Elegant Survival

Stylish Living on a Shoestring

Category: Survival Gardening

Elegant Survival, Established in 2006 by M-J de Mesterton

Posted at 11:30 AM on November 17, 2009

...is in no way affiliated with a group of musicians in Boulder, Colorado who have recently adopted the same name.

Autumn Harvest, by M-J de Mesterton

Posted at 09:43 AM on September 29, 2009

M-J's Gardening Tips

Posted at 10:11 AM on March 16, 2009

Gardening, Spring 2009

Assorted Tips from M-J


Buy eggs in cardboard cartons, rather than in styrofoam ones. Fill them with dirt, and start your seeds in them, one per egg-cup.  Then, when the danger of frost has ended, you do not need to transplant each seedling individually. All you do is dig an area and set in the egg carton (minus the lid, of course, which you tore off earlier). Cover up the edges with soil. The cardboard egg carton will bio-degrade inside your garden.


Spray a solution of 30% hydrogen peroxide and 60% water on your seedlings and plants to give them an oxygen-boost.


Mix a little Epsom salt into your watering can. Epsom salt is a tradtional fertilizer in England, whence it came.