How to Save Money on your Garden

I love our growing our own food, herbs, and flowers in our garden each year. Something about the joy of growing a garden and working hands on with the children brings me so much joy. By planning items for our garden to provide for our family we save money making it worth the time and money we invest. Each year we sit down to grow our garden for as little as possible. Over the years we have found a few tricks.

Save money on your garden with simple planning

Grow plants that save you money. Mix herbs and veggies in with flowering plants to get used out of flower beds. Spinach is my favorite filler plant because it has a high nutrition value for the space it takes up and is cheaper to grow at home.  If you are on SNAP benefits you can buy food bearing plants and seeds with your benefits. This is a great benefit that helps many families get back on their feet and off of aid as their food budget drops.

Resue clearance and dying plants for pennies on the dollar. These plants need a little love but, in the end, you can bring them back to full glory. Just prune away the rough spots to encourage growth, provide plants with the right growing environment, and breath new life into them.  The best thing you can do is look up each plant and learn a thing or two about them. At the end of the year grow trees and perennials that will grow back next spring on clearance for big savings in your garden.

Visit local sales as late as possible in the last day. This is a great way to get discounted plants that the seller does not want to cart home.  Don’t be afraid to haggle a bit at farmers markets and such. Just be sure to keep your offers polite.

Host a garden swap with friends and family. This is a great way to swap out seeds, thinnings from potted plants, and cuttings. Everyone brings something and everyone has the opportunity to save money and find a new treasure for their garden.

Hunt down free mulch. After seedlings are large enough we like to add a layer of leftover newspaper followed by grass clippings to create a thick mulch over our garden. We top off with wood chips making the garden look great and hiding our thrift. When we see the power company out trimming trees on easements I give them a call to see if they will drop off wood chips at our house instead of paying to dispose of them at the dump.

Water your garden by using the water from rinsing your dishes or the last spin on your washer for a big savings in your garden. A thick layer of mulch will help keep water in your garden. To grow more in your garden burry a bottle or bucket with holes into the ground and plant tomatoes around it. Pour water into this to give your plants a continuous water supply for less.

Sometimes you need to spend money to save money

Compare prices on ready-made structures for your garden with the coast of materials to make them on your own. Some things like sheets of lath are cheaper to buy pre-made rather than spend valuable time making it yourself.Buy items like mulch and top soil in truckloads to save. Building a garden for less sometimes means planning ahead. Measure out how much you need then price deliver compared to the price of bags.  Don’t need that much? Go in with neighbors for a truckload.

Buy supplies in bulk. Building a garden for less sometimes means planning ahead. Measure out how much you need then price deliver compared to the price of bags.  Don’t need that much? Go in with neighbors for a truckload. This is great if you have a local farm offering bulk mushroom compost at a discount.

Watch for used tools at a great price to build your garden for less. Yard sales, estate sales, thrift shops, even the local buy, sell, trades like craigslist.org can be good places to find used garden tools.

Check your online marketplaces for free garden supplies and plants that would normally find their way into the trash. Not only are you saving money you are helping protect the environment and reduce the waste going to the dump.

Spend a little more for grass seed. While this may seem counter-productive sometimes spending a bit more can make for a better deal. Look for grass seed with a germination rate of at least 85%. Be sure the package contains no more the .05% weeds otherwise, you will be spending more to kill off unwanted weeds. Pass over any grass seed that does not promise “NO Noxious weeds.”