Top 15 Frugal Gardening Tips
Recently, we did some work to our yard and I saw just how quickly money can be spent. We spent a few hundred dollars and all we got was a little dirt, mulch, and five small bushes.
If you’re willing to be patient, there are some ways that you can save a lot of money while gardening.
1) Post an ad on freecycle or Craig’s list. Many gardeners are willing to share their excess plants. I am a member of freecycle and I have seen several ads lately for gardening supplies.
2) Buy perennials instead of annuals. Perennials come back each year and they usually need to be divided every 3-5 years. When you divide them, you’ll have more plants to put some place else.
3) Swap bulbs with neighbors and friends. One year we dug up our flower bed and found hundreds of daffodil bulbs. Needless the say, the previous owner hadn’t separated them in many years. It’s nice to give away extra bulbs to friends, family, and neighbors. If people know that you’re interested in gardening, many times they will offer you their extra bulbs or cuttings from their plants.
4) Use seeds instead of buying plants. You can get a lot of plants from an inexpensive package of seeds, where as plants can costs a few dollars each. Plant the seeds indoors a few months before you need them. An egg carton, dirt, and pan are all you need to get started.
5) Be on the look out for volunteers. One year we dug up the volunteer bushes in my parents’ yard and planted them in our flower beds. We saved a lot of money and the bushes did very well. Sometimes you can even find plants in your yard that are offsprings of your neighbor’s plants. You can dig those up and put them in places where you need plants.
6) Purchase low maintenance plants. One year I bought some impatiens and they needed to be watered every day. If I didn’t water them every day, then they would start to shrivel up. Forget going on vacation. Some plants require special fertilizer and pesticides. Buy something that isn’t going to cost you a lot of money to maintain.
7) Get creative with planters. You could spend hundreds of dollars just on planters and pots. Search around your house for items you could use as planters. Some people use old boots, wooden boxes, wheel barrows, tea pots, tea cups, wagons, baskets, and baskets.
8) Get reference information from the library or internet. There’s no sense in buying expensive books and “how-to” guides when you have free references at your tips. There is a wealth of information that can be gotten without having to spend money. There are also online gardening forums where you can ask others questions. Gardeners are usually helpful people.
9) Get seeds from flowers and foods you already have. I have a lemon tree in my house that came from lemon seeds. Save your apple, plum, watermelon, and flower seeds.
10) Check out clearance sales. Sometimes you can find some deals on plants that haven’t received proper care. Sometimes all they need is a little TLC. Also, at the end of the season is when you can find potting supplies, edging, hoses, tools, etc on clearance. Target is good for putting those items on clearance quickly.
11) Save old coffee and tea grounds for fertilizer. Sometimes Starbucks will have free bags of used coffee by the entrance of their store. I’ve put coffee grounds on my new shrubs twice this week.
12) Water your plants at night. This will allow the plants to get the water before it evaporates.
13) Collect your rain water to water your plants. You can also save your bath water or install a rain barrel. This is especially helpful if there are water restrictions.
14) Make a compost pile. Fill it with yard and kitchen waste. The compost will condition and fertilize your plants.
15) Join a gardening club or plant swap. You’ll probably learn tips for plants which grow well in your area and you can swap seeds, bulbs, volunteers, and clippings.
What thrifty tips can you add to this list?
image: Me
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POSTED IN: Top 10 lists, frugal friday, frugal living, money saving idea
17 opinions for Top 15 Frugal Gardening Tips
Lyn
May 1, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Great ideas, thank you for sharing.
I’d love to know how to use coffee grounds though. Are they sprinkled on or mixed in with the soil?
Karen
May 1, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Hi Lyn. Thanks for stopping by. For the coffee grounds, you can pour them on top of the plants or mix them with the soil. You can even dump your stale coffee (liquid) on your plants. African Violets are particularly fond of tea and coffee.
The Happy Housewife
May 2, 2008 at 4:51 am
I have a similar post up today. I found out that Lowes sells ripped bags of mulch, soil, etc… for 50% off, you just have to ask for a discount. You can also use crushed egg shells around your tomato plants after they flower, it helps prevent blossom end rot.
Karen
May 2, 2008 at 7:55 am
Happy Housewife: Thanks for pointing that out. A few weeks ago we bought a bunch of mulch and they actually gave us a few extra bags because they were torn.
Michelle Sullivan
May 2, 2008 at 8:05 am
Good morning Karen,
I remember one time we went ot buy some kind of ornamental tree and I told my hubby 15.95 isnt that bad for that and he was like look again 159.95. I was like oops! Just another tip is you want to keep the critters out of your garden or flower beds you can sprinkle human hair in the bedding they smell the human scent and take off. If you ask your local salon they will save you some. Gross I know but it works. Have a great day.
Michelle Sullivan
May 2, 2008 at 8:11 am
I thought of one more thing. I saw this on HGTV i think. When you boil veggies save the water let it cool and water your plants the vitamins from the veggies acts as a fertilizer. I heard that disney does this through there filtration sytem. All the restaurants save the water and sit it out and the lanscapers get it put it in the filtration system and that is what they water with. Ok thats it Ill shut up now. LOL!
Lisa
May 2, 2008 at 9:18 am
Thanks for this post. It is very timely and helpful. I’ve always wondered about re-using bathwater for plants, that is if the soap water would damage them in some way?
Karen
May 2, 2008 at 10:30 am
Lisa: I think the amounts of soap in bath water are small enough that it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve also heard of people saving their dish water, which has a higher amount of soap.
Two weeks ago when we planted our new bushes, it hadn’t rained all week. To conserve water, I saved some of our bath water and carried the water outside, 1 gallon at a time. I put 2 gallons of water on each shrub and did this about 2-3 times a week. They look great now and have new growth on them. The rain we had over the weekend was a bonus.
Karen
May 2, 2008 at 10:31 am
Michelle: I’ve also heard of saving water from boiled vegetables. I don’t boil many vegetables though. I’m sure you could save the water from boiled noodles too.
I’ve never heard of using human hair. That does sound gross! lol
Michelle Sullivan
May 2, 2008 at 11:27 am
Well like when you boil your mashed potatoes use that water and maybe corn on the cob. I have never heard of the bath water. The human hair I heard from gardners that have trouble with critter eating thier veggies when they smell the scent they take off.
Jen @ Daily Mish Mash
May 2, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Great tips! We have so much work that needs to be done in our yard, but the cost just scares me. I’m going to bookmark this page for ideas.
Karen
May 2, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Michelle: That’s true. I didn’t think about the water from mashed potatoes. I did steam some cabbage tonight and I’m saving the water from the steamer. :)
Molly
May 8, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Using the water from steaming my veggies… that’s a great idea! I already compost and stop by my Starbucks on a regular basis. Most of the tea I drink has compostable bags or it is just loose leaf. I will share one of my favorite websites myeasygardening.com. I like their landscaping and organic sections. The most frugal gardening I do is to be sure to purchase plants that I know grow well in my yard… I look to see what is growing well in my neighbors yard and then ask what it is… sometimes they offer to share!
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bestgarden1
Jun 3, 2008 at 10:12 pm
You have great ideas Karen. You can pour the water at the top of coffee plants then is it spoil their good small with water. Thank you for giving this tips and ideas.
gardenxz
Jun 5, 2008 at 4:52 am
Great idea, i know the how to watering the coffee plants. Thank you for giving this valuable information.
Sophie
Aug 4, 2008 at 12:23 am
I love #11 about the coffee grounds. I can totally see myself doing this and usually have plenty of coffee grounds in the pantry. I always water my plants at night too.
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