Budget gardening tips

Readers of the Denver Gardening Examiner have been given advice on stretching their cents further when it comes to looking after plants in their yards and greenhouses.

The resource advised growers to use ashes from the fireplace as an alternative potassium soil amendment.

Another tip offered by the article is to use egg cartons instead of buying small pots to get seeds started during winter – an idea it said will save horticulturalists money, as well as help the environment.

Toilet paper rolls can also be used as seedling protectors, while coffee grounds make a useful addition to compost, it suggested.

Female gardeners can even make use of their old panty hose by filling them with manure or garden composts and dunking them up and down in a bucket of water, making a great drink for plants.

The article concludes by suggesting an old paddling pool can be used as a makeshift garden container by poking a few drainage holes in the bottom.

Yesterday, the Newbury Port Daily News advised gardeners looking to create space for a vegetable garden to reclaim some of their lawn.