Gardening expert Marianne Binetti shows how anyone can grow healthy plants using common items such as coffee grounds, soap and cayenne pepper.
Food
- The water used for boiling vegetables is packed with nutrients, so save it to feed houseplants. Allow it to cool before using.
- Use coffee grounds to enrich your soil. Poke holes to embed the grounds in the soil. If left on top, they attract animals.
Bug control
- Spray reserved dishwashing water (from pure soap, not antibacterial) onto leaves. The dried soap scum deters bugs from eating.
- Fill an empty dishwashing soap bottle with water to use the remnant soap on plants.
- Spraying a solution of one-quarter ammonia and three-quarters water at the crown of outdoor plants keeps slugs away.
- Sprinkle cayenne pepper on the tips of roses to keep away hungry deer.
Miscellaneous
- Don't use bread twists to hold stems of plants together because the wire will cut. Use flexible old nylon stockings instead because they allow unrestricted plant growth.
- Create a mini-greenhouse with a clean plastic takeout container. Poke holes in the bottom and top, plant seeds, water, cover and watch the plants grow in this perfect humidified environment.
- The mini-greenhouse needs a good source of heat, so store it by a window sill or on top of the refrigerator.
Resources Easy Answers for Great Gardens: 500 Tips, Techniques, and Outlandish Ideas
by Marianne Binetti
Sasquatch Books, 2000
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Shortcuts for Accenting Your Garden: Over 500 Easy and Inexpensive Tips
by Marianne Binetti
Storey Books, 1993
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Tips for Carefree Landscapes: Over 500 Sure-Fire Ways to Beautify Your Yard and Garden
by Marianne Binetti
Storey Books, 1990
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Guests Marianne Binetti
Gardening Expert / Author
PO Box 872
Enumclaw, WA 98022
Phone: 360-825-6186
E-mail:
Info@BinettiGarden.com
Website:
www.binettigarden.com
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