Spring Has Sprung

The first day of Spring brings to mind many ways to save money and have lots of fun at the same time.  It is also the beginning of working in the yard and creating the garden.  One great way to save money is to plant your vegetables and flowers from seed.  At first this can seem overwhelming; however, it really is easy.  Because it is so cost effective, even if you do make a mistake your investment of actual dollars is not much.  One way to save money on the planting is to recycle old pots and think of creative uses for other materials.  Also, this time of year, you can find great sales at many of the home improvement stores.  You should also be able to find sales on seeds and soil.  This year, we are starting tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, herbs and flowers inside.  There are many other seeds you can sow directly in the earth.  As soon as we get a few warm days and the ground has thawed enough to run the tiller, we will be planting our early garden outside.  We plant onions, lettuce and radishes near the end of March or early April, depending on how much the ground has warmed.  This year has been particularly bitter cold in the mid-west and it looks like we are going to get a late start to Spring.  Last year was my first real year wanting to garden.  I found it is fun and has a great deal of satisfaction. Nothing tastes better than a tomato from your own garden.