Thecolorofhomemademulchlooksthesameasstore-boughtvarieties—plus,you’llavoidshellingoutforbagsrentpowergenerator.Kelley&39;sHow-To:Allowleavestodryoutcompletelybeforerakingintoashallowpile.Thenrunyourlawnmoweroverthepileafewtimes.Thechoppingwillhelptoacceleratethedecompositionprocess—andpreventtheleavesfromclumpinginthegarden.Inthesamewayyou&39;dspreadcommercialmulch,coveryourgardenbedstoadepthofatleasttwoinches.Ifyouprefertheappearanceofstore-boughtmulch,useitforvisibleareasandspreadtheDIYmulchoutofeyesight,suchasbehindshrubs.You’llstillreapconsiderablecostsavings.GardeningHack2:SowSeedsInsteadofBuyingPlantsBestTimetoStart:Mid-April,orafterthelastfrostdateinyourarea.You&39;llSave:100ormore.Asyouenteryourlocalgardencenter,lookawayfromthosetemptingflatsofpregrownannuals—andheadstraightfortheseedracks.Yoursavingswillbesignificant:Onepackofseeds,yielding40to50plants,ispricedatanaverageof4.Meanwhile,you’llshelloutatleast10foranurserycellpack—whichoffersasfewaseightplants.Ifyouconsideryourselfanovicegardener,aimfor"direct-sow"varietiesofseeds,likesunflowers,zinniasandsnappeas.Theseareseedsthatdon&39;tneedtobepreplantedindoorsaheadoftheseason,andcanbesowndirectlyintoyourgarden&39;ssoil.Forevenmorebangforyourgardenbuck,lookforreseedingannuals—suchascosmos,larkspurorCaliforniapoppies—thatbloomyearafteryearfromtheoriginalseeds.Barbara&39;sHow-To:Onceyouhaveyourseedsinhand,raketheplantingareasmooth.Then,usetheedgeofatroweltodigshallowtrenches,followingthedirectionsontheseedpackagingfordepthandspacingrequirements.Sowtheseeds,coverwithsoil,andwaterthoroughly.(You’llwanttowatertheseedseverydaythatitdoesn’train.)YoushouldspotsproutswithinonetotwoweeksBonus:Cutyourcosts—nottomentionyoureffort—furtherbynotremovingspentflowerheadsinthefall.Instead,allowtheplantstodropseed,andnewbudswillemergeinthespring.GardeningHack3:SettleonaColorScheme—BeforeShoppingBestTimetoStart:LateMarch,priortoanynurseryvisits.You&39;llSave:50ormore,dependingonyourgarden’ssize.Walkingintoagardencentersansaplanislikeenteringthesupermarketwithoutagrocerylist.You&39;llbetemptedtosuccumbtoyourwhims,grabbingwhateverscreamsspringcolors.Soifyoudon&39;thavetimetoplantseedlings,naildownyourgarden&39;sspecificcolorschemebeforesettingfootinastoretobuyblooms—andsticktoit.You’llnotonlypreventimpulseplantpurchases,butyou&39;llalsoavoidpickingupbloomsthatdon&39;tfitinwiththerestofyourgarden.Kelley&39;sHow-To:Pickonecolorrange—forexample,blues—andthenoneaccentcolorfromtheoppositesideofthecolorwheel,likeyellow.Thesearethehuesyou&39;llusetobuildabaseforavibrantflowerbed.Astheseasonprogresses,continueusingthecolorwheelasyourguidewhenyoufeellikeasectionofyourgardenorplanterneedsarefresh—again,buyinginoppositecolorschemes,likeredandgreen,ororangeandpurple.GardeningHack4:MultiplyYourPlants—byDividingThemBestTimetoStart:Mid-April,orafterthelastfrostdateinyourarea.You&39;llSave:20ormoreoneachplantdivided.“Dividing”gardenperennialsiswhenyoupullaparttherootsofanestablishedplanttocreateequal-sizepieces,whichcanthenbereplantedontheirown.It’saneasytaskthatprovidesagreatreturnoninvestment:One10plantdividedintofourpiecesoffersawhopping300%ROI.Plus,manyperennials—likedaylilies,irisandhostas—canbedividedeverythreeyears.Barbara&39;sHow-To:Theidealtimefordividingisassoonasyouseetheplantemergefromtheground.Useaspadetodigallthewayaroundtheclumpofemergingshoots.Then,gentlylifttheplantandrootballfromtheground.Usingagardenknifeorspade,dividetheclumpintotwotofourpieces.(Matureplantscanusuallybedividedintofourormore,whileyoungerspecimensmightonlyproducetwo.)Makesureeachpiecehassomerootsattached.Then,returnonepiecetotheoriginallocationinyourgarden,andtransplanttheremainingportionstootherareas.Besuretowateralltransplanteddivisionsregularlyastherootsestablishthemselves.GardeningHack5:GuardYourPlantsWithGrowBagsBestTimetoStart:Earlytomid-April,orafterthelastfrostdateinyourarea.You’llSave:5perplantgrowninbags.Growbagsareporousfabriccontainersthatcanbefilledwithsoilandusedtogrowavarietyofplants.Theholesinthebagshelpkeepplantshealthybyprovidingtherightamountofdrainagethatsomeplantsrequire,particularlyediblecrops.Growbagsarealsogreatifyou&39;reworkingwithpoor-qualitysoil.Barbara&39;sHow-To:Lookforgrowbagsmadefromblackpolypropylene—themostcost-effectivevariety,sincetheywarmquicklyinthespring,andreleaseexcessheatinthesummer.Youcanplantthebagswithallkindsofediblecrops,includingherbs,tomatoesandpeppers.Thebagscanalsobeusedforornamentalplants,especiallyannuals.Andsinceyoucanusethemforseveralyears,thebagscanevenbeutilizedforperennialsandbulbs.
