Gardening products I would buy if I wasn’t so cheap
15.8 years ago cheap, compost, germination, indoor seed starting, tomato
Today I got my Gardener’s Supply Companycatalog, this particular catalog is dedicated to items to assist you with your gardening habit. You should be able to guess from this site I do my best to resist buying anything for the garden I absolutely need, otherwise I make a cheaper alternative. Well the point of this post is to show what I would like to get if I wasn’t as disciplined.
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They sell these Accelerated Propagation System (APS) seed starting kits which have all the basics you expect from a seed starting kits you would find at your local garden store. They include 6 to 40 cells to plant seedlings and a clear plastic dome to help raise the humidity to provide extra moisture for the tender seedlings. The bonus in this setup is it also contains a reservoir which holds enough water to keep them moist for up to a week. With the help of an elevated platform and capillary matting provides just the right amount of water to your plants. At just $19.95 for the 40 and 24 cells sizes this is one purchase I am still considering, since I never have finished my automatic watering system on my computerized grow box and this makes much better use of space than my plastic tub, newspaper pots, and daily watering method I am doing now. |
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Eco-Friendly Cowpots basically planting pots made as a byproduct of processing cow poo. The poo is dried, composted and mixed with natural fibers creating a completely biodegradable pot which holds up well during growth and transplanting but biodegrades in the soil after several weeks. I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs which went through the whole process and it was very interesting and environmentally conscience but, unfortunately due to the price tag (about $1 a pot) these are a little over my budget since my newspaper pots are free. |
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Gardener’s Revolution Planter – You have probably seen something similar advertised between gardening shows on HGTV (Topsy Turvy) , I know my daughter has and has been talking about growing tomatoes upside down for some time now. She even on her own came up with a ingenious design to do this (not 5 gallon bucket) which I will write-up when we get around to that project. In case you were wondering the improvement this year (or compared to the TV advertisement) it is the addition of a 1 gallon water reservoir which slowly releases water to the plant as neededSelf watering must be a big seller this year since there are also many other variances of self watering pots in many shapes and sizes with designs similar to the original (to my knowledge) the EarthBox. |
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Now definitely in the gadget department the Push-Button Kitchen Scrap Composter can take your everyday kitchen scraps and turn them into compost in less than 11 days. The concept on this one is pretty simple:Food + Heat + Spinning = Compost
Of course it crossed my mind of creating something similar myself, but probably would end up burning down the house or if I was lucky just launch partially composted food across the living room at 50 miles per hour. Given the $299 price tag seems like I will be stuck to waiting 3-6 months for my compost to be created. Though it would be much more convenient than walking through the snow to add kitchen scraps to the compost. |
Tags: cheap, compost, garden seeds, growbox, led, outdoor plants, tomato plants, vegetables
15.8 years ago
I just love their products! I drool when looking through the catalog!
15.8 years ago
LOL I am with you on the cow pots (or poo pots whichever) and the composter- would love to have them but cannot get myself to spend the money- The cow pots wouldn’t be so bad but I cannot justify spending $7 Shipping for $7 worth of cow pots- I plan on checking the vendors at the Seattle Flower and garden Show this year, since I will be there anyway
15.8 years ago
PS I make starter pots out of tiolet paper rolls- they are compostable and break down nicely
15.8 years ago
Your newspaper pots are just as environmentally friendly as cow poo pots. I too want one of those indoor composts — especially since I currently have to dig myself through snow to get to the composter. Its funny that I should have to dig myself to the composter since it is less than a meter from the kitchen door, but we’ve had so much snow this year that you can’t actually find the composter lid unless you dig down into the snow! I tried worms, but my worm factory was toppled, opened and eaten by two fat cats. They’re fat for a reason — they eat everything not nailed down!
15.8 years ago
The composting solution is definitely a good idea for those that live in apartments. The general stench of the composting process means it can’t be done well in close quarters. Unfortunately the price tag is a bit rich for most. How long is Christmas away again?
15.8 years ago
The cow poo pots just don’t interest me. I find pressed pots like those take too long for the pots to break down and the poor plants roots never really break free. I much prefer a paper pot any day. That composter on the other hand, I would love not to have to drag my butt out on those really cold single digit days. I would love not to have to fight my way through the snow. But I’m too cheap to do it. Plus the idea of having to plug in an appliance for something that happens naturally just seems against the grain to me. Maybe some day I’ll make a worm farm. It would solve my problem too, but then again, I have no hungry cats so it is a viable solution for me.
15.8 years ago
The composting thing is nice, but a worm bin would be much cheaper and better (not to mention greener with no electric usage. My mom has their 4 shelf plant light system and it’s AMAZING! It was a gift, but I got her old one!
15.8 years ago
DirtDigger, like my kids with the toy catalog in DecemberRobj98168, I tried to make it to the show last year with my daughter but couldn’t make it work. Hopefully I can fit it in this year. So for you toilet paper pots do you just fold the bottoms under or a trickier way to create the bottoms?Shauna, well there is always the indoor worm bin. I would even guess it would probably be less smelly than the $300 version.Cheese, I agree they seem to be just touching on the subject of how much it could smell.Daphne, I agree with your opinion of automating the natural process, but it some ways the natural process is happening just faster. Though without worms you don’t get the bonus of castings, so worm bin definitely seems to be the better and more economical alternative that being said I do admit to having a weakness for gadgets though fortunately my cheapness usually wins.Chiot’s Run, the4-Tier Sunlite® Garden was definitely on my honorable mention list, though given I don’t have the space indoors and the inspiration for my various grow boxes.
15.8 years ago
I love them all. I made my own upside down planters last year. I love everything, very nice.
15.8 years ago
Yep that is what I do!I don’t know if you do meme’s but TAG Your it!!!