DIY Plant Supports for Less than a Quarter

Are you looking for cheap plant supports?  I picked up some fence stays for only 18 cents each at Home Depot.  Then I unravelled them and shaped them to create plant supports for my peas.  When shaped into arches, they are sturdy enough to support light, trailing plants like peas.

I created several arches out of fence stays.  The whole project cost less than $2, and took less than 20 minutes of my time.  The peas will grow along the archway, and red giant mustard greens and spinach will grow beneath the archway.

Fence stays transformed into plant supports

Fence Stays

Peas growing on fence stay support

Free Online Square Foot Gardening Tool

Gardener's Supply Company has a free online garden planning tool on their website.  It allows you to create and customize garden plans.   You can set the dimensions of your garden bed, drag and drop herbs, vegetables and fruits into each square foot.  The program even recommends how many of each herb, vegetable or fruit to plant in a square foot.  Planting care instructions for each plant you select are displayed below your garden layout.  You can name your garden plan, save it, print it or even email it.  You can also create several garden layouts, and then load them to the site map tool to arrange the garden beds in your overall space.  For those of you who do not want to design your own garden layouts, their website also offers a section of free pre-planned garden layouts.  This is a neat tool and worth checking out!

Root-bound or Pot-bound Plants

Root-bound Passionate Pink Asiatic Lily

If your container plant is looking less lush, droopy, or if you notice the soil is not holding as much water as it should, your plant may be root-bound. Root-bound (or Pot-bound) plants are plants that have grown too large for its container resulting in matting or tangling of the roots. The roots can "choke" and eventually kill the plant if it is left unmaintained.

I check my plants once a year or once every couple of years depending on how vigorous the plant grows and the size of its container. I deal with root-bound plants in two ways. If I want to keep them in their original containers, I trim back the roots and replant them in their original container. Otherwise, I will untangle the roots and set the plant in a larger pot.


Re-Potting in Original Pot

1. Loosen up the sides of the plant with a hand shovel.
2. Slide the plant out of the pot.
3. Score the sides of the root-bound plant with the edge of the hand shovel.
4. Gently break up the tangled roots.
5. Trim back the roots. I trim back the thick growth encircling the bottom and the sides, but I have never trimmed back more than a 1/3 of a plant's root system.
6. Replant the plants in the original pot.

Upgrading to a Larger Pot

1. Loosen up the sides of the plant with a hand shovel.
2. Slide the plant out of the pot.
3. Score the sides of the root-bound plant with the edge of the hand shovel.
4. Gently break up the tangled roots.
   
5. Replant the plant in a pot that is one or two-sizes bigger than the original pot.

DIY Container Watering System: No Need to Water Plants for Weeks!

Last month, I went on a 3 week vacation. I have never left my plants alone for that long so I was a little worried they would die while I was gone. I transferred a bulk of my seedlings to a friend's backyard, and saved a few to test out a homemade greenhouse & drip system combo I had in mind. My experiment worked out beautifully! I returned to find all of my plants visibly taller, fuller and happy.

Ironically, a majority of the seedlings I had transferred to my friend's backyard died. The area I planted the seedlings in flooded, and the poor things were submerged under 3-inches of rainfall. Fortunately, the roma tomato, red bell pepper, bush bean and habanero I planted in her organic garden survived.

This system worked so well, I plan on using this system year-round. It is very simple to make, virtually free to create, and best of all I can literally go weeks without watering my garden!

DIY Container Watering System

• Materials:
• Large Plastic Ziploc Bag or Other Plastic Bag
• Empty Water Bottle with Cap
• Thumbtack (or some object that can puncture a water bottle)
• Pen
• Duct Tape or Rubber Bands*
• Bamboo Stakes*

• Directions:
1. Allow yourself at least one to two days prior to departure to setup and adjust your watering system.
2. Water your plant(s) thoroughly.
3. Take the thumbtack and stick it through the bottom of the empty water bottle to create a small hole. You can alternatively puncture the flimsier side wall, but make the hole near the bottom of the bottle. See Fig 2.

Fig 1

Fig 2

4. Fill up the water bottle with water. At this point, you will see the water freely spilling out of the hole. See Fig 5. Replace the water bottle cap, and tighten the cap until the water is just slowly dripping out of the hole. See Fig 6.
5. Place the water bottle right next to your plant. Mark the water level with a pen. See Fig 3.

Red Bell Pepper SeedlingFig 3

6. Create a tent over plant with the plastic bag. Make sure the plant leaves are not touching the plastic bag. If you are leaving your plants alone for a long time, make sure there is enough room at top to accommodate new plant growth. See Fig 4.
   

   Fig 4

7. Check and Adjust your System. Check on the plants the next day to see how much water was released. You will probably find that some bottles released water at faster rates than others. I tinkered with my system so that no more than an 1/8 of the water was absorbed a day. Adjust the release of water to your liking. You can loosen the cap to increase the water flow. Or you can tighten the cap to decrease water flow. The make-shift greenhouse (i.e., the plastic tent) will help conserve the moisture. See Photo.

