Gardening on a Shoestring Budget: 4 Easy Ways to Save Money

It’s no secret to those closest to me. I don’t like to spend a lot of money. I don’t need shiny, new, expensive things to be happy. I shop second-hand, peruse clearance racks, clip coupons, and pore over flyers. No name? No problem. I love generic and I love a good deal. 

All that said, this does of course apply to gardening as well. There’s a lot that you can do without a thick wallet. It is dizzying the amount of money that you can spend very quickly in your outdoor spaces, especially when someone else does it for you. 

With some shortcuts, hopefully you can find you way to the garden of your dreams without breaking the bank. 

1. Containers. Did you know that some nurseries sell or even give away their old nursery pots? This was a game-changer for me and afforded me so much flexibility in my garden. I can move four of my fruit trees as our layout evolves. I can pot and repot as I see fit, or as the specimen requires. I can tuck pots in spaces where there is no soil at all! The side of my house is river rock ground cover and I have set my potato and asparagus containers there. I have many large pots containing blueberries, raspberries, grapes, salmonberries surrounding our seating area; you simply need to lean back and grab a handful of nature’s candy as you read your newest gardening library book. I estimate that I probably have more than 30 large (10+ gallon) containers filled with edibles around our yard. I also use them for flower and foliage plants as well. With those placed in more visible or prominent positions, I have painted the outside of some of the black plastic pots a glossy navy blue, reminiscent of the blue ceramic pots you might find at a garden center. I think they look fantastic, especially considering that the cost paint and pot is only a couple of dollars. Think of all of the pots that you can rescue from the landfill and all of the new pots that you won't need to purchase! 
2. Start from seed. This might be a no-brainer. Depending on the size of your garden and how many plants of one variety that you want, this is an excellent option. Here in zone 8a, I find that many of my vegetables grow best from directly sown seeds; squash, cucumber, herbs, beans, peas, etc. Peppers and tomatoes can be more convenient purchased as seedlings at a nursery, but if you start your own from seed then you have practically endless options. You can then trade or share any extras that you need if you only need a few plants. A good way to accumulate a variety of seeds is by making gardening friends! Find a garden club or talk to your family, friends, or neighbors about swapping seeds. Some areas also host Seedy Saturdays which can be a great opportunity for sourcing seeds. Depending on what you’ve planted, you might even be able to easily save your own seeds. At the end of the growing season, you let the plant go to seed (ie. let the plant fully mature) and collect and dry the seeds. I have successfully done this with a variety of flower and vegetable seeds which I have gone on to sow myself or give away. This is a very eco-friendly AND cost-saving venture.
3. Compost. Well, I did it! Last year, I finally assembled and installed my backyard composter. We are fortunate enough to live in an area where you can purchased a highly-subsidized composter from the municipality. I’ve filled mine with yard scraps which are grown in my organic garden. It’s comforting knowing the source of the compost that I’m growing. It’s weed-, chemical-, and garbage-free. I have tried a few sources of ‘organic’ soil over the years which have had all sorts of foreign objects in them (glass, pieces of plastic, even an old broken pen). My quality control is going to be much more stringent than anyone else’s. Now that I’ve added the yard waste, all I need is time.
   Here’s a helpful guide on backyard composting for beginners (like me). Think about the money that you'll be saving from purchasing manure or compost or buying and transporting soil. Again, this is also a very eco-friendly AND cost-saving venture.
4. Divide or propagate perennials. Ok, so this one is not related to edible gardening. BUT, I do have flower beds too. An important task in maintaining many kinds of perennials is to divide them. This has the benefit of keeping the original plant healthy while giving you one (or more!) freebie plants! I'm a big fan of division, and I rub my grubby little gardener hands together as I watch a perennial getting bigger and bigger. Another, often more challenging, means of propagating plants is by taking cuttings. You'll need to read up on the various techniques required to do this. Perhaps I will make a post on this topic another day.

Now that you have saved money by the spadefuls, go ahead and place your seed order from your favourite catalogue!