Gardening on a budget

By NANNY FONTANELLA

Gardening can be a career, a hobby, or an obsession. Why would any sane person put in the time and money necessary to grow and maintain a garden of Eden for the neighbors to enjoy?

You should know that on weekends, I get started in the garden at the crack of dawn and finish with a flashlight. Gardening is a labor of love for me; by definition, it’s self-sacrifice.

That said, this article is written to describe how to make the mad endeavor as painless (literally) as possible. First, pursue the addiction as cheaply as possible; second, use minimum time and effort; and third, avoid chemical fertilizer or insecticide (banish the thought).

I’d like to point out that a lean garden (fertility-wise) invites fewer pests, so less poison is needed and children, pets and ground water encounter less risk. And, you pay less!

I was weeding this morning, separating perennials from grass that had managed to grow all winter and entangle itself among the roots of the groundcover. I find weeding meditative and a little violent (how satisfying). Some of my most outlandish and creative ideas occur as I pop dandelions or do surgery on the grass/perennial combos.

As I proceeded along the border, however, my ample posterior managed to flatten all the previous little patients.

Perennials are great. They come back every year and eventually you have enough to give away to friends and neighbors. The problem is that these same friends and neighbors who initially carried the treasures back to their own gardens now drive by, look straight ahead and don’t even honk when they see me separating perennials. Too much of a good thing, I guess.

Annuals, on the other hand, obligingly die at the end of the season, leaving very little clean up. They can be started relatively cheaply from seed. If you are willing to make mail order purchases, you can put all kinds of exotic flowers and foliage in your garden, like castor beans, for instance (cactus like but in the artichoke family), which are delicious steamed. There are also the good old-timers like sweet pea, morning glory and zinnia that you can’t get in a six-pack.

Part of the need to garden is based on being a control freak. Everything can be tidy, so different from the real world where things appear beyond our sense. After planting annuals from seed, under light, in the comfort of your warm, dry home you can just stick them here and there to fill in or make a whole new bed.

Too expensive. Too much trouble, you say. I’ve seen those catalogs with the fancy equipment, and I too have drooled.

There is a way to grow under light cheaply. Buy a shop light for about $5 with regular fluorescents. Hang the light from a shelf and you’ve got enough growing area to start a small garden. The trick is to keep the seed starter only 4 inches from the light. Styrofoam trays that bargain fruits come in make dandy seed starters, but punch some holes for drainage.

Buy peat moss for an inexpensive, sterile seed-starting medium, but strain it to get rid of the big pieces. Wet the peat moss and let it sit overnight. It should be damp but not soggy. The teeny seeds can be sprinkled on the top of the seed starter and then pressed in with a finger. Make sure you have at least an inch of moss so the roots can get a good start.

When the babies emerge (aren’t they adorable) prick them out and separate them into containers such as paper cups. You can use good garden soil for this and put them in a sunny window.

Catskill weather is unpredictable, so wait until all danger of frost has past (middle of May) before you put them in the garden. Keep the babies moist but not soaking wet. And do talk to them. They really like it. When no one is looking, I hold their little leafy arms, which is really great for empty nest syndrome or “all my children do is give me grief syndrome.”

If you have a question please “Ask Nanny” by writing or emailing The River Reporter.