Bargains galore

"It's empty! That must be why you got it cheap!"

Nope, can't fit in there.
Obviously another bad buy!

Now that Spring seems finally to be on its way, the shelves in shops are once again filling up with gardening products. Not just at garden centres, but at supermarkets and pound shops too, and there are some great bargains to be had. The water butts on the allotment came from Wilkinsons several years ago as they were cheaper there than anywhere else - as was the 100-odd feet of hose I needed to reach the communal tap, while my mini greenhouse was a bargain bought from Morrisons, also a few years ago. I usually shop locally, but popped in there at the weekend to pick up a few odds and ends for my Mum, and spotted a plastic trug at £2.50 and a bird box for £3 and couldn't resist them. I've also had some excellent fruit trees from there in the past which compare very well against ones I've purchased from specialist suppliers - I'm still smarting about the pear tree I bought from one such merchant. Don't ask.
I also picked up a few bits and pieces from Poundland, and found a string of solar powered blue fairy lights for £3 in a charity shop. It pays to shop around, it really does! Although sometimes you get what you pay for - packs of seeds may sometimes be less full than the ones you buy at garden centres for example. But when you just want a few to fill in a bare corner, they are perfect for the job.

Nom nom

While on the subject of bargains, the pea shoots are thriving and nearly ready to start harvesting - although when I left them outside for a few minutes yesterday I returned to find that Angel was already sampling them. This was a great tip passed on via Facebook, which I shared on the Dog Friendly Gardening FB page - you may have spotted it. I used an old wooden tray, filled with spent compost and liberally sowed it with peas. The peas were a bargain too, at 50p for a box (just ordinary dried peas) from the supermarket, and which I've only used half of it. They have grown beautifully in the shed window, with no attention other than keeping them damp, and taste delicious (yes, I tried a few too as Angel reckoned they were nearly ready) as well as being organic and much cheaper than buying them in the shops!

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