of driving through Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri—heading to a family reunion. I eagerly anticipate reconnecting with aunts and uncles, cousins, their kids and grandkids, and my nieces. My garden is mostly out of sight, out of mind. But there’s a nagging, minor worry just under the surface—I always think about the cats, but this time I worry about the plants, too. The weather is not looking good.

Sunday, June 24 – Wednesday, June 27: Family activities and Branson attractions keep my mind occupied. It’s too hot to hike or spend much time outside. We observe a new plant that the northerners among our clan aren’t familiar with: Crepe Myrtles. They look like Lilacs from a distance and come in various shades, from pink to mauve and purple. Not hardy in zone 5. Thoughts about my garden start to creep back as I watch the weather forecast for Branson and home. It will be 107 in Branson on Thursday and 97 at home. Neither location has had much rain since mid-May. I don’t sleep well—thinking about traveling home and what I will find there. Will the cats be OK? Will the plants be dead?

Thursday, June 28: We spend most of the day inside. It’s so hot, we feel stressed walking from the condo to the gathering room. Still, lots of laughs and fun times with the family. Plants are drying out here in Branson. The sprinkler systems come on in the evening, reminding me that my garden is likely equally stressed and out of my control.

Friday, June 29: We’ll leave for home tomorrow morning. I spend the morning photographing Crepe Myrtles and various other plants around the condo property. I take a quick dip in the pool, and by noon I’m ready to head inside for lunch and, later, a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. I don’t think about the plants much today, because I’ve convinced myself worry won’t help (took me a while, didn’t it?).

Saturday, June 30: Up at dawn again. The trip home is rushed, but thankfully mostly uneventful. When we get home, I do a preliminary assessment. I’m relieved, for the most part. Cooler temperatures at the beginning of the week and my daughter’s friend’s care have kept most of the tender plants alive. Still, two plants are flat on the ground and I’m not sure whether they’ll survive—a Hydrangea bush that I forgot to ask her to water, and a new Hellebore that doesn’t seem to have benefitted enough from the light watering. I water both liberally and aim the sprinkler on the perennial garden. And then I retreat to the air-conditioned house.

Sunday, July 1 – Wednesday, July 4: I don’t like to baby the plants, but without water, many of them will surely die. The Hydrangeas, in particular, suck up the water so fast and need to be watered every day in this heat. Our area has had 0.31 inches of rain since June 1—the driest June on record. We might tie the all-time record high of 104 on Thursday, July 5—and the humidity (around 50%) is much higher here than in Branson.

The Crabapples are stressed. Their leaves litter the dormant grass at their base.

The Mayapples are burned up and long-gone for the season. I don’t water them because they’re in the wild, wooded part of the garden.

The Fiddlehead Ferns are drying and look horrible. But they can be a bit invasive and likely will bounce back later in the season, so I don’t worry too much about them.

My cut flower/kitchen garden is thriving. I’ve planted sun-loving, heat-tolerant plants here, and a few waterings while we were gone kept them all satisfied.

The potted plants are fine since they were watered, too.

The setting sun seems friendly and threatening at the same time.

Still, not much rain in the forecast, but the temperatures will cool to our normal low-80s highs on the weekend. I smelled rain when we drove through a storm on the way home from Branson, and now it’s a smell and a sensation I can’t wait to experience here at home. And the birds, animals, and plants are looking forward to it, too.

(Note: I thought long and hard about how to write this post. I can’t really complain, with fires, strong storms, hotter temperatures, and power outages in other parts of the country. But one of the purposes of this blog is to document what’s happening in my garden over time. So, a diary format seemed appropriate. Many of us in the U.S. will remember the growing season of 2012 for a long time to come.)

(Oh, by the way, the cats were fine during our absence. They received excellent care and attention, and had a nice, cool basement to escape to.)

Happy 4th, and stay cool and safe!

Plant of the month: Tall Bearded Iris

Do you ever regret missing out on the bloom time or the peak display time for a plant? Perhaps the time passes too quickly and you're too busy when it happens. Or some other factor causes you to miss the show.

Iris germanica

For me, this year it was the Irises. The ones in my garden didn't bloom, probably because they need to be divided, or because of late April frost/freezes after a warm March. The Irises in my garden are big, beautiful bearded Irises that my friend, Jan, passed along several years ago. They smell like grapes and they usually bloom in early June.

Based on their characteristics, I'm guessing the cultivar is 'Madame Chereau' or 'Stepping Out'—heirloom German Bearded Irises that grow to about 40 inches in height.

