Two Frugal Chicks

The first hormone discovered to cause root growth is called auxin, and the synthetic version is what we find in commercially sold rooting compounds today.

The willow plant is a natural source of auxin. Therefore, it can be very easy to make up a fresh batch of rooting compound whenever you need to plant some new cuttings.
Gather a  handful of willow branch tips,
chop or mash into smaller pieces,
fill small container with branch tips and water and allow to sit overnight.
Dip cuttings into water then put into your soil or potting mix.

If you don’t have access to a willow tree, aspirin is made from willow bark so it has the same effect as willow water. This is what I did. I used plain aspirin and dissolved two tablets in a quart jar of water overnight then used it to dip my cuttings in..

These three plants can provide a human with all the fresh air they need indoors to be healthy.

The three plants are the Areca Palm, the Mother-in-law’s Tongue , and the Money Plant.

The Areca Palm (or Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) does great air cleansing work during the day. About 4 shoulder height plants per person should do the trick.

The Mother-in-law’s Tongue (or Sansevieria trifasciata) takes over by converting CO2 to O2 at night. You want about 6 to 8 of these waist high plants per person.

The Money Plant (or Epipremnum aureum) does the job of filtering out removing Formaldehyde and other VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds).

I read about these interesting plants here.

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Did you know WSU Extension offers a really great website including gardening advice? They have a Master Gardeners section and offer information on all areas from beginning gardening to expert advice.

Here is the link.

I used this service years ago when it was available as audio tapes over the phone. I shared it with a friend who was canning pickles with me that year and we had a lot of fun.

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It’s getting about that time of year for some gardening tips:

For roses, sprinkle your used coffee grounds around them

For ferns: When they start looking a bit scraggly mix some unflavored gelatin, diluted, and water them with it. Natural nitrogen.

For Tomatoes: If you have fish scraps or better yet a whole fish, plant one in a hole under your tomato plants. I have an old salmon I never used up last year in the freezer for crabbing so I think I will put it under my tomatoes.

For the best tasting tomatoes, pour a cup of beer around the roots of the plant after it blossoms. Repeat once/week until ripe.

For peppers: Put a matchbook (without cover and staple) in the bottom of the hole when planting for stronger, healthier plants.

For acid loving plants like peppers or eggplant, try a pinch of epsom salts in the hole. The magnesium helps set the blossoms while the sulfur adds acid.

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Puget Sound Fresh is a great resource for what’s fresh, local and in season year-round.

Fruit, Nut and Berries
Herbs
Vegetables
Meats and Eggs.

When used properly it can actually support the growth of your plants by helping to improve your soil. Sawdust can also be used to store crops, repel pests, deter weeds, and is handy for cleaning up accidental spills.

1. Amend Your Soil: Add small amounts of sawdust to your soil to increase organic matter and improve its texture. Because sawdust is very slow to decompose, it works especially well in moist, heavy soils like clay, where soil amendments tend to break down quickly.
2. Compost It: For composting purposes, sawdust is considered a “brown” (carbon) material, which can be added in alternating layers to balance out the “green” (nitrogen) materials like grass clipping and food scraps. Sawdust also acts as a bulking agent, allowing air into the pile. It takes approximately a year to transform raw sawdust into finished compost.
3. Discourage Weeds: Not many gardeners know this, but sawdust (especially from hardwoods like walnut trees) is a natural weed killer. Sweep it between the cracks and crevices of concrete sidewalks and in between stepping stones to help prevent weeds from popping through. 

see whole article here .

Raising Honey Bees

I had the opportunity to buy hives from a guy
who was going out of business. He told me to stop by and see his mentor Harvard
Robbins on my way home. I
did and Harvard said ‘hey, tomorrow I’m going to California to pick up bees,
you want some”?  Suddenly and
quite unexpectedly, I was a beekeeper. I ran to the bookstore and bought a book
called Beekeeping for Dummies the to Home Depot and bought a paper painters
suit and a pair of rubber gloves. I was freaked out when I got my girls home but
once they were in their boxes they just took over and I stepped away.

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