How to grow a healthy garden for less

Want a healthy, growing garden without investing a ton of money? Here are some budget-friendly tips for creating one on your own.

Instead of throwing out used dryer sheets, place them in the bottoms of flowerpots and planters to keep the soil from falling out. This can make your potted plants looks cleaner, neater, and more well-kept.

Use large, sheer curtains from thrift shops to keep rabbits and birds from eating lettuce. Plant lettuce in a patch the size of the curtain, then cover it. Sunshine and rain can still get through. Also, use curtains to keep birds from stealing cherries. Pin or sew several large ones together, throw them over the tree, then pin them together around the bottom. It may not look pretty, but the method works.

Use an extra calendar — or an old calendar — to remind yourself when to do various garden chores. Each time you come by new planting or care instructions, write the information under the appropriate dates. For example, remind yourself to prune grapes on February 22, re-pot and fertilize the poinsettia on May 1, or plant spring bulbs on October 15.

It doesn't matter what year the calendar is. This just lets you know the time of year each job should be done. After several years of adding information, the calendar is fairly complete, and you can tell at a glance what chores need to be done each month. Your yard will never look better!

You can make inexpensive stepping-stones by lining a springform cake pan with plastic wrap, then fill them with cement. Before it dries, children can make a handprint or footprint in each one. Then decorate them with rocks, marbles and anything else you can find. You can add new stepping-stones each year. This nice finishing touch can make your garden appear much warmer, and more inviting.