Ways to Save Money on your Garden

Can you imagine sitting down to a meal of your own fresh produce that you grew in your backyard? Well, spring is here in the southern hemisphere, so now is a great time to start your very own backyard garden. Here are some ways to save money in your garden, and before you know it, you’ ll be growing your own produce.

Ways to Save Money on your Garden

Setting up a garden doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Here are a few ideas to help you begin to grow your own food while stretching your dollars.

Library

Get books from the library or find gardening solutions online. Information is important. Particularly when you are new to gardening or have a problem. Instead of buying books on gardening borrow them from the library or use google to find information. A great free way to get gardening information is to join gardening groups locally or on Facebook.

Choosing the Right Fruit and Vegetables

There is no point in wasting money trying to grow fruit and vegetables that are not suitable for your climate. Instead choose plants that are cheap and easy to grow and have a high yield. Grow food that you are going to eat such as tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and beans.

And, plant those plants at the right time of the year. If planted out of season, they can die from frost, or die from the heat. Bugs will even feast on them if they are planted in the wrong season.

Upcycle

Upcycle household items for your garden. From making scoops out of laundry soap jugs to using cardboard as an under layer for your mulch to keep weeds away there are endless ways to reuse items around your home in your garden. Not only are you saving money you are helping the environment.

Reuse

Reuse grey water or catch rainwater to water your garden. Water bills can add up fast when you have a garden to care for. Using a rain barrel is the easiest way to save money watering your garden. Other options including using greywater like dumping cooking water into the garden after it cools. Try using a bucket to catch the cold water in the shower while you wait for it to transition to hot instead of having it go down the drain.

Many families also collect grey water for their garden from the rinse water when doing dishes or laundry.

Water Wisely

When you do water your garden, make sure to use your water wisely. There is no point wasting water on areas that don’t need it. Concentrate on watering close to the main stem of the plant so the water reaches the best area that needs it. Try to pour the water directly onto the ground and not on the leaves. Not only does the water have less chance of reaching the roots of the plant, but wet foliage can lead to diseases and fungal issues which can lead to increase costs in trying to fix the issue.

Mulch

Use plenty of mulch in your garden to help trap water and reduced the cost of watering your garden. Mulch is cost-effective and can help with weeds and protecting your garden from pests as well. Get free mulch to help lower your cost. Using cardboard boxes you get from online shopping is a great way to block weeds. Dried grass clippings from your yard make an amazing layer of mulch. You can always top these with more attractive decorative mulch options.

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Seeds and Cuttings

Trade seeds and cuttings with other gardeners to lower the cost of adding new plants to your garden. This is a great way to build your local garden community as well. Check your local library as many host seed training events, if they don’t, they may be interested in adding one. Save seeds at the end of the season to use next year. This can only be done with heirloom seeds making them an even better investment than modern conventional seeds.

You can save money by getting creative with recycling containers and purchasing bulk seed raising mix or making your own to get the job done. Here are some recycling ideas for starting seeds which will help you save money when you start your seeds this year.

Also, check out the sale section of your local nursery. If they are looking a little dry, try soaking in a mild mix of seasol and water to bring them back to life.

Regrow

Regrow food from your kitchen in your garden. Foods like celery are best grown from cuttings rather than seed. This makes growing the leftover bottoms a great way to save money and grow more food for your family.

Perennials are plants the live for several years, so therefore don’t need to be replanted annually. As you don’t have to purchase more seed or plants to replace them, they are able to save you money. Many of these plants are also easily divided into multiple plants.

Compost

Make your own compost to fertilise your garden for less. Composting is a wonderful, cheap and easy way to recycle your food scraps, and grass clippings, with extra nutrients that can be added to your soil without having the extra cost of purchasing expensive fertilisers.

Companion Planting

A great way to keep plants healthy and pests in check and costs down is to companion plant. Some plants are natural deterrents to some pests, while other plants work to improve the soil, or attract pollinators. For example, planting basil with tomatoes helps with repelling flies and fruit flies as well as enhancing the flavour of the tomatoes.

Garden Space

By growing vegetables vertically, you are able to maximise your garden space. To do this you will need to make a trellis for your plants. This may cost you money, though try to find items at op shops, second hand shops or from family and friends that can be reused to create a structure that can be used.

Ways to Save Money in your Garden