Jun 30 2009
Frugal Gardening Tips
There are countless ways for you to save money in the garden and having just founded my own community garden this year in my neighborhood I am looking to use all of them! Here are a few ideas to get you started off on the right foot:
Don’t Waste Soil! Just because that container is so large it would hold a whole bag of expensive potting soil doesn’t mean you have to use that much! Instead, use some sort of recycled filler in the bottom of the pot to take up the space that you don’t really need anyway. How about the broken and unusable plastic pots that your plants came in? What about the disposable cups from your morning trip to the coffee shop? It is a great way to reuse something you can’t recycle and save money on potting soil at the same time. WIN WIN!
Grow It From Seed! I know that you can buy seedlings for a decent price during the spring and summer months, but with a small investment of time and a bit of money you could start all of your garden veggies from seed and save HUGE. I generally grow 100+ tomato seedlings every year and sell, barter or give away the ones I won’t need.
TOMATOES! If you have space for extra tomato plants, you should take advantage of it. Tomatoes are almost always expensive at the supermarket and they don’t have any flavor! Rake in a huge bounty at home and learn to make and can your own whole stewed tomatoes, sauces and salsas. The taste is unbeatable, you know what went into it and you will save a fortune over the stuff you get at the store. If you grow only one thing, it should be tomatoes.
