African Violets on the Cheap

Skin Flint Suggestions

Quick Tip

Here's a quick tip from Ed Holst at Country Road Violets 'N Things...Hang onto those scraps of egg crating that are left over from setting up your wicking trays. A piece of egg crating sitting on top of a bucket or small trash container is a perfect place for leaching of your violets. The water passes through the plant and egg crating and is captured in the bucket. You can leach several plants this way before it's time to dump the bucket, saving a lot of steps to the sink and back. Thanks for the tip Ed.

Let's Go Grocery Shopping

Its time to go shopping...this time to your local grocery store. A word of advice here, go right after lunch. The object of this trip is to look at containers not the food in them. Start in the deli department. A few minutes converstaion with the deli manager and you should be able to purchase either those 8 or 16 oz. containers they pack potato salad in, great to use as wicking reservoirs. Expect to pay anywhere from three to five cents each for them. Now start walking up the aisles. We are looking for the little individual packaged servings of pudding and jello. Check with your co-workers that brown bag it every day or have the kids keep their eyes open at school. The empty containers make great little pots for miniatures and you can get them for free. Also check out the containers used to package mushrooms. Perfect miniature greenhouses to start leaf cuttings and suckers in. Keep your eyes open. You'll be amazed at all of the different size and shape containers you'll run across that are just perfect for raising violets. In most cases you'll not only be saving money but contributing to recycling efforts at the same time. Later.

A Taste for the Sour

So you have decided to try your hand at Texas style potting, and you just love using those clear plastic saucers under the pots that you can buy everywhere. But after a few weeks they aren't so pretty anymore with all the buildup of minerals leaving a white crust on the inside surface. Try as you might you just can't seem to get into all the little crevices and ridges to get them clean. Here's a tip, let them soak in plain white vinegar for about 15 minutes. The acid in the vinegar dissolves the mineral deposits and with a quick wipe you can then just rinse them clean. Same thing applies to propagating trays, watering cans etc.By the way the buildup is a good visual indicator that it's time to give the plants themselves a good flushing with plain water. If the minerals are building up on the saucers it's probably building up in the potting mix as well. Flush the soilless mix with plenty of tepid water to redisolve and remove salts buildup. Your plants will love it.

Send your idea or tip to Keith Lanham
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