Hi everybody.

I want to share a trick I've used for years that works great!

Use toilet paper rolls instead of peat pots to start plants.

Take all the toilet paper rolls you've saved all year and sit down by a shallow cardboard box or plant tray and fill the rolls with sifted compost or moist potting soil. Hold them in one hand, stuff the soil in with the other, tamping down the bottom inch firmly - this is sufficient to hold the soil in, no bottom is needed.

Perfect cheap peat pots and you're not breathing peat dust which can actually be deadly, nor are you responsible for huge open mining of the bogs & all the oil used in transport etc.

Pop the whole thing in the ground when the seedling is ready. This works great.

I also encourage you (if you're not already a compost fiend) to make your own potting soil by making compost. Sift it through a hardware cloth screen that has been nailed to a two by four frame then stuff the rolls.

I use the trays you get from nurseries to stack the rolls in.

the only other cheap garden trick I know that's half as cool is using old sheets from goodwill etc. to catch and carry weeds to the compost bin. It's amazing how much weight you can sling over your shoulder pretty easily.