I Have That!
Discount Garden Supplies You Already Own
That's right, discount garden supplies hidden in the things you already own. Eight top notch household items to re-purpose into free garden supplies: (You can share your own success stories at the bottom of this page.)
1)Newspaper. Digging a garden is so 20th century. Yes, things grow better when you loosen the soil, but one hearty double digging when you start your garden should pretty much do it.
After that, at some point in the late fall or early spring, rake the litter on each garden bed aside, lay down a few sheets of newspaper (not the color printed stuff! Black and white!) across it, and rake the debris (sorry, 'mulch') back on top. It'll suppress weeds and add a little more organic matter as it breaks down.
2)Hole-y garden hoses, Batman. That old dud garden hose that sprang a leak after 3 years of being driven over is actually fairly useful as an intentionally leaking drip (or in this case, drool) irrigation hose.
I've also seen a friend saw an old hose into 6 inch segments which she 9/10ths buried upright in her larger houseplants. Said she was doing it to the ones prone to root rot (African violets, jades, etc) so that she could water them deeper. I do a version of that in the garden with...
3)Empty tin cans. With a can opener, I take the top clean off the can and then puncture a few small nail holes in the other side. I nearly bury the cans by my more water-loving vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries) and water them summer mornings by filling the can. It drools into the soil down out of reach of the sun's immediate heat, right where the roots are happiest.
4)Wire-mesh in-boxes as anti-cat device. I flip them upside down over the catnip, nail it in place with 3 tent stakes (#5!). The catnip grows through the mesh, meaning the cat can eat it or roll around on it or do whatever to it without hurting the crown of the plant. It just keeps growing back.
6)Bamboo tripod tomato stakes. Okay, you may not have bamboo, but somewhere in your town, probably not far from you, is a stand of bamboo ready to take over the world were it not for those diligent gardeners cutting stems from it every year to make fresh garden stakes.
In Takoma Park, Maryland, the publicly managed bamboo stand could be seen being employed by the whole neighborhood every summer. Similar use was made in the old days of large branches cut from the orchard (freebee!), which were stuck end up in the garden for the peas and beans to climb.
7)Rotting firewood. No, seriously, except it sounds better in German where the burial of rotting wood to start a raised bed garden is called Hugelkultur. Rotting is the key, actually, as fresh wood will borrow significantly from your soil nitrogen in order to rot (it'll give it back later, but that's a few years).
The rotting wood gives generously of its nutrients, provides air pockets to the joy of plant roots, and stabilizes the soil moisture by acting as a giant sponge.
NOTE: Don't use cedar (natural pesticide chemicals), black locust (won't rot), black walnut (plants hate it) (though raspberries are fine with it), or cherry (toxic to most animals when alive, not sure about when it's rotting.)
(Worried about toxicity in general? Check out our Soil Pollution article for helpful clarity.)
8) Popsicle sticks and wooden paint can stirrers. There's a cup where they get tossed during the year and then re-purposed into labels for seedling trays and garden rows, respectively.
Those fancy wooden stakes labeling the gardens that you coveted on your tour of Monticello years ago? Wooden paint sticks nicely lettered and dipped in weather-tolerating varnish. I aspire organic, so I forgo the varnish, but that's really what those beautiful row markers are. I have the truth from Peter Hatch himself.
Have you got your own quirky discount garden supplies? What do you do with the ripped window screen? Shoe-laces? Odd socks? (Actually, I dust my house with the odd socks, makes a great little hand mitt.) I once saw a bike wheel dreamcatcher...
Making your own free garden supplies?
What's the most unusual thing you've 're-purposed' into your garden? Or the maybe just most useful? Share your creativity!
1)Newspaper. Digging a garden is so 20th century. Yes, things grow better when you loosen the soil, but one hearty double digging when you start your garden should pretty much do it. 
2)Hole-y garden hoses, Batman. That old dud garden hose that sprang a leak after 3 years of being driven over is actually fairly useful as an intentionally leaking drip (or in this case, drool) irrigation hose. 
4)Wire-mesh in-boxes as anti-cat device. I flip them upside down over the catnip, nail it in place with 3 tent stakes (#5!). The catnip grows through the mesh, meaning the cat can eat it or roll around on it or do whatever to it without hurting the crown of the plant. It just keeps growing back. 
6)Bamboo tripod 
8) Popsicle sticks and wooden paint can stirrers. There's a cup where they get tossed during the year and then re-purposed into labels for seedling trays and garden rows, respectively. 
