Tag Archives: money-saving garden tip

Nov13

How to Save Okra Seeds

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I love to save money in my garden. If your okra did well for you this year, consider leaving a plant or two to set seed for next year.

Saving your own seed means that not only are you saving money, but that you are also growing a variety that has already proven itself in your area.

All you have to do is resist the temptation to harvest the pods for my easy no-slime okra recipe, and wait for them to turn brown.

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When the pods begin to split, remove them from the plant. Do you see the brown seeds in the picture?

Store in a cool, dry place for next year. Remember to label them!

Don’t be like me, who has about a hundred tomato seeds from last season and was so sure she would remember what variety they were that she didn’t label them. I’m pretty sure they are ‘Roma’ tomato seeds; I hope I’m right.

Now you can use the money saved to buy a new variety to try, like purple carrots or yellow tomatoes!

Do you save seeds, or does the process intimidate you?

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Jul21

Propagating Torenia (Wishbone Flower) from Cuttings – More Free Plants!

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Torenia

Florida summers can be so hard on flowering plants. By mid-July, my tomato and cucumber plants are declining rapidly, succumbing to old age and oppressive humidity. Torenia continues to bloom heartily, even in North Florida’s hot and humid summers. It is easy to propagate too.

I am going to use the same technique that I have used on mint, basil, and tomato cuttings: rooting in water.

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Cleanly remove some cuttings, them remove the leaves that will be below the water or soil line. Leaves submerged in the water will decompose. Yuck.

Torenia rooted in water

Soon you will see white roots begin to grow. Most likely the roots will first appear at the nodes, or places where the leaves or branches grew from the main stalk.
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Once they have a good start on a root system, they can be planted in a pot of homemade compost or potting soil. There you are-new plant for free!

Baby the new plant for a few days, then you can put it in your garden.

For more tutorials on how to get free plants, you can read my Buy 2, Get 3 Free Tomato Plants post, or Have a Mint? Make Another Mint! You can also read about plant division in my post about sharing oregano with my brother.

Of course, a favorite money-saving post is How I Get Free Seeds.

Gardening is as expensive or as inexpensive as you make it.

What about you? Have you ever divided or rooted a plant before? Be careful, it can be addictive!

Be watching for an update on the monster tomato plant from the Florida raised bed garden and for pictures of some deadly pearly studs. Yes, some accessories can kill you! Any guesses about what the deadly pearly studs can be? Some of you may have seen them in your garden. Do you need another hint or can some of you gardeners already guess what they are?