Pinching Pennies in The Garden
Gardening on a budget and how to save yourself money
One of the nicest things about gardening is that you can easily adapt it to match your budget.
If the bank balance is closer to the red than you would like it to be, it doesn’t mean that you have to give up on a hobby that is proven to be physically and emotionally beneficial – and if you’re facing financial stress, those are exactly the kinds of benefits you probably need in your life right now!
Recycling is a cornerstone of budget gardening. From containers to plants themselves, there are all sorts of ways to reuse and repurpose items in the garden.
Do you have a broom that you’re ready to pitch? Remove the bristle end, and the handle can now become a tomato stake. You can also just use large sticks you find in the garden to do the same job.
Image from a good article on staking tomato’s from the Statesman Journal. Click the image for the article!
How about that ugly punch bowl Aunt Gertrude gave you for your wedding gift? Instead of collecting dust in storage, it could become the perfect place to grow some herbs. You can read more on herb gardening in our blog post here.
Water bills getting you down? Use a rain barrel to collect water and save yourself a couple of bucks. Or, if the kids are begging to go in the sprinkler, set it up beside the garden and let it do double duty.
Growing from seeds is probably your cheapest option to get plants, but that can be tricky if you’ve got a later start on the season. Look for plant sales in your community. They’re a great way to find fantastic deals on some pretty spectacular greenery. You can also try posting requests for cuttings on social media, or by plugging into an area horticultural society. You might even get some freebies!
Sprouting seeds into seedlings before planting them in the garden can also be a good alternative to sowing seeds directly!
If you need some gardening tools, scope out garage sales for some first-rate second-hand finds.
Plan your garden carefully. It’s OK to scale back a bit if you’re a bit strapped for cash. And if you need to save in other areas of your budget, consider planting fruits and veggies, so you get the joys of gardening while also trimming a bit from your grocery bill.
Finally, know where you’ll get the best bang for your buck. Your plants won’t grow any bigger or healthier if you’re using an expensive hand trowel, but they will if you use BigYellowBag® Black Garden Soil. Purchase your BigYellowBag® early in the year to take advantage of any early order discounts. Soil certainly is not something that you want to save a couple bucks on. It is without a doubt the most important part in a healthy garden, and if you try to use a lower quality, less expensive soil, you could end up having to spend more money on all sorts of amendments. Luckily BigYellowBag® Black Garden Soil has all the nutrients your garden will need, and you won’t have to use any amendments other than some more Black Garden Soil to top up your garden beds next year. The light and fluffy properties of this soil make it perfect as a gardening medium. The mix of black loam, peat loam, compost and manure means that it will have the right balance to achieve enough drainage that your plants aren’t drowning, but enough moisture retention that they aren’t drying out, either. BigYellowBag® Black Garden Soil is also packed with essential nutrients and organic matter, which gives your plants the ‘food’ they need to grow healthy, big and strong.