- Make mulch from any recyclable materials like straw, nut shells, wood chips, leaves, vegetable peels, seaweed, grass clippings, newspaper, and old carpet. Mulch can help the soil keep in moisture and stop weeds from settling in.
- For pesticides, use the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, you can do some research about it in the net. It will give you some tips on how you can tolerate some insects and animals like spiders and birds that are always on the lookout for an easy catch.
- Plant mint, lavender and oregano which act as insect repellants because of the oil they secrete. Just because it's a vegetable garden, it doesn't mean you can't plant flowers. You can include sunflowers, zinnias, marigold and black-eyed Susan since they attract birds and bees who can feast on some harmful insects. Bees will also help in the pollination of your food crops.
- For fertilizers, use chicken manure you can get from some poultry, but be careful not to over fertilize. An estimated 1000 square feet of garden should receive only about 200 pounds of chicken. You can also use animal manure but they have less nutrient contents, so you can increase the ratio at 300 pounds for every 1,000 square feet.
- Catch and store rain water as your ready supply of vegetable garden water. Be sure to cover all your water containers, preferably with a screen mesh to avoid becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Tools to use
- Scavenge for your tools in your own house or from the neighbor's trash.
- Plastic juice bottles with perforated lids can be put into good use as sprinklers.
- Full-sized hoe with a broken handle can still find use as a short-handled hoe; you'll be surprised at the trash people are throwing to give way for new procurements. They can be anything from moldy scissors and trowels which you can disinfect and clean with borax.
- Convert a half-gallon milk jug into a scoop you can use for fertilizers. Cut the sides diagonally on both sides, then cut sides adjacent to the handles horizontally.
- Use an old vinyl tablecloth to transport mulch, shrubs, plant divisions, topsoil, dirt, which can take the place of a wheel barrow.
- Convert yogurt containers into cutworm collars by cutting the bottom part and sinking an inch or two into the ground.
- Collect old discarded chopsticks which you can still wash and use. You may want to cover your plants with a plastic bag to create “greenhouse “effect, and then use the discarded chopstick to support the plastic bags.
- Wash well then use aluminum soft drink cans as drainage system for your large potting soil.
Scavenge, scavenge, and scavenge. There are a lot more discards to discover from other people's trash. Of course, it would still be proper if you asked the homeowner if you can look through their garbage. Chances are, they'll even help you look for a thing or two they remember throwing. After soil, seeds and tools have been gathered and used, you’ll have great satisfaction as to how well your no-cost vegetable garden grows.