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My Backyard Compost

Family Balance Sheet

My composting adventures all started about 9 years ago when our local Penn State Cooperative Extension office offered a free composting bin (the round one in the picture) when you attended their free composting seminar. I have a system going, but I am a laid back composter. So what did I learn at the seminar?

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Don’t Dig a Money Pit in Your Garden

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Instead, you broke your budget buying every gadget from the big box gardening store – not to mention the pricier mature plants and the chemicals to make them grow faster and produce more. I now grow almost all of the vegetables and some of the fruits my family eats through the year. Talk to experienced gardeners in your area.

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Square Foot Gardening: Starting Over With New Soil

Family Balance Sheet

Last year, I chronicled my box garden conversion from random planting to the more calculated method, known as Square Foot Gardening. I had great success, but at the end of the season, I vowed that in 2011, I was going to replace all of the dirt in my box with new soil following the Square Foot Gardening recipe for a soil mix.

Gardening 147
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How to Save Cash and Your Health With a Garden

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

There really is nothing like the experience of eating something that you have just picked fresh from your own garden. Gradually, the home veggie garden became obsolete. Gardening takes time, energy, patience and commitment as well as some basic skills and knowledge. However, the tide has turned again.

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Start Planning and Budgeting for Summer TODAY!

Family Balance Sheet

As a family, we are looking forward to camping trips, a week at the beach, and cookouts with friends. It’s a helpful visual for everyone in my family as we anticipate our summer fun. How much is summer going to cost you and your family? The following list of summer activities is family-friendly, fun, and easy on the budget.

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Guerrilla Gardening And Seed Bombing

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Coined in 1973 by Liz Christy and her Green Guerrilla group in New York City, guerrilla gardening uses “seed grenades” as a way of introducing vegetation to empty lots in NYC in order to make the city look better. Want to get involved in doing some guerrilla gardening of your own? Sounds pretty civil indeed, if you ask me!

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How to Find Free or Low Cost Gardening Seminars

Family Balance Sheet

Whether you are a novice gardener or a master gardener, there are many free or low cost gardening seminars, workshops, and events happening at this time of year. You'll walk away with great information about this year's gardening trends, gardening techniques, and maybe even a plant or two. I chose broccoli.

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