Creative Repurposing Projects for the Yard and Garden

Newspaper: Of course newspapers can be recycled or shredded and put in the compost pile, but I like to put down a couple of layers of newspaper before I spread mulch around trees, shrubs and flower beds. It's a perfect biodegradable weed blocker. Cardboard works, too. Speaking of mulch, you can sometimes get free or cheap mulch at your local landfill or by asking highway road crews working in your area. As a bonus, newspaper can also clean your windows, dry out wet shoes and even be spun into yarn!

Eggshells: Since eggshells are rich in calcium and other minerals, there are a number of eggscellent ways to repurpose them in the garden. They decompose relatively quickly and can be added to the compost pile or crumbled and stirred directly into the soil. I also like to start my tomato plants from seeds indoors in the spring, using eggshell halves filled with soil and kept upright in egg cartons instead of peat pots. Scatter crushed eggshells around your plants and flowers to help deter plant-eating slugs, snails, cutworms and even deer without using environmentally unfriendly pesticides. 

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Fruit and veggie peels: Don't dump all of your peels in the compost pile. Some fruit and vegetable trimmings can play a starring role in repurposing your garden. Avocado shells make great biodegradable pots to start seedlings in (like eggshells, above). Nut shells can be crushed and spread around plants to keep crawling insects away. And potassium-rich banana peels can be dried, ground up and stirred into the soil around rose bushes and other plants to both fertilize them and deter aphids. You can also shine your shoes with banana peels. Some folks swear that rinsing your hair with water with boiled potato peels can wash the gray away. Who knew?

Cheapskate garden decorations: Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (including cheapskates), and when it comes to garden art, anything goes. I've seen beautiful mosaic stepping stones made out of broken porcelain china, hummingbird feeders and pinwheels fashioned from plastic soda bottles, attractive planters made from old car tires, and a fascinating garden mobile made from recycled bicycle wheels. Miser adviser Wanda Adams from Trotwood, Ohio, noticed that old bowling balls often sell at yard sales for next to nothing; the boarder of her flower garden is now cleverly edged with her ever-growing collection of colorful balls.

Jeff Yeager is the author of The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches and The Cheapskate Next Door. His website is www.UltimateCheapskate.com and you can friend him on Facebook at JeffYeagerUltimateCheapskate or follow him on Twitter.