Cheap Shade is Cool!

The sun is wickedly hot,
even early in the morning.

I'll confess to being quite frugal at times. Since I spend so much time on the tractor in the summer, the relentless heat has caused me to investigate air-conditioned tractor cabs which means I was investigating new tractors. All it took was a quick Google search to collapse from a severe case of sticker shock. Tractors are expensive! So, no new tractor for me.

Wrap the Gear Straps around the
uprights on the ROPS, and snap
the hooks onto the u-bolt.

Next I looked for the hard canopies (the ones that attach to the ROPS), and suffered more sticker shock. So I returned to a prior idea: a large umbrella. I had tried a golf umbrella in previous years, but they were not sturdy enough. I dug even deeper into the idea bag and found my old faithful, years-ago-Christmas-present "Sportbrella." It's a large, deep umbrella that's very, very sturdy. I had quit using it before because I could not attach it securely to the roll cage but still be able to detach it after every use (tall tractor/short tractor shed door). A chance purchase at Northern Tool solved my problems.

Wrap a Gear Strap around the top bar, then snap the
hooks into the u-bolt.

Use an elastic cord to
keep it from spinning.

They call them Gear Straps, basically, hook-and-loop straps with a twistable snap hook. The snap hooks were too small to go around the umbrella shaft, so I found some u-bolts that fit loosely around the umbrella that I could snap onto. The result keeps me in the shade, and gives me at least a couple of additional work hours. That's really important when the heat index is 110+.

It's a small thing, I know, but I enjoy working these things out. What about you? How are you being frugal?

Nancy

Adding to My Organic Garden Plan

I have a plan.

I love seed catalogs! Colorful, attractive, lush plants that never look like mine but, being the eternal optimist, I keep trying!  So, just after Christmas, as is my custom, I sat down and placed by tomato seed order during TomatoFest's annual sale.  This week, on New Year's Day, I placed my remaining seed order for herbs and vegetables from Baker Creek.  I'm planning to grow more of fewer varieties this year, so it wasn't a very big order.  Carefully, I drew up an intensive plan for my raised beds.  I was feeling really good about the whole process.

I forgot I had ordered these!

Until.

Until I pulled out my seed binder from last year.  (I organize my seed packets in inexpensive photo albums which have space near the binding for notations.)  My binder was bulging, which meant that many of the packets were still full of seeds.

What's even worse is that I had, from last year, unopened seed packets of herbs I'd ordered for this year!  What a violation of my own frugal principles!  I can make excuses that there were many non-farm interruptions last year but those are mostly excuses rather than reasons.  So, I have a decision to make:  do I expand the garden and plant the seeds, or sell them, or give them away?  Common sense says to make one choice, but I think I'll try to do all three, after a fashion.

1. My big garden plot lay fallow last year even though I have sufficient weed block to cover it.  So, I think I will use the weed block to kill off the existing vegetation, then cultivate there by making double-row beds.  I've always had a soggy spot in the lower part of the garden, so I'm re-orienting the beds/rows to run with the slope instead of against it, although I may put a permaculture-style swale at the higher end of the garden.  Since I have twice as many corn seeds as I expected, I can expand the corn plot!  I also will have room for more squash and beans, which are the bulk of my extra seeds.
2. I had some success selling transplants last year, so I think I will do the same again this year--especially with the "bonus" seeds.  Many folks in the city just need a few plants rather than a full packet and will pay a premium for organic, non-GMO plants, heirloom plants.  I've found that the organic, non-GMO label is not as attractive in the country, but the heirloom varieties (just like Grandma used to grow) have some attraction, especially when potted for the porch.
3. Although the Garden Writers Association has the wonderful Plant a Row for the Hungry program, my much smaller version is to give away plants suitable for small beds or containers.  Many folks have limited space, especially retirees, so one or two tomato plants could add fresh nutrients to their diet.  It's kind of my version of "green tithing."

I ordered the exact same herbs this year!

I feel less wasteful for having articulated my plan for these windfall resources.  Now, I really need to sit down and plan my in-ground garden.  I've always let the grass get ahead of me, so I'll be trying intensive planting practices there, too, after a fashion.  I'm still flummoxed as to what to do with the "middles" between the double-rows to prevent the grass incursion.  Any ideas?

I'm also starting the "nursery" earlier, I hope.  If I'm to transplant in March, I need to start broccoli & cabbage by mid-January, which works well since they germinate in cooler temperatures.

I've always started tomatoes around Valentines Day but have found many farmers like to set plants out on Good Friday, which means I need to start early varieties plants two weeks earlier for that market.  Last year, though, a wet, frigid spring meant many gardeners planted tomatoes twice or three times.  My raised beds certainly were a boon in that situation both in drainage and soil temperature.

Peppers will be the last to start as they germinate better in very warm temperatures, and, at least in my area, do better when transplanted later than tomatoes.

As space permits, I'll be starting herbs throughout the season to maintain a fresh supply of potted herbs.  They sold better in pots than flats, so I'll expand that this year.  I'm also considering "recipe" containers:  a tomato plant with basil in the same pot sold as a "bruschetta" pot.  Any ideas other other "recipes"?

I have another reality to face:  it's awfully nice to plan my garden, but, when it's 100 degrees with 90% humidity, it's brutal to work it.  I just won't weed when it's that hot, which is when the garden goes wild.  So, preventative gardening is going to be necessary.  Again, any suggestions?

I still have much to plan, but I feel the greenhouse calling me.  Soon, I'll spend a cold evening recreating that little oasis of growth that is my first glimmer of spring.

Stay warm, and think of your garden!

Nancy

Frugal and Fruitful Seed Saving!

The most important lesson I continue to learn as my gardening skills improve it just how little I know.    That means I'm constantly reading, and asking questions, and experimenting.  Fortunately, for me, the Master Gardener group in my county is very active, so I have a trug-full of expertise within arm's reach.