Help in the Garden--Frugal Tips

1. Stale coffee and coffee grounds make great organic fertilizer. They provide many trace minerals and low, gentle levels of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

2. Remember that a good soaking of water less often is better than a light sprinkling every day -- for veggies and for your lawn.

3. If your neighbor has a plant you particularly like, ask for a cutting, instead of going to the nursery and buying one. Maybe you could trade a cutting from one of your own plants.

4. To easily water a tomato plant, bury a bottomless coffee can next to the plant and pour the water into the can. This allows the water to go straight to the roots.

5. Plant marigolds in your vegetable garden. They will attract insects that eat aphids and other pests.

6. My husband bought some used carpet at a garage sale, cut it into wide strips and laid it down between the rows in our garden. Now we can pick peas without getting our shoes muddy.

7. Use grass clippings as mulch around your vegetable plants to keep moisture in and weeds out. Just don't use the clippings right after you have fertilized your grass or treated for weed control.

8. If you have access to them, pine needles make excellent mulch.

9. A natural, frugal garden pest spray: mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil. Use 3 tablespoons of this mixture to 1 quart of water and spray on plants.

10. In the herb garden, to keep plants like mint from taking over too big an area, put it in a clay pot and simply plant the whole pot!

"He who plants a garden, plants happiness."

Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another "bi-weekly newsletter.