4 Tips For Getting Plant Bargains at the Store

Yesterday, we searched for decorative plants for my brother's yard.  His back yard is full sun, and his front yard is mostly shady, and he plans to live in his house for quite a while.  As usual, I had my eye out for a bargain, which made me think more about ways to get plants for cheap at stores.  It's amazing what deals you can get on plants that need a little TLC.

Replanted Basil Update

In February, I immersed 2 woody stems from a dying basil plant in water in the hopes that they would grow roots.  One of the stems has not grown roots yet, but has produced new leaves.

The second stem has grown larger leaves, and several roots that are 3-5 inches long.  The plastic container I used, which formerly held gummy candy, proved perfect for this task.  It was clear and let sunlight in, kept the stems a uniform temperature, and had a lid that was easy to cut to place the stems in.

We Have Birds!

Spring break just ended here in the Northeast, three days ago, I was working in the living room and noticed three small girls outside the corner window.

They seemed determined to bend the tall bush/small tree in half until it broke, so I wandered outside, and asked what they were up to.  "We think there's a bird's nest in here!  A bird keeps flying out, and we've been watching it."

The tree is basically a tall bush with three trunks, all of which are covered in flat needles from just above ground level to the top.  I pulled down one of the trunks from the top and bent it down, revealing a beautiful little nest about 6 feet up.

The girls and I made a deal, that they would only check it once a day, and I would take pictures and leave them for them to see so we didn't scare the birds away. I held the branch aside, and the girls took turns holding each other up so that they could see the 5 little blue eggs inside.  They were excited, but worried that the mother bird wouldn't return.

Yesterday, I took my camera outside, set the delay, and raised it up above my head to take the picture above.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the screen and saw a cute little baby bird begging for food. The girls were delighted to see the baby, and I almost expected them to run to the next and half destroy it to it.  But, they impressed me immeasurably.  They stuck to their one-peek-a-day rule, and just looked at it  once.

In the meantime, I'm not sure what kind of bird they are, because the mother flies far away whenever I try to take a picture of her, but soon I'll be able to get one and find out.  In the meantime, we have three bird feeders, which I keep full.  One is a finch feeder, one is a suet block in the front yard, and the third is my favorite, a small platform feeder in a small tree that looks like a manger.  I hope to keep them around and happy.

33 cent tomato seedlings

I was at the store today, and wandered into the garen section to window shop and get ideas.  I've found that there are almost always free or inexpensive ways to duplicate some of the cool ideas I find there.  Far in the back of the outdoor plants were small pots of tomato seedlings.  The pots were originally $2.50, but had been marked down to just under a dollar.

Imagining my frozen tomatoes from a couple weeks ago, I found myself leafing through the pots.  Near the back there was a single small pot with three seedlings growing in it.  I looked carefully at the pot for tell tale signs of problems:  rootbound, plants too close together.  It looked good, so I gently plied the plants and dirt out of the pot and gently looked it over.  The plants weren't rootbound, and digging a little into the dirt easily separated the plants.  I carefully tucked it all back in the pot and prepared to spend my next dollar on the garden.

I purchased the pot for $1.01, and brought it home, gently teased apart the roots and plants, and now I have three independent seedlings resting quietly in their own pots that cost only 33.66 cents each.  It's more expensive than the original tomato seeds were, since they were free.  But, it's much less expensive than I would have spent before.

Each plant costs three times less than it would if I'd bought it on sale at $1 per pot, and seven times less than if I'd paid $2.50 per pot.  In about two weeks the plants will be the large size, which I could have purchased for $3.50 each, or ten times more.

There is little more delicious than a fresh-picked tomato, so I'm excited to have plants again.  I'm treating them gently as they nestle into their new soil and their roots recover from my unentangling.

April Fool's Day

"Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you." - Langston Hughes

It's April Fool's Day!  And in the spirit of the Prairie Home Companion annual Jokes show, here are some of my favorite gardening jokes form around the web.  Sources are below the jokes list.

Looking Online for Free Stuff

I started searching for soil today, and began online.  I found a few resources I expected, and a few surprises.  All in all, though the pickings were slim.  I hope that the few feelers I put out prove fruitful because otherwise, I'm going to have to go low-tech on this one.

(see specifics after the jump)