Efficient Summer Projects for $20 or Less

If your on a budget like most folks these days but would like to make the most of what you have, then read on. Summer is a time for fun and family around the back yard grill and if your lucky, maybe even a pool. If you want to make those back yard evenings a little like paradise then you might want to try one of these fun projects with the family. Build a fish pond, plant an herb or a vegetable garden, or make a fire pit to sit around in the evenings.

Fish Pond: I’ve built several fish ponds over the years without any great expenditure, some were even free with a little creativity. One of the first ponds I built was a small pond about a yard across and a foot deep and it was free. I used an area of the yard that already had an indentation from where a tree trunk had rotted down. If your not that lucky, you’ll have to dig your hole in the ground. I cleaned out all the loose debris and smoothed the surface down as much as I could. Then I lined it with an old heavy duty shower curtain cut in a circle. I held the edges down with some old unused brick. Then I transplanted a few perennials around the edges to give it a finished look. I found some monkey grass in the edge of some nearby woods, and a few day lilies and spider lilies from the wild too. Any kind of wild plants from the area will do nicely for a border if it’s a perennial.

Another version of this simple pond was the second one I built. On this one I used an old kiddie pool for the liner. If you already have one your kids have outgrown use it. If you buy one it’s about $10. Just dig out a hole to fit the pool in a nice spot and put a few perennial plants around the edges and you’ve got a nice little fishpond. Add a center ornament if you like and a few small gold fish and you’re done.

The third fish pond I built was a little more permanent in structure and a bit more costly. The first thing you need to do is find some rope or a hose and design the shape of your pond. Dig it out to about one foot deep and three or four feet in diameter. You’ll need about two or three 80 lb bags of quick crete to line your pond. They cost about $4 a bag, so that’s $8-$12. Mix your concrete in a 5 gallon bucket which you probably already have around the house. You can use a gardening spade to mix the concrete and put it in the pond. Start at the deepest part of the pond and work your way up in a circular fashion patting the concrete down with your hand. It should be about ½”- 3/4” thick. I chose to add an ornamental vase to the center of my pond for a decorative look. You can use anything decorative that will withstand the out of doors. You probably already have something in your house that would work for this touch free, a glass vase, a stone wear jar, a yard ornament, etc. Let your concrete set for 24 to 48 hours and then you can add a few perennial plants around its border (free if you transplant from another area or $5-$6 if you buy 2-3 small potted plants). Lastly add a few goldfish (3-5 for $1). It’s best not to put your pond directly under trees or you’ll be constantly getting leaves and debris out of it. You can add a filter and pump, but if the expense is too much just leave it natural. You may eventually have to add some algae control agent or just drain the pond periodically and put fresh water in. I just let the rain fill mine up again after I empty it once a year or so.

Herb Garden: The next project I recommend is an herb garden. You can buy at least 5-7 small potted herb plants for $20 or less. I recommend starting with perennials that will come back each year. You can always add a few annuals to fill in empty spots later. First find a good fertile spot in your yard and break up the soil. Till in some half rotted leaves, wood ash, and a little decomposed pine straw to give it a little boost. You may want to fertilize with a bag of Epsom salts (about $2-3 a bag). Plant your herbs being sure to follow spacing guidelines. Some herbs can grow several feet in width and height.

Vegetable Garden: Starting a vegetable garden is one of the most rewarding projects ever. You can start a fairly simple one for under $20. You can buy seed packets at about 25¢- 50¢ per pack at Wal-Mart, unless you want heirloom seeds, which run about $2 a pack at Lowes. The best method I’ve found is the Square Foot Garden. Use some old boards to make some squares about 4x4’ each. Till the soil in each square adding some Epsom salts and some half rotted leaves or pine straw. Wood ash is a very good additive to the soil as well. You can purchase fertilizer, but you can probably do just as well by adding things you already have in the yard. Plant your seeds and water them in. Most come up in 7-14 days. You may want to buy a few plants already started but this can be expensive. Most are about $1-$3. Keep your squares as weed free as possible, using mulch if necessary. I don’t recommend using hybrids or genetically improved seeds because you can’t save the seed for next year. Most of the seeds from these plants are infertile.

Fire Pit: Another nice touch is a fire pit to sit around and communicate in the evening. Here’s a freebee. I took an old round grill, which the legs had broken off of and sunk it in the ground a bit. You can put bricks around the bottom to hold it up if you don’t want to dig a hole. As you clean the yard, put in a few pine cones and fallen small limbs to burn and your all set for a quiet evening under the stars. And if you’d like you can throw the grill on top and cook a meal on it too.

As you can see my trash sometimes becomes my treasure. I use a lot of old broken things and come up with new uses for them. Not only does this help recycle old stuff, but it helps save the environment too. It brings a lot of fun and joy to me and my family and doesn’t cost a lot to do them. Think about what you have, what you might would just throw out to the trash and see what you can come up with. With a little creativity, you can have a little paradise of your own.