Vegetable gardening has always been popular with a certain crowd. With this economy however, even more folks are considering the home grown option. Whether you are growing food in your apartment, attempting a small plot group project, getting into a full blown urban green roof garden, or going European by using the small spots outside of your brownstone, there is still a fair amount of preliminary work to be done.
If you are new to the vegetable gardening game table, you are probably finding that even the most frugal approach requires a few start up costs. Looking to keep those to a minimum? These four tips will help you pinch pennies, get organized and even keep it green. Bonus? It's a great frugal fitness workout! (See also: 10 Gardening Lessons Learned the Hard Way)
Even cutting back to the Sunday paper only for coupon clipping, the newsprint can still pile up. And while your favorite teacher can make great use of it in the classroom, there's usually more of it coming in from parents than one person can handle. The glossy stuff will still need to make its way to the recycling bin. But the basic black and white pile? It can be turned into origami seedling pots without the use of tape or staples. This is also a great way to get the kids involved with the process. Check out this resource for instructions and a demonstration video. I would think this could also be a project you could also use with recycled phone books as well.
Again, a great source of cheap art material in the classroom. As with newsprint however, there are only so many one classroom teacher can use. When it comes to finding a use for the rest of them, they make a great frugal resource for DIY vegetable gardening. If the origami folding of the newspaper mentioned above is too much work for you, these tubes can be turned into biodegradable seedling pots with much less effort. Tubes from paper towels and rolls of gift wrap will also work, and you'll get more seedling pots per tube. Here are a couple of different resources to help you get started.
Everyone loves a bargain. And certain dollar stores can be just as helpful for frugal vegetable gardening as they are for school and home life. Check out your nearest one dollar shopping resource for things like tools, gloves, seeds and shepherd's hooks.
Certainly this is easier with some vegetables than with others. Squash and pumpkins are great candidates, as are other herbs that tend to seed abundantly. Setting them aside to dry and save is an excellent way to pinch some pennies and live more sustainably. It's also a super strategy for maintaining the availability of organic heirloom vegetables. Here's a link to a place that maintains supplies of several interesting vegetables, and has them available for order if you'd like some to get you started.
If vegetable gardening in general interests you, we have several additional resources right here on Wise Bread. Andrea Dickson has actually written a fair number of pieces, including ones on edible weeds, snail free gardening and urban composting. If you're a tomato fan, check out Linsey's post on extending their growing season. What tips do you have for frugal vegetable gardening on the home front?
I liked all the tips except the dollar store one. Dollar store shopping is a bad idea for two reasons.
1. Most things bought at dollar stores are poor quality. They break quickly. They fill landfills and dumps. It is one dollar wasted.
2. The items made at dollar stores are mostly from China and other foreign countries. Be patriotic! Spend a couple more dollars and support American workers!
Great article though!
Thanks,
Nate
Hi! Just thought I'd contribute another hack for newspaper in the garden - use it to keep down the weeds. You can lay whole sheets - or even sections of newspaper on your paths or between plants to keep the weeds at bay. It's a great mulch (as it retains water longer) and it keeps us lazy gardeners from having to pull too many weeds!
Thanks guys. You know, my garden tools have held up well and I got them at a dollar establishment. They were a metal and wood combo though, not plastic. And the no weeds tip? Woohoo!
Hi Myscha,
Thanks for a great article. Combining green living with frugality is one of my passions!
Seed and / or plant swapping is another great way to ensure your gardening ventures are frugal! You usually get far too many seeds in a pack and they don't always keep well to the following year.
The other thing is to focus on growing the things that cost a lot of money to buy. For example, you can buy maincrop potatoes, onions and carrots for next to nothing in the UK, so we focus on new potatoes, cherry tomatoes and leeks.
Thanks for the link to my seedling pots from toilet roll tube inner video! It's been really popular on our site and I'm so glad you have shared it with your readers.
have a lovely day!
Rae (Mrs Green)
You're very welcome, Rae. Thanks for stopping by, and for putting the instructions in video form. The cardboard tube seedling pots are a fabulous idea on both the green and money saving fronts.
If you have several gardeners in your neighborhood, you might want to plan a pre-planting party to discuss who will plant what. When harvest time comes, you can all swap excess! We've gotten loads of free food this way.
Great tips to keep gardening frugal! So many spend a small fortune getting the garden up and running. It is not needed! Thanks for the link to Stop the Ride too!
FYI my local Dollar Tree had the small seed packets 10/$1. The packets hold very few seeds, but that's exactly what I need for my tiny garden. Example: the pea packet had 5 seeds.
If there were more, I'd keep them 'til next year, and the year after, and the year after.... I am still planting things I bought in '03, but with no real expectation of sprouts.
Aw, thanks for the linkage, Myscha. Much appreciated. :)
I've never thought of using my cardboard tubes for anything other than recycling. That's a pretty darn good idea.
Here's a tip:
Never Buy Bagged Soil.Paying for dirt (even good dirt) is insanity. There are many free methods of getting the best soil and fertilizers.
Compost
You can build a compost pile for nothing at all. Start it with small twigs and branches on bottom (so air can circulate beneath it like building a campfire). Next add any dry leaves or other "Brown Matter". On top of that layer, add grass clippings from your yard. As you preform your weekly yard maintenance, keep adding to the pile and turning it every 3-4 weeks to keep oxygen in the pile. The resulting compost will be a fine, dark black, nutrient rich fertilizer, comparable to most potting soil mixes.
Call your Town or City
Thousands of households dispose of yard waste every day, and it has to go somewhere. Many municipalities will collect the yard waste, chip it up into bark mulch, or compost it into rich soil. Find out what their policy is, most cities that do this have a "You Haul it, You can Have it" policy. Some will even deliver a truckload to your home for free!
Free Manure
Check the newspaper classifieds and Craigslist for free manure in your area. Horse and Cow Manure should be aged at least 2 years before it's added to your garden, so ask how old it is before filling your truck with it. Chicken and rabbit manure is good "as-is" with no real need to compost it. Many people own horses, and horses poop... a lot. Most people are just happy that they don't have to pay someone to haul it away.
See what is available in your area, you would be surprised at how much you can save or even get for free by dealing with your local government and farmers.
Why limit newspaper to the aisles to keep weeds down. I have been using it for years to start new areas. If you have an area in your yard that you'd like to start a garden then in the fall lay down a layer of 6 sheets of newsprint as large an area as you need. Cover with shredded leaves, hay (if you can acquire it) or even as I did this past year chopped and shredded trees from the tree trimming service in our area. They were more than happy to dump a truck load in my backyard. Then in the spring you will find the grass, weeds and everything else GONE. The soil below can now be worked with. The leaves break down to enrich the soil.
Now for the summer. Toliet paper rolls cut in half make good protection for young plants that need a little support and protection from snails. Plus they break down without harming the plant. Shredded newprint covered with leaves put between plants keep down weeds, does away with hoeing, and keeps the soil moist so watering is not as necessary. Now this is frugal!
These are some great eco-friendly gardening tips. I'm only just getting round to reading them after posting them at my Eco Empress carnival. I like the fact that they are so simple anyone can do them!
