Green Gardening
If you’ve been eyeing your neighbors’ tulips or watching a community garden patch start to bud, you might be wondering how you can join the gardening fun, too. Growing your own flowers and vegetables can be intimidating, since turning seeds into plants requires some care and even a few startup costs, but there’s good news. It’s possible to keep those expenses low, and you might even earn a return for your efforts. Here are tips from the U.S. News Frugal Shopper bloggers on how to do just that:
Invest in the basics.
A few tools can help make gardening go a bit more smoothly: gardening gloves, hand trowels, spades and pruning shears, depending on what you plan to grow. If you have big-time weeds to clear away, you’ll want to pick up some yard waste bags for easy disposal. Craigslist has a gardening section, and you can also find recycled items on Freecycle.
Research your climate.
Depending on where you live, it will be easier to grow certain types of flowers and vegetables. You’ll want to consider how much sunlight hits your gardening patch. If you only have a small, shaded patch, for example, then you might want to plant a flower that blooms in the shade, like old-fashioned bleeding hearts. Also consider how much rain you get and whether you’ll remember to water the plants daily.
Rent any large equipment.
If you’re gardening a large plot and you need a rototiller or even a tractor, then you might want to consider renting instead of buying. If you go that route, you won’t face the added hassle of finding storage for such a large piece of equipment after you’re done with it.
Consider creative ‘gardens.’
You can help make your garden unique, and complement the greenery, by using nontraditional planters — even items you find around your home. Old tires, sinks, apple crates and wheelbarrows can make great places for flowers to bloom, says Jon Lal, U.S. News Frugal Shopper blog contributor and founder of BeFrugal.com.
Shop around for seeds and seedlings.
In addition to comparing prices on seeds or visiting a gardening store for seedlings, you can consider exchanging clippings or seeds with neighbors to increase your variety. Certain plants, including mint and spider plants, can grow out of trimmings from the original plant, so that’s another way to save, Lal says.
Download a gardening app.
Some plants need more water than others; likewise, some need a certain amount of sun to blossom. If you’re having trouble keeping track of all the care required, consider using an app. Lal suggests checking out Garden Pro! It’s $3.99 but could end up saving your plants from wilting.
Steer animals elsewhere.
