30 Ways To Save Money On Gardening
I love sharing ways to save money, and this list of great tips for saving money on gardening is a personal favorite. A garden will provide you pound after pound of produce, and you will pay just pennies on the dollar of what it would cost in a grocery store. If you are growing a garden this summer, you might be wondering what you can do to save a little cash in the process. Let me show you, even more, ways to save!
30 Ways To Save Money On Gardening
While gardening is typically a frugal endeavor anyways, there are still ways to save even more. Just a few little tricks will make a huge difference in your expense when beginning your garden this year!
1. Save your seeds from kitchen produce. Cucumber, melon, tomato, peppers, and other seeds can be dried and used directly in your garden. Just store in a cool and dry place until you are ready to plant.
2. Use an egg carton to organize seeds or even as seed starters. Just poke a hole in the bottom of each cup for drainage and add your soil and seed.
3. Eggshell halves can also be used as seed starters. Just plant them directly into the ground when you are ready to transplant. You don’t even need to take the seedling out as the egg is biodegradable.
4. Crushed egg shells scattered around plants can help deter slugs. They don’t like the texture and will avoid them.
5. Make a frugal slug trap. When you place beer in a shallow dish and set it in an area of high slug traffic. They will fall in and meet their demise.
6. Make a homemade pest spray. A mixture of 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of Dawn dish soap makes an excellent pest spray as well. Just mix, shake, pour into a spray bottle, and spray directly onto plants.
7. Make your own compost. Get nutrient rich compost for free when you save kitchen scraps such as citrus peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, and other food scraps. Let it collect in a compost bin, stir, and mix into your garden soil when ready.
8. Warm up your seedlings with a DIY cloche. Just cut the bottom off of a 2-litre bottle and use the top half to cover the plant. It will act like a mini greenhouse.
9. Fill planters with packing peanuts or rolled up newspaper before filling with soil. This way you use less soil and save some money. Plus, your pots will be lighter and easier to carry and move around.
10. Find seeds, gloves, fertilizer, pots, and other common gardening supplies at your local dollar store. Even if the quality isn’t good enough for daily use, the kids will enjoy using them.
11. When it comes time to thin out annuals, trade them with a friend who is also thinning out theirs. It is a great way to get new plants for free.
12. Create your own butterfly attraction. A sponge soaks in sugar water and placed in a shallow dish can attract butterflies, beautifying your garden for free.
13. Care for your plants properly. Save the hang tags from the plants you purchase so you can be sure you are giving them the proper care and avoiding loss. You may also see a guarantee on the tag, allowing you to return the plant if it doesn’t survive.
14. Put a rain barrel out to collect rainfall. This is a great way to get free water to water your plants. There are many decorative and functional rain barrel options out there to choose from.
15. Make your own mulch. Use grass clippings or crushed leaves as quick and easy mulch that is certain to keep roots moist and plants warm.
16. Use egg shells as fertilizer. Mixing egg shells into the soil around your plants can help infuse it with nutrients that the plant will thrive off of.
17. Add lady bugs to keep other pests away. If you find any lady bugs around the home, move them to the garden where they will eat aphids and other pests that would love to destroy your plants. You can even order ladybugs online!
18. Visit thrift stores for inexpensive planters, gardening tools, and watering cans.
19. Use free tips and resources. Get free gardening advice and gardening plans on the websites of your favorite greenhouses and growers, DIY channels, and gardening experts.
20. Send for free seed catalogs which not only offer great products but gardening advice as well.
21. Know your zone so you only purchase plants that work for your climate. This helps you avoid plant loss and wasted money.
22. Use salvaged materials such as brick and wood for garden borders. This is one of our favorite ways to save money on gardening and clean up at the same time!
23. Run sprinklers in the evening. When the sun isn’t as hot and the water won’t evaporate before it has had a chance to soak in. There are tons of great inexpensive sprinklers to choose from to save even more money.
24. Plant annuals. Choose annual plants that will come back year after year and save you from having to buy new plants. This would include Black Eyes Susan, Lavender, and Hostas.
25. Rent gardening equipment. If you need large gardening items such as a tiller, you can rent them instead of buying them to save some cash.
26. Buy mulch in bulk with a neighbor. Go in on the cost and split the mulch between the two of you. You can do this with other supplies such as gravel and grass seed as well.
27. Upcycle supplies you have on hand. Line hanging baskets with a plastic shopping bag to help keep moisture in and to keep the plant from drying out quickly, as most hanging baskets tend to do.
28. Start seeds indoors prior to the planting season. A pack of seeds is about a buck and will give you 10 or so seedlings, while buying the plants as seedlings will run you $1-$2 each. Make your own seed starters or buy a seed starter kit that is still a great way to save money.
29. Don't hire someone to aerate your lawn and garden with a machine. You can buy inexpensive shoe spikes that can be worn on your shoes so you can do the job yourself.
30. Store hand shovels in a pot filled with gravel and a little castor oil. It will keep the shovel clean and lubricated, which keeps it from rusting and falling apart on you.
There are tons of great ways to save money on gardening when you simply think outside the box. This list includes our personal favorite ideas. Feel free to share your own in comments below!
More Gardening Tips:
- Natural Pest Control Spray For Your Garden
- 7 Natural Vegetable Garden Pest Deterrents
- 7 Benefits To Letting Your Kids Garden With You
- Organic Gardening Tips