Bearded Irises prefer well-drained soil, in partial or full sun, according to the American Iris Society (AIS). They need at least a few hours of sun each day. My friend, Elaine, taught me to plant them very shallowly, and the AIS says to keep the tops of the rhizomes exposed, with only light mulching.

Overcrowded Irises need to be dug up, divided, and replanted every few years—preferably in late summer or early fall. I'm looking forward to that task, and the chance to encourage new blooms for next year.

So, I missed out on this favorite plant for this year. But not really, because I was able to enjoy flowering Irises of many varieties on display in New Orleans during our trip there in March. Most of the Irises I captured were beardless. I don't have IDs on these.

There are about 300 species of Irises and numerous hybrids and cultivars, according to the Pacific Bulb Society. Bearded, beardless, ruffled, flat, German, Dutch, Siberian, Japanese...and even Louisianas, native to the American Gulf Coast.

For more information about Irises of all varieties, visit the American Iris Society and The Society for Louisiana Irises websites.

Strange spring stories

It seems odd to be discussing lessons learned from the spring, when springtime weather is long-gone. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I know some of you, too, have reported unusual weather this past season. I can't believe tomorrow is the first full day of summer here—we've had hot weather for weeks!

We're in a bit of a drought here in Dane County, Wisconsin. It has rained north, south, east, and west of here, but the soil here is cracking and crops are languishing. Dane County is among the most bountiful agricultural counties in the Midwest. But the farmers are more nervous with each passing day without rain. Adding high winds and 90+ temperatures for several days makes the outlook even more concerning.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but the grass has gone dormant. That's OK, but some of the new plants need a deep drink. The Cotoneaster in the foreground is doing just fine and I haven't watered it at all. But it likes to dry out between waterings.

The established perennials in the backyard look like they typically do this time of year, but they're in deep shade. Unfortunately, they're showing signs of stress, too. I'll keep you posted on the rainfall, but in the meantime I've been watering potted plants, new perennials, and the kitchen garden regularly—to stay ahead of the drought.

And yet, this post is about garden lessons learned in the crazy season we're just now exiting. Thank you to those who participated in the meme! Bloggers who linked in included:

Karin at Southern Meadows. I thought spring was early here, but Karin says her spring weather began in February and quickly morphed to the 90s in early May. Her No.1 advice rings true for me: Don't think you can outsmart Mother Nature! Karin's plans for a late harvest of cool season vegetables didn't work out exactly as planned. Karin's post also includes some excellent lessons and photo captures of caterpillars and snakes!

Girl Sprout NM. She offers a creative take on combining memes in one post. And she cautions: If you decide to plant fussy trees, be ready for the consequences. Unfortunately, one of her Aspens has a canker disease. She advises being grateful for the benefits of weather anomalies, and preparing for the extra care plants need during a drought. Take a look at her impressive square-foot garden.

Michelle at The Sage Butterfly. I must admit, her advice is so important, but sometimes quite difficult to do: Breathe purposefully. The ground never froze in Michelle's garden during the winter, so spring was on hyper drive when it hit. She advises us to accept what comes, realize nature rules, and acknowledge that change is good!

Holley at Roses and Other Gardening Joys. Sunflowers are the highlight of Holley's lessons. It's the first year she has planted them, and she can't wait to get out in the vegetable garden each day. Holley's advice: Grow something fun in your vegetable garden. And make sure you drink a soda now and then. To find out why, check out her post!

Donna at Garden's Eye View. Donna also covered several memes in her post. Among her lessons: Even an experienced gardener like Donna can admit that she doesn't have it all under control. "I am now convinced that I don't know what a typical spring means anymore," she says. "I need to be more like the frog and just go with it." Donna has also discovered the joys of early morning gardening—out of necessity because of the heat.

Rose at Prairie Rose's Garden. The most encouraging part of Rose's post is the lesson about individual creativity and personality in the garden. She attended the Garden Bloggers' Fling in Asheville, N.C., and says the most important lesson she learned there is that no two gardens are the same, and it's OK to bend the "rules" to reflect your own personal style. "It took seeing so many different gardens over the course of a few short days, each with their own special style," she says, "to realize that I don't have to copy someone else's garden, and that my small and often chaotic garden is just fine."

Please visit these excellent posts—I guarantee you'll enjoy them, and you'll learn something new in the process. And check out the comments section on the "lessons learned" post for more garden suggestions and observations. Did I miss anyone? If so, let me know and I'll add you in.

I'm a little distracted and worried about my garden and the local farmers' crops. We need rain. I realize this drought can't compare with the one in the south last year, but I can see it must have been tough. As I write this, a thunderstorm is about to hit, but we'll need more. It's too early in the summer for the plants to dry out...