Housewives’ Tips for Outside

“Old is new again” doesn’t just apply to things. At a time when stretching a buck is paramount, taking a look at how our grandparents and their parents ran their households can offer some much-needed savings advice.

Here are some hints for the gardener gleaned from a couple of marvelous old books, “500 HOUSEHOLD HINTS by 500 HOUSEWIVES” and “HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA” (both printed around 1920), with a few notes from me.

Weeds. From HOUSEHOLD HINTS: To kill weeds in a gravel path, pour boiling water over the gravel and leave for about twenty-four hours, after which the gravel can be raked over and the weeds removed.Vinegar also works, though both methods are best used on new growth. For established weeds, nothing beats getting down on your hands and knees and pulling them out by the roots.

Green Fly. From HOUSEHOLD HINTS: “Nothing is better than a pair of soft brushes joined together with a cane bow, so that by pressure of the hand they are brought in contact and the bud between them is cleared.”

Bugs. Boiling water is quite effective. I can attest to this, especially for ants in the garden. The HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA also suggests some rather ghastly mixes of petroleum and benzine or brimstone and saltpetre, but I definitely don’t recommend these. For ants, however, I do recommend orange oil. I save all my orange peels and blend them with a little water, strain the mix, then use the liquid as a spray.

Composting. From HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA: In a corner of the plot, well away from the house…if possible, that the most prevalent winds do not carry aromas toward the dwelling, dig a substantial hole, and in it put all garden refuse, mowings from lawn, cabbage and other leaves…….and all such vegetable material….makes what is known as compost……it can be hastened by throwing salt, soda (ash) and lime …….and a few buckets of water poured over the heap……Fork over now and again to let air and damp get in….

Earwigs. From HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA: The best and simplest trap is that of a small flower-pot, stuffed with a little dry moss and inverted on the top of a stake. It should be examined every morning and evening and its catch of earwigs destroyed by plunging into hot water.

Cabbage caterpillar. From HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA: Hand pick the young caterpillars and crush the egg clusters.

Potato Blight. From HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA: To prevent blight, spray the foliage with Burgundy or Bordeaux mixture. I don’t know about this; seems like a waste of good wine to me.

Slugs. My grandmother used to pour salt on them. This effectively causes them to dehydrate. I think it’s kinder to just squash them.

Wasp stings. From HOUSEHOLD HINTS: If…you should get stung….rub a cut onion on the spot. It will ease the pain and cause the swelling to go down. My mother used to use this remedy on me but I don’t recall if it actually worked!

Cut flowers. From HOUSEHOLD HINTS: Fill the bowl with sand to within an inch from the top, and soak with water. In this the flowers will keep fresh twice as long …… and will stand up. From HOUSEHOLD ENCYCLOPAEDIA: An aspirin or a little starch dropped into the water…..will keep the stems upright. ……cut a small piece off the stem every day and split hard woody stalks about 1 inch from the bottom. Add a little soda (ash) and salt to the water to freshen the flowers.

Well, I hope some of these hints will be of use to you. At the least, it’s fun to look back and get a glimpse of life in the early 1900s.