Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday! This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it! 

Comments

Re: Planter Box with Cedar border

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for this. Very inspiring.

I noted that someone commented about the wood rotting. You might also have a problem with the angle irons and hardware mesh rusting away. Really, that's only natural. It's not like you'd want to use chemically treated wood in a garden where you'd be growing food. Besides, I've always understood cedar to be resistant to decay.

We, naturally, want to minimize maintenance but it can't be avoided altogether. I imagine that hardwoods would last longer. I've experimented with applying linseed oil to wood I want to preserve. It appears to be working.

Not sure if there are any better options for hardware cloth. Plastic mesh might last longer but it certainly wouldn't be a deterrent to voles. Plastic lining against the sidewalls might help the wood last longer.

Caldathras

Re: Planter Box with Cedar border

[(Anonymous)]

Next time try adding a little wax and turpentine to the linseed oil. Blueberry

Re: Planter Box with Cedar border

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the tip, Blueberry.

Caldathras

Re: Planter Box with Cedar border

[(Anonymous)]

A permaculture demi-god, Sepp Holzer, has a technique of mounding up otherwise waste wood (like windfalls) into long piles, up to six feet tall. He then adds whatever manure he can get all over the pile along with other random organic matter, and tries to keep it from drying out too much. The wood breaks down over a period of several years, generating a gentle heat and turning into a long, fertile mound great for growing things. Carbon sequestered into new soil.

"Hugelkultur" is what he calls it. Plenty of videos online about it. (This is all from memory-- my German stinks.)

*Ochre Harebrained Curmudgeon*