Common household items you use to grow fruit

I sprayed this one on my pear trees last year and plan to yearly, maybe also adding neem oil to the mix and also to my apples just to reduce any critters during dormancy.

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I have been thinking of using construction paper sor my tomatoes. Did you plant and then place the bags or did you cut holes I the bags? Did you cover? Any pictures?

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Household items that I use-

Cardboard - goes under the woodchips for weed suppression.

Eggs and Eggshell Funk- Spray against deer…it works.

Irish Spring Soap- Anti Deer- didnt work.

Every vegetative food scrap and coffee grounds- goes into worm pile…black gold goes on my plants and trees

Toilet paper- has been going in my worm pile… they are eating it.

Paper Towels- I save them to start the fires for my biochar.

Urine- I pee in a bucket outside… use it to activate my biochar…also add it to my flowerbeds… also going to add it to my manure piles.

Eggshells- i put all of them into my garden in the fall…by spring they are gone. I guess the worms eat them.

Milk- Going to use it against brown rot and mildew and foliar spray.

I dont think anything is in my trash except manmade stuff like plastic and glass. After i learned that most of the plastic that says its recyclable actually isnt…i stopped fooling with the recycling.

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@Piblarg I cut the bags open and laid them flat around the tomato plants. I put rocks or metal fence posts on the paper to hold it in place. It needs to slope slightly toward the plants so water runs toward the plants. I did that by contouring the soil slightly using a garden rake before laying the paper. Sorry I didn’t take a photo.

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Plants being in indoor since Oct/Nov start getting aphids this time of the year. I use water +one pump of dishwasher liquid in a spray bottle to spray the plants. Very effective.

Using plastic cups as seedling container work better than store bought 6 pack/72pack containers. The plastic cup is deeper and has more leg room for the roots to grow. Also cost less . I also save the cups for next year if they are in good condition.
Household package material(Amazon boxes), junk mails, old magazine etc any biodegradable all goes to garden, under the pots to suppress the weeds and feed the earth worms.

Brady mentioned using veggie oil for dormant spray. I will try that. I have a gallon old veggie oil that I can use for many many years.
The bigger problems in my yard are the PC ,stink bugs, OFM. Any remedies?

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Honestly, it’s not a fit for this thread, but Surround WP kaolin clay is supposed to work well at discouraging stink bugs by clogging their reproductive organs when they land on the leaves. Edible Landscaping in VA had it sprayed on my Nikita’s Gift when I picked it up years ago and it took awhile for me to find the stuff in stock somewhere. Keystone Pest Solutions sells 25lb bags.

On a similar note - white latex paint diluted 50/50 for trunk protection application is another household item. I need to take my own advice and get this on my trunks, maybe the next day it warms up.

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I use aluminum lasagna trays and re-use similar shaped plastic trays that salad mixes come in.
Paper bags for storing amaryllis bulbs.
Yogurt containers for pots.
To prevent drying, I put my seedling trays into plastic film from dry cleaned items which is held away from the soil by pieces of metal coat hangers.

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Seven Springs has the best price I have found.

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We have seven indoor cats. I use a natural grass seed clumping litter which has worked very well on my banana clumps.

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I echo a lot of the answers already (yogurt containers, newspaper/cardboard/paper bags for sheet mulching, baking soda/dish soap/water mix for squash bug removal). One I’d like to add is, I drink a lot of almond milk in those tetra pack containers. I actually cut them in half, poke holes in the bottom, and use them to start seeds around this time of year. They hold up for a couple of months and the consistent exposure to moisture helps them break down faster.

I hate throwing stuff out so I try and re-use and repurpose everything I can. I keep our large glass jars from sauce and salsas to store large seeds or worm tea in; I keep our small glass jars to put little succulents in, sometimes to trade them at plant swaps. Of course, over the next couple years I hope to grow much more produce in the garden such that we’re not buying so much!

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I use the water from our dehumidfier to use in my sprayer, thinking that it’s nearly equivalent to distilled and will help the mixed solutions last an extra day or two.

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Condensate from a dehumidifier is nothing like distilled water because it contains whatever is in the air, like dust, pollen, fungi, bacteria, and chemicals.

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True, but it doesn’t contain drugs, chlorine, flouride, lime or fertilizers (or soap or Draino)…
items found in small amounts in most municipal taps.

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We buy Folgers coffee in 3 lb container… I am saving these… drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage… ideal size for potting something up… like raspberry props, tomatoes, etc.

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That reminds me… i buy gallons of distilled water for my dogs. My heeler was having seizures about once or twice a week. She is a very active dog and drinks lots of water. I am old school in that i try to be my own horse doctor the best i can… So i took her off of tap water and put her on distilled. Zero seizures since.

If anyone wants to do their own home test. Put your spaghetti pot on the stove top and let it evaporate about 20 gallons or so of your tap water. And do not wash it. What is in my pan is ridiculous.

What am i doing with jugs? I saw an idea of cutting the top part off and leaving the handle…and tying the handle to a tree… like all the way around on a rope. So it would be a flowerpot on a tree.

Also saw a neat idea with poking a tiny hole in the bottom and using it as poor mans drip irrigation.

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I think the main thing about dehumidifier water is that it has all the rocks taken out of it, as well as most ions (?).

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Have you considered a reverse osmosis system for your home? We have one at the kitchen sink. Produces near distilled quality water.

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There are people on Facebook cutting the tops of gallon jugs (clear ones from target I think would work nicely), filling with potting mix and starting seeds inside with the lid taped back on. Basically making mini greenhouses.

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I’m in the process of testing if I can use old K cups to help cold stratify seeds. I put some ume, apricot, peach, and japanese maple seeds in a bunch of old K cup containers with extra holes in the bottom along with some potting soil, then buried them in the garden for the winter. I figured it would be easier to move them to other locations that way.

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Most of the common items have been posted, but I don’t see 20 Mule Team borax. It is a common household laundry cleanser but also a necessary micronutrient especially important to cabbage and apples. Very tiny amounts are needed. A tablespoon is enough for a 100 ft long row of cabbage.

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