Fig 5

Fig 6

(*) You can use bamboo stakes, duct tape or rubber bands to help create the tent. If you have a standard 6" terracotta pot and a small plant, then just use the large ziploc bags. The bag is stiff, sturdy, and fits snuggly over the lid of the pot.

Homemade Greenhouse: Germinate Seeds Easily Outdoors

Sowing seeds directly outdoors may be necessary if there is insufficient lighting in the apartment or if the apartment gardener only has a limited amount of space to work with. I'm beginning to start more seedlings outdoors because I am running out of my room in my apartment.

I did not have much luck at first. The soil would dry out too quickly preventing some of my seeds to germinate and the seeds that did sprout would shrivel up from lack of water. I lost some of my bulbs to the neighborhood squirrels. And sometimes slugs would attack my seedlings and eat all of the plant's tender shoots! I was able to solve all of these problems by creating a miniature greenhouse out of materials you probably already have in your home. Continue reading to learn how to make your own mini-greenhouse.

Homemade Greenhouse

• Advantages:
  
• Conserves water
• Prevents birds, squirrels and other animals from eating your seeds
• Protects your seedlings from slugs and other insects
• Uses recycled materials
• Requires less maintenance than sowing indoors
• Reduces clutter in your home
• Easier to adapt seedlings to outdoor environment
• Disadvantages:
• Seeds sowed outdoors germinated a bit more slowly than the ones I sowed indoors probably because of the differences in temperature.

Germinating Oregano Seeds Using a Homemade Greenhouse (left);
Oregano Seedlings (right)

• Materials:
• Container with draining holes
  
• Old Ziploc bags or other clear bags
• Seeds
• Water
  
• Optional:
• Bamboo Stakes
• Duct Tape or Large Rubber Bands
  
• Plant Identification Marker
• Directions:
1. Fill your container with soil, leaving about 1/2" of space from the top of the soil to the rim of the container.
2. Sow seeds according to the directions on your seed packet.
3. Thoroughly water the soil (i.e., until water begins to drip from the bottom of the container).
4. Place the ziploc bag or clear bag over the rim of your pot. You want the bag to stand somewhat erect. If the bag is saggy, just place a bamboo stake in the center of the pot to keep the bag from collapsing. It is not necessary for the bag to form an airtight capsule, but you do want the bag to fit snuggly over the pot to help trap moisture and to prevent the seeds or seedlings from drying out. If the lip of your bag is too wide, you can (a) gather some of the plastic around the rim of the pot until the bag forms a snug fit over the rim of the container and secure with a rubber band or duct tape, or (b) place a large rubber band over the bag and around the base of your pot.
   
• Tip: The large ziploc bags are sturdy, and fits snuggly over a standard 6" terracotta pot. If you keep your pot outside and are expecting rain make sure you place a bamboo stake in the middle to keep the bag from collapsing.
  
5. Place the container in a sunny location. As the sun warms up the soil, the water will rise, hit the plastic ceiling, and drip back down to the plant. Not only does this cut down on your maintenance time, but this also conserves water. You can go weeks without watering, but it is still a good idea to check in on your plant at least once a week.
   
6. Leave the protective bagging on the plant after your seeds have sprouted. The plastic bag will deter slugs, insects, birds and other pests. Just make sure the plant leaves do not touch the walls of the plastic bag. If they do it is time to remove the bag. If you would like to continue to use the greenhouse method at this point, just upgrade to a larger bag.
   

Vacation Watering Tips for Potted Plants

One Week Vacation
Most of my plants are in unglazed terracotta pots so water evaporates quickly. I normally have to water my plants daily during our hot, dry summers. I once unexpectedly had to leave my plants alone for a week during the summer, which is pretty much a death sentence to a container garden. I didn't have time to work out a drip system so I moved all of my plants to a shady area of my patio, watered them thoroughly, and wrapped them in plastic bags. I was pleasantly surprised to find all of my plants alive and in good condition. Not only were they all alive, but one of my lilies had bloomed.

Plastic Bag Wrapping Method (Recap):

Materials:

• Plastic Bags. I used the kind that stores use to bag your purchases. Just make sure there are no holes in the bags.

Instructions:

1. Move the plants to the shadier side of your apartment patio/balcony.
   
2. Just before you leave, water the plants thoroughly (i.e., until water begins to drip from the bottom of the container).
3. Wrap each pot in plastic bags to prevent water from evaporating. Just set the pot in the bag and then tie the bag around the base of the plant. Try to tie the bag as close as possible to the trunk or stem of the plant. As water rises it will hit the plastic ceiling, and drip back down to the plant. Just make sure there are no holes in the bags you use.

Three Week Vacation
It is chilly and humid now so there will be less evaporation. Some of my plants are dormant now so they will not be needing as much water as they did during the summer. However, I do not believe my plants will be able to sustain themselves for 3 weeks on the wrapping method alone. I'm going to combine the wrapping method with a drip system for my large potted plants. Then I'm going to have a friend care for the bulk of my seedlings. I will use some of my duplicate seedlings to see if they survive the 3 weeks in a green house system I have in mind for them. I'll report my findings in January. Happy Holidays Everyone!

UPDATE: My experiment worked! Click Here to learn how you can make your own Container Watering System.