How to Make Green, Affordable Versions of Basic Garden Staples

Like Midas with his golden touch, some individuals are endowed with the ability to green an infinite array of botanicals using nothing more than a batch of homemade compost and the right collection of sweet nothings (whispered ever so encouragingly at leaves, buds and tendrils). That’s hardly the case with the rest of us. Growing a garden, successfully, I might add, can often require a great deal of time, patience, persistence and honest-to-goodness hard work. There are rumors that it can be a cathartic experience, but if your thumbs happen to be a deeper shade of brown rather than green, digging in the dirt can oftentimes be an exercise in pure frustration. Among the many conundrums that the amateur gardener can face, a few perennial questions rise to the top of the list, such as: “Why are there brown spots on my tomatoes?” “Where the heck did those caterpillars come from?” “How can I prevent those rascally squirrels from chomping countless bites out of my veggie patch and then thoughtlessly spitting all their rejects out on my walkway?” Whether you stick with mainstream landscaping projects or take advantage of warmer seasons to grow your own food, several crucial gardening supplies are necessary in order to go the distance, but they generally come at a wallet-weeping cost. That is, unless you whip out your DIY-repurposing skills. As the following list of easy-to-do projects suggests, the only thing standing between you and your drool-worthy garden is not money, but two willing and able hands (plus a whole lot of scavenged and recycled materials).

Plant markers using recycled…

Wooden chopsticks Compact discs Vinyl window blind slats Silverware

Hanging planters using recycled…

PET soda bottles Denim jeans Metal coffee cans with resealable lids (spruced up with decorative fabric scraps) Gourds

Garden planters and pots using recycled…

Shoes (don’t forget to drill a few holes in the bottom of each sole for proper root drainage) Chairs Steel or aluminum cans Food packaging “molds” filled with concrete

Mulch using recycled…

Tree bark Cocoa beans (but pet owners should steer clear since the theobromine content is toxic to curious critters that munch on it) Tree leaves

Chemical-free fertilizers

For lush green grass Two-in-one DIY compost tea (nourishes plants while keeping disease at bay)

Everything from salt and fresh basil to peppermint and rhubarb leaf Onion-jalapeño-garlic recipe