Tile Strawberry Planters

    A couple of weeks ago someone was throwing out several stacks of tile. They had never been used and contained a varied assortment of colors and sizes. I was sure that I could make something with them. Now that we have finally made it throughout the end of the school year activities and the garden doesn't have anything urgent I had to address these tiles. Despite the many youtube videos demonstrating how easy it is to drill holes in tile- I couldn't seem to do it. So I laid the larger tiles on the flat dirt all the way around a rectangular hydroponics type pond that my husband built last year. I then took my trusty caulk gun and glued four smaller tiles together to make a pot with on open bottom. I then set this on the larger tile. I am hoping that there will be enough drainage if I set it between two of the large tiles. I had enough to make 10 pots. I think that is looks classier than the wooden board we had before for on edge and I have more planting space. They have to dry for 24 hours and then I will fill them with a layer of gravel and potting soil. I will then take my strawberry plants out of the kiddie swimming pool they have been growing in. I think that this will be a huge improvement and it only cost me $3 in caulk.
   Update on the Blue Jays: I am thrilled that they have moved away! Also, the tomato plant eating rabbit hasn't been seen from. Evidently, my 20 pinwheels and mylar balloon bouquet made them all move on. I don't know if my dollar store toy snakes had an effect of not but I am just glass that they are gone. It was such a simple solution that I may never garden without pinwheels again.

The Impossible Errand List

     It is the end of the school year, the end of the month and my husband has been traveling a lot. I could tell that a list in my mind was growing. I needed to return shoes that didn't fit to one store, a broken cable for a refund to another, a replacement zipper for mending, the copy store- you know those little errands. I felt the mounting pressure. I didn't see how I could get these all done. I thought that I just might have to take a day when my husband got back and drive around doing dumb errands. Or my worse thought was that some of them just might not get done. I hate that because then it is just like losing money. I could get $20 just for bringing the cable back to the Apple Store because we are part of their Apple Care program. I could get $25 for bringing my son's shoes to Target and returning them because they didn't fit. I bought them without him because they were on sale. I could tell that the person waiting for the new zipper was impatient because I found the sweatshirt in the garbage. I took this as a hint that I was taking too long. I am sure that you have had similar lists.
    I decided to write down everything that I needed to do in what I called in my mind "The Impossible Errand List". Well much to my surprise I started to see that the errands- because the list was so long-could be grouped. Some of my errands could be done at the same store and some the same area of town. Encouraged, I organize everything I needed to accomplish the list- the shoes, cable, sweatshirt, coupons, library books, tuba- Oh yes I told you this list was impossible! I made a plan working around two music lessons and a trip to the library and set off with four of my children. I wasn't sure how far we would get but I wanted to try. Miraculously we did it! The whole list! I calculated that we saved a least $150 by doing them. When we came home I made homemade frosties to celebrate. The kids looked a little wilted. It did take a little longer that I anticipated because they were having so much fun shoe shopping at Target's 70% off rack. Next time I will pack some drinks and snacks in the car to keep up our strength. This weekend my family can do something fun together instead of the "Impossible Errand List".


 

Budget Ballet Teacher

    I love our Ballet Studio. Our Ballet instructor keeps all of the fun in ballet and takes out the run away expenses. For example, each year for our recital the girls wear simple lovely tulle skirts over their regular black leotards. Each class has their own color. These skirts are reused every year. They receive a simple handmade hair piece that they get to keep. The girls feel fancy, grown up and elegant. They are comfortable dancing in their leotard that they have practiced in all year instead of some scratchy sequin monster that cost an outrageous amount.

Newspaper Pots

    I have been making newspaper pots for my little sprouts. I just love them. They are free, quick to make, and the right size. I have about 112 and need to make about 72 more. There are many different ways to make these pots. The youtube video that I like and shows the method I use is called

DIY: Newspaper Pots for Seed Starting/Cuttings

and here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dlGQP81yfo


    They are sturdy little pots. My daughter had a couple of sheets of pretty tissue paper left over from something and used this method to make a pretty box. It isn't very strong but she is going to keep bobby pins and barrettes in it just for fun. If you used card stock you could make a pretty gift box. Well I better get back to the regular old newspaper ones because these sprouts aren't going to wait. They are growing like crazy!

More Sprouting Success

   I have had great success using Byron's Sprouting Method using Camomile Tea. I have 6 year old heirloom seeds that I was unsure about. They are well past their prime. Here is the method that I have used:

1) Make a cup to Camomile Tea by letting it seep for 4 minutes.
2) Drink tea.
3) Use the same tea bag to make a second cup of tea by letting it seep for 4 minutes again.
4) Add 3 cups of water to dilute the tea making a total of 1 quart.
5) Soak seeds in tea solution for about 2 hours.
6) Saturate a few paper towels with the tea solution.
7) Place seeds in a line one by one without touching each other on the paper towel.
8) Roll up the paper towel and place in a ziplock bag.
9) Place in refrigerator for about 8 hours.
10) Take the paper towels out of the ziplock bag and lay them on a cookie sheet in a roll.
11) Cover cookie sheet with plastic wrap.
12) Place on top of refrigerator.

    In 3 days I had 7 out of the 8 varieties of seeds sprout. I am still holding out hope for the last one. Some seeds just take longer. The tea inhibits the growth of fungus. This is a very thrifty method as well as an effective one. A used tea bag is such less expensive than a product like Miracle Grow. The refrigeration is supposed to help break the dormancy. This may not be exactly Byron's Method but it is as close as I can figure out and it is working. I then plant the sprouted seeds in a seedling tray. Thank you Byron wherever you are!

Mother Nature is Not Kind

   My garden began with a war with the stripped cucumber beetle quickly followed by rabbit attack. Today I was dive bombed by a pair of Blue Jays. Seriously, first swooping and then a death spiral right towards my head. I brought out an old mylar balloon bouquet left over from a party that the kids had tired of playing with and put it in the pine tree. Those Blue Jays yelled at it for hours. I realize that this is just the first battle of my war with them. Wow. I have only been gardening for a couple weeks and I feel like at every turn I am in a life or death battle. I thought that Mother Nature was supposed to be kind.

Fitness for Tightwads

        I love the book You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren. He has a great attitude about exercise. He says that you don't need a lot of fancy exercise equipment or an expensive gym membership. You can use the weight of your own body to provide the resistance for your workout routine. I have to admit that his workouts are hard for me but I have found the book to be very inspiring. A great book for the tightwad who wants to become fit.

A Creepy Story

    My son had a choir concert yesterday. My husband was disappointed that my son did not appear to know all of the words to some of the songs and seemed distracted. Well, it turns out that he saw something white with legs crawling around on the head of the boy in front of him. He didn't know what lice was and had no idea what it could be. They were standing quite close together. I think that this would have distracted me also. He didn't tell me about it until this morning. Even thought it probably didn't do any good he wanted to go take a really hot shower immediately. My 5 year old daughter was listening and exclaimed, "Oh no I hugged him this morning!" We tried to assure her that she was probably fine. We will keep our eyes out and I hope that this isn't the beginning of another pest war. Creepy.

Homemade Envelope

    My High School daughter went to a lovely luncheon in honor of a friend who is graduating. We gave her a Movie Theater gift card as a gift. We printed out our own personalized greeting card on our home printer. We printed in black and white but on light green colored paper. Green is her favorite color. I then made an envelope out of the same color of paper. I think that it turned out cute. I didn't make it the same size as the one described in Amy Dacyczyn's The Tightwad Gazette but I used the same method. We also gave her a rose cut from our own rose bush that smelled amazing. Decked out in a stunning thrift store dress, my daughter looked like a million bucks. It turned out to be a beautiful affair.

The War Begins

  Now that the Great Stripped Cucumber Beetle seems to be coming to an end a new foe has risen. The Rabbit. Oh I know that the neighborhood rabbits love cabbage, lettuce, carrots, strawberries etc. -but this rabbit walks right by all of those delights to dine on seven of my tiny baby tomato plants still in the seedling tray. It takes a long time to grow I tomato by seed. I had just set the tray outside for the day to keep from getting too leggy. They were clipped off down to the ground. It feels personal. The first shot has been fired.

