Plant sweet basil in amongst your tomato plants- I did this last year and did not have a slug OR a tomato worm problem! 

I do some of the stuff mentioned in that article.  Never have done newspaper planting cups tho - will have to try that.  I use plastic milk jugs, but what I do is make edging.  Using utility sissors, I cut rectangle pieces out of the two big sides of the jug.  Then with an ordinary regular-sized stapler, I staple (multiple times) the pieces together (long sides together).  This ends up making a long strip of edging.  Then when I have the length desired, just bury in the dirt.  Talk about frugal edging!  : )  The rest of the jug goes in recycling.

CharlieB:

I use plastic milk jugs, but what I do is make edging.  Using utility sissors, I cut rectangle pieces out of the two big sides of the jug.  Then with an ordinary regular-sized stapler, I staple (multiple times) the pieces together (long sides together).  This ends up making a long strip of edging.  Then when I have the length desired, just bury in the dirt.

What a neat idea! I'm going to steal it.  

 You can use anything for containers as long as they have drainage. Container gardens have to be watered and fertilized more often, but I've had pretty good luck with most things. 

arianasilver:

The Bible says not to be a drunkard, it doesn't say you shouldn't drink altogether.  Why do people get all up in arms and gossipy (also a sin) if the preacher's wife is out buying a case of beer?  

Point taken! The Bible also says that we should avoid all appearance of evil. People have it in their minds (probably a product of the "holiness movement" of the early 20th century) that any drink is evil, so if we avoid it, we avoid offending them. By "people" I don't necessarily mean Christians, although many of them would be offended also. If we do anything to offend our fellow Christians, then we're sinning against them. 

My biggest suggestions for frugal gardening are:

1) make friends who love gardening and share plants (cuttings, divide and share bulbs, etc.)

2) learn to grow things from seed but also learn how to save the seeds (dry them out, put in baby food jars w/ a label and put in the crisper shelf of the fridge... that's how I do it).

3) make your own compost (something I'm just getting into myself....)

*** I wanted to make a suggestion for those of you who are new to gardening and new to starting seeds.... You are better off watering plants from the bottom rather than watering from the top. My favorite way to do this is to put the container (I like using egg cartons or something that will breakdown in the soil) in a pan or something like that (we use what we call "crawfish platters")... set the plants (in their contianers) in the pan. Then you just poor the water in the pan itself. The plant will suck it up as it needs it and you don't risk damaging the seedlings or little plant sprouts.

Also, my biggest "frugal gardening" suggestion is to be selective about what types of plants you purchase, if you decide to buy them at all. Perinnials (come back each year, in most zones) and bulbs are better investments. They will come back next year and will expand (bulbs multiply). Annuals are pretty and will give you instant color BUT you aren't getting your moneys worth. If you want to plant annuals, do it from seed to keep the cost down.

Just my 2 cents.

God bless,

Julie

Pat:

I'm going to steal it.  

Go for it!  ... Hey, you can't be the price and it works...  FYI, sometimes with my stapler, I had to push half-way down, then the rest of the way down.  I was getting some staples that didn't want to staple thru the plastic correctly.  When I did that, it stapled fine.  (Maybe it's just my stapler, but just thought I'd add that, in case you have the same problem.)

 Thanks. I have an old heavy duty stapler so maybe it will work ok. I can't wait to try it. I have an area we just cleaned flowers out of so I could plant more vegetables this year and I need something to edge it. 

arianasilver:

But, unless I'm comitting a crime according to the laws of God, them being offended is a sin as well as they're judging ("Judge not least ye be judged." "First remove the speck for your own eye."

You're right, but then you just judged them for judging you.

The point is that we are our brother's keepers. If we cause someone to sin, we've got a problem. They're responsible for their own sins, yes, but we're responsible for our actions that caused it.