I see some local gardeners who put in a lot of annuals every year, and their gardens LOOK expensive. I have never stopped to ask them. Since I have to watch my expenses, I rarely spend more than $20 or $30 a year for annuals and veggies in my garden. Once I spent $50 on two David Austin rose bushes for my garden. I still have them. Otherwise, I occasionally get grocery store rose bushes that are in good condition. They generally do well, but not always. I buy a few plants, and watch for the discounts. I also buy some seeds, sometimes at the end of the season when it is marked down. I plant perennials as much as possible, and if they grow, they make TONS of babies! I also swap with other gardeners who have too many plants/babies. I buy a few bags of potting soil for starting seeds in the spring/late winter. I give away lots of plants to anyone wanting to have their own gardens. I learn to propigate my own plants as much as I can. This sometimes takes a lot of trial and error. Sometimes a lot of errors! My home is an old farmstead, and there were lots of flowers and plants here when I came. That helps, and they are still making more babies. Learn to make compost. It saves a lot of money of bags of soil and amendments. Rake your leaves for free mulch. If you have no room for a compost pile [they can be small if you like], watch the little "penny pincher" type papers for people selling manure by the pickup load. Some will deliver, others not. Around here, you can get a good sized pick up load of rotted manure for about $20 or so. Try out recycling, upcycling, or reusing, whatever you wish to call it. Most things can be reused in some way. Containers! Instead of buying fancy ones, check out feed stores in your area. Around here, you can buy empty salt and mineral tubs for $4 vs the $10 on rope handled tubs. And the salt tubs are much sturdier. If they hold water, use them for your animals if you have any. If they are cracked, you can use them for planters. Or you can drill holes around the bottom edge for drainage. Fill about half way with leaves and compost, then add soil. You can plant tomatoes or strawberries or whatever you like in tubs. Another way to have containers, is look for unusual items that can be made into containers. If it has leaks, bingo! It is a flower pot/tub. If you can make holes for drainage, that is a win also. Ideas: washing machine tubs, leaky buckets... We had a whole post awhile back on different things that can be used as containers. It is here someplace. You can watch yard sales, thrift shops, old trash piles.... some people like to go dumpster diving for such things. Sometimes you can get very lucky. [Check out Toni's garden junk for more ideas!] Old baskets work too. They only last a few seasons, but they are nice. Look in your shed for possibilities. I had an old spreader that no longer worked, and put a cactus in it. I almost threw the cactus out this year because I thought it was dead. It perked up when I was trying to decide where to toss it. So, I still have it. Maybe some of you have some budget friendly tips for gardening? I almost forgot... Wildflowers. You cannot get them from public lands such as parks and what not. Sometimes neighbors will share their "weeds" with you. Not all wildflowers are "weeds". Black eyed Susans, bee balm, feather flowers/liatris and others grow wild. If you know who owns the field, you can ask them. State roads do not allow any picking/digging of wildflowers unless you want a huge fine. But local county roads may allow it on the right of way areas. Check with your local authority to see if it is allowed or not. Be sure you don't take something without permission.
I have gone to a lot of flower swaps. Did the winter sow. My nicest pot of waves. Bought at garden walk sale. $$$ for plants for local park.
I wish everyone could realize just how easy it is to raise your own flowers (annuals), the real expense in them is the time it takes to keep them under a greenhouse cover or warm before the last frost date. there are ways to grow your own at little expense compared to buying them. One is to recycle the flats that they come in and buy new potting mix in the spring. The seeds are cheap, you are paying for someone else's labor in all reality. second is to "Spring sow" the seeds directly into the flats outside (sheltered of course) and keep them covered until they germinate and then keep a close eye on them for water and fertilizer, keeping in mind to bring them in from intemperate conditions...cold wet days or frosty nights. Or keep them covered with a "hoop and cover" system. Steel hoops you insert into the ground and place a piece of row cover over them and weight it down day and night ( checking for water and fertilizer needs daily) until you are ready for them. We do this for zucchini planted directly in the garden. I am picking zucchini now and everybody else is just planting theirs... I did this the first year I grew flowers without having a greenhouse. It was interesting, but I managed to get enough plants and flowers started that I managed to earn enough $$$ from selling the plants and produce that it paid for my first real greenhouse.
I consider myself to be frugal, my husband says I toss nickels around like man-hole covers. That said, I do have a few money-saving practices. Friends who buy starts--ask them if they will give you the 6 or 9 cell plastic containers the starts come in. Also ask for any plastic pots they may have and don't need. These come in so handy for seed-starting. Bigger pots (1 gal. or larger) are great to turn over and protect tender plants when an unexpected cold snap comes. Labels for seedlings. I use old Venetian blind slats. When we got blinds for our living room, they needed to be shortened, and I now have a lifetime supply of potential seed ID tags. Just cut them into 4" pieces, and write on them with a felt-tipped pen. Stick the slat piece into a pot or cell. Fertilizer--know any nice cows? We have cows in two of the fields that surround our farm, and I go with a shovel to pick up dried cow-pats. Toss them in a pile, add a few grass clippings to keep the pile from compacting, and you have lovely fertilizer in about 3 to 4 months. I know this isn't feasible for everyone, but if you don't know any cows, make friends with someone who keeps rabbits. Rabbit manure can be used straight from the rabbit without aging. When ordering seeds, team up with a fellow gardener. Usually the deal-breaker on ordering seeds isn't the cost of the seeds, but the shipping costs. If you can share the shipping costs, and perhaps even share seed packets and that cost also, your investment will go 'way down. And the best, and most enjoyable money-saver is swapping plants, seeds, and starts with other gardeners. You get the added benefit of making friends, as well as a more diversified garden!
Great tips ladies,..i seldom spend money on plants unless i am starting a garden for someone else,..even then i use my surplus plants,..a packet of seeds or seeds from a friend goes a very long way,..cuttings are a great bonus,..Cottage Gardens were mostly started with very little expense as it was one Cottage Gardener swapping plants,..seeds and cuttings with another,..that's how my own garden developed.
As Jane stated... blinds come in really handy as labels instead of blinds. I always use a PENCIL for outdoor labels. This won't fade or wash away in the weather. There are garden markers that are permanent, but they are expensive and if you leave the cap off they are worthless. I ask for my trays back when I send them home with people..."please feel free to drop the tray(s) back off instead of throwing it away" I seem to unanimously hear "Oh, I have a bunch of them, can you use them?" of course I can...especially when I pay 25c each for them wholesale....I am delighted to reuse them. same with pots, If I can't use them I know a neighbor who can. Sharing supplies is a great idea. If you can't use a whole bale of potting mix split it with someone. It is much cheaper than the loose fill bags.
I know where I can get some used blinds for free... One set of blinds will be a lifetime supply of markers most likely. I will watch for the next ones to come in. I never use blinds on the windows, they are dust collectors and too hard to keep clean. I have some wax pencils that somebody here recommended, and they were reasonably priced.
This year I tried to start everything from seeds with a lot of success! Since I am in college I don't have a lot of money, however, this is what I tried doing this year: Chinese take out trays work wonderfully for germinating seeds (I used the peat pods in them). I saved all of my yogurt cups (I enjoy the ones with the candy toppings) and so you can poke a few holes in the bottom of a yogurt cup and use the top as a drip tray for each cup. These fit easily on my window sills. I was very happy with starting seeds this year. My marigolds are HUGE and I will never buy the store marigolds again. I just wish I would have started my tomatoes earlier, but I don't have a lot of space in my tiny apartment for a bunch of tomatoes or lights for them.
Great tips here in this thread; I believe starting your own plants, perennials and composting is the least a small scale gardener like me can do to save money! I do not have easy access to free manure in our Northern Virginia dc metro area, so I have to spend some on organic fertilizers each season. Last month I was at Lowes and the two carts ahead of me at the checkout were loaded with annuals and other plants. To my astonishment both customers paid over $150 each ! When it was my turn to pay my bill was about $40 I had bought some fruit tree sprays and organic fertilizers only. The cashier took a good look at me and asked, "That's it? you are not getting the flowers? It's Spring." I guess she was politely saying that I was not spending what her average customers were spending. I did not know what to say and left quietly.
If you don't have enough pots for your seedlings you can use the insides from toilet rolls or paper kitchen towels and a really cheap alternative to capillary matting in Greenhouse is old newspapers-which can also be composted when you have finished with them.We also keep the bubble wrap from parcels for extra greenhouse insulation.
Greenfingers, next time offer to SELL her flowers from your garden. You can tell her that yours make so many babies, you need to find some of them new homes... My garden center here would buy some of my extra shrubs, but only when in bloom which is NOT a good time to move plants. I need to get them potted up, and then wait until they are big enough to bloom... Kiasmom, thanks for reminding me about bubble wrap. That stuff is great for protecting your plants over the winter. I sometimes use to wrap young shrubs in, and tie with twine or whatever you have, and then stuff with straw to protect from severe weather. I forgot to wrap a bush this winter, and it didnt make it.
AAnightowl, Kiasmom, thanks for reminding me about bubble wrap. That stuff is great for protecting your plants over the winter. I sometimes use to wrap young shrubs in, and tie with twine or whatever you have, and then stuff with straw to protect from severe weather. I forgot to wrap a bush this winter, and it didnt make it. Sad Now that is something I've never thought to do Thanks