Thrift Store Success

     I had a real Thrifty Store Success this weekend. For Mother's Day I wanted to play board games with my family. (If you couldn't tell on your own, I can be pretty geeky sometimes.)I wanted to play a specific game. It is a 1989 Geography game made by National Geographic called Global Pursuits. I bought it for $3 a couple of weeks ago at Goodwill. I didn't know anything about the game. I didn't know if it had all of the pieces. 1989 was a long time ago and it might be too dated. I thought that it might be a fun way for my kids to learn some geography. Anyway, my family played it with me and we had a wonderful time. My husband was the banker and read the trivia cards to us. Some of the questions were dated but since my husband and I remember 1989 quite well it was fun to discuss some of the changes the world has gone through with my kids.
     I am thinking that when the summer gets miserable, hot and sticky we might play a lot of board games together as tightwad entertainment. Amy Dacyczyn from The Complete Tightwad Gazette suggests jigsaw puzzles as a nice family activity. There are tons at the thrift store. Maybe for Memorial Day.....

3 Sisters

   I have finally decided what I am going to do with at least some of these old heirloom seeds that I inherited. I have successfully sprouted the corn, beans and squash. I have filled up my garden space and my family and friends are begging me to not get another garden plot at the community garden. They are probably right. Corn takes a lot of room and I just can't fit it in at my home. Then I realized that these three plants are called the three sisters because they can be planted together in the American Indian tradition. In my community garden I planted a row of squash/melons leaving an empty row on either side for them to sprawl into. The 3 sisters method has the squash growing at the feet of the corn  to provide mulch for the corn. The corn provides a trellis for the beans. The beans fix the nitrogen for the corn. I just hope that I grow enough to harvest the seeds for next year. Then I will have fresh free heirloom seeds for next year. Wish me luck.

A Continuation on the War

      I am still victorious in my war against the Stripped Cucumber Beetle. I wanted to share more of what I have learned about his most formidable foe in hopes that it could help someone else out there suffering as I was. I have learned from a very knowledgable Garden Center Employee that the key to winning the battle is to mask the scent of the cucumber and squash plants. Their scent can be masked by anything witch hazel, marigolds, basil, lemon balm, oregano and even Channel #5 if I can afford it. If the beetle can't smell that plant then he can't find it. He doesn't think that Malathion or Sevin work on insects with a shell. I have tried everything and it is working. I don't know what is doing it I am just glad that I haven't lost anymore plants.

A Sprouting Success Story

         I was given 4 large bags of 6 year old heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are quite expensive so I thought that this was quite an opportunity but old seeds don't always sprout. 6 years and I have no idea how they have been stored. Many people told me to throw them away. One person said that they had tried to sprout them and they couldn't. The Tightwad in me couldn't bear to just throw them away so I had to at least give sprouting a try. I used the wet paper towel on top of the refrigerator method. This is where you take a cookie sheet and lay down a layer of wet paper towels, place your seeds, and then cover them with another layer of paper towels. In just 3 days I have 100% germination from the corn and the beans. There hasn't been any from the squash and tomato but I am going to give them more time. I would also like to try another method called Byron's World Famous Tea Recipe for Starting Seeds Method. This is where you roll the seeds in tea dampen papers towels. Place in a ziplock bag. You then put the ziplock bag in the refrigerator over night. We'll see.

Favorite Drop Biscuit Recipe

This recipe is the best because it is quick, simple, reliable, I always have the ingredients and my family loves them!

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C oil
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 C. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients together. Add oil and milk and beat lightly. Drop on oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Add a little shredded cheese to the batter and they remind me of the delicious Red Lobster Biscuits. Only so much less expensive and easy.

The Great Cucumber Beetle War

    In a recent interview with Amy Dacyczyn I read that she is currently recommending 3 activities for Tightwads today. They are:

1) Trash picking
2) Wearing 2nd hand clothes
3) Serious gardening

    Well, I am seriously trying to garden. We have a plot in a community garden. I ordered seed online and grew them by hand in my kitchen window. I took my sweet little unsuspecting plants out into the garden only to be eaten to the ground in one day by my enemy and great nemesis -

            the Stripped Cucumber Beetle. 


    I lost 9 plants in 4 days. Sad. This is a merciless pest that travels in groups. 20- 30 will descend on a small 4 inch plant and eat it down into the roots in a day. Horrible. Here is how the war went.


Day 1- I pulled out the cursed plants and captured a few beetles in an old water bottle. I went to a local Garden Center and asked for advice. I told them that I had only been an organic gardener and have had less and less success each year. I wanted to kill this bug any way known to man. I took the beetle attack personally. You don't grow plants from seed and take it lightly when they are demolished. They recommended Malathion. I followed their directions.

Day 2- More dead plants. The beetles cared not one whit about Malathion. They had continued to munch away all night. I thought that maybe Malathion needed more time. I was concerned that the plants would all be dead by then. I read in several sources that these beetles do not like oregano and lemon balm. I filled my home with meniacal laughter and made my children worry. They said things like, "Your really excited about this aren't you?". Oh yes I was. I have a backyard filled with crazy run away plants of both oregano and lemon balm. I could be a herb farmer with all that I have growing. I dug up two flats worth of these plants- hardly even making a dent in my supply- and planted them out at the community garden. I planted them here there and everywhere. I wanted to make that beetle feel as unwelcome as possible.

Day 3- Despite all of my meniacal laughter it was the beetles who were laughing today. I think that companion planting wasn't close enough to drive away the pests. It seemed to work almost as a road map for the beetles. Perhaps I should have actually made a spray and sprayed the plants or even just lay cut stems around the plant. I don't know if it matters but I did notice a shift from the stripped beetle to the spotted beetle. Anyway my friend was there with Sevin spray and sprayed my plants for me.

Day 4- Discouraged I went to the Hardware store to buy Okra. I thought that this horrible beetle must be one of the reasons squash isn't popular in the south. At least I know Okra will grow here. Of course no one at my house knows how to eat or cook it or really likes it or wants to like it. I didn't care any more I just wanted something to grow. Believe it or not all of the Okra plants were sold out!? The watermelons and cantaloupes taunted me and I bought some more. I went out to the garden and low and behold I discovered that I had won the war!!Yippee! No more dead plants! I even found a few dead beetles and danced upon their grave. My children were again concerned. These beetles really bring out the worse in me. We will see if there are any more battles. They are a formable foe. What finally killed them? Was it the Sevin? Was it all of the above? I don't know but it just rained so the sprays have probably washed off. Let the games begin!

Am I really saving money doing this? Time will only tell.

Vanilla

Save money on vanilla extract by making your own. I buy small bottles of bourbon and place two split vanilla beans in each bottle. I place them in the dark back of my kitchen pantry and after 2 months of seeping they are delicious for baking. They are better quality than the cheap extract from the supermarket and much less expensive than the quality vanilla extract from gourmet stores.

Favorite Recipe

No Bake Granola Recipe

I love this recipe because it is quick and delicious! It doesn't burn and the fruit doesn't become rock hard. My kids are always delighted when I make it.

Original recipe makes 8 servings


        

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups rolled oats
  
  
  1/2 cup shredded    coconut
  
  
  • 1 cup chopped almonds
• 2/3 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons honey

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit
  
  
   1 teaspoon cinnamon
   1 teaspoon vanilla
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats, coconut and nuts. Cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.
2. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Add fruit, cinnamon and vanilla. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.
3. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container. (I never get to this point because my family eats it all by the end of the day no matter how much I make.)

Hang Laundry?

     As my daughter read out of Amy Dacyczyn's The Complete Tightwad Gazette  I would proudly nod my head and modestly say, "Oh yes we do that" and "of course we always do that".
     Then my daughter said, "Painlessly save $100 this year by hanging four loads of laundry per week instead of using your dryer."
     Gulp. "Our climate is too humid," I said. "It will never dry." Later I added, " It is against the rules of our neighborhood to have a clothesline." Sigh. I do have 4 kids on swim team and a skin condition that requires a fresh towel each day. In other words- I wash a lot of towels. I remembered that I have a folding clothes dryer. Against my better judgement I set up my indoor dryer in the laundry room, loaded it up with towels and went to bed. Shock of shocks they were actually dry in the morning! So I am going to try to hang dry towels, sheets, blankets, etc. I guess this old dog can learn new tricks.
       According to Energy Miser 10 it costs 57 cents to dry a load of clothes in 2009. Some people way that it is better for your clothes to hang them. We will try this for a while and i will let you know how it goes!

The Complete Tightwad Gazette

I am a Mom who is looking to save money. Recently, my 13 year old daughter began flipping through by copy of Amy Dacyczyn's The Complete Tightwad Gazette. Written in the early 90's, it is the quintessential book on saving money. I followed her book religiously 15 years ago while my children were small and was grateful for the information that allowed me to be a Stay at Home Mom. My daughter and I thought that it would be fun to go back through the book together and see what we are still doing and what more we can do to save a dollar in this current economy. We are documenting our findings to help anyone else interested in being a Tightwad Today.