Grow Richer

If you're not already reading a personal finance blog, you should be.

Knowledge is power, as they say, and I think we can all use some additional financial power these days.

Try reading Ramit Sethi's 'I Will Teach You to be Rich.'

Practical tools and good advice. What more could you ask for?

A Small Window Garden

Angie and I have a desire to be small-scale farmers. We want to grow most of our own food. Unfortunately, we live in an apartment with limited space, so we had to start small.

About 6 weeks ago, we planted our first herbs in a window box. We bought the entire kit (minus soil) from Marc's for less than $5. We added soil for around $2.

That's right, we got everything we needed for less than $7 and soon we'll not have to buy sage, dill, oregano, parsley, sweet basil or chives.

The sweet basil in our window herb garden

Well, we may have to buy oregano; I can't get it to grow!

With the exception of the oregano, it's been simple. I can't believe I haven't always grown my own herbs. The only requirement is a window and all of my previous apartments have had those!

We were so successful that today I planted more. I planted peppers, cilantro, italian parsley and tomatoes. I planted in cans with a layer of rocks below the soil to assist in draining. We had tons of leftover soil from before, so the only cost to me was the rocks and the seeds - less that $5!

Make your own:

• Select the cans you want to use and clean them thoroughly. I used small tomato sauce cans, but you can use whatever you have.
  
• Use a screwdriver and a hammer to punch 5 or so small holes in the bottom of the can. This will allow water to drain out and reduce your chances for mold to grow in the soil.
  
• Use small rocks to form a layer of about 1/2 inch on the bottom of the can. I used aquarium gravel because it was easy to find and cheap.
  
• Fill the can with soil and water.
  
• Plant the seeds following the package instructions.
  
• Place the cans in a container or on a plate. We made holes for drainage, so water WILL drain out!

Today's new plants