Too, Too Frugal

Here is an example of frugality gone wrong. Back in April I sowed some rue seeds in a four-inch pot. When it was time to pot them individually I couldn't find enough small plastic pots in the garage and didn't want to drive to Lawrence to get some. My dear neighbor Ann, now deceased, used to make pots out of newspaper sheets, so I decided to try it. Half the rue ended up in plastic, half in newspaper pots, as you can see. Aren't the ones in the newspaper pitiful?

I hadn't realized that newsprint is very acidic, too acidic for plants to thrive when encased in it. The same thing happened with my Abraham Lincoln tomatoes. After repotting in styrofoam cups with holes punched in the bottom, though, the tomatoes quickly recovered and started growing. Maybe newspaper pots would work if I mixed a little lime with the potting soil. I might try that with the savoy cabbage plants I plan to start next month for the fall garden.

Recycling is a good thing, and even better if the item can be recycled right at home. I won't stop trying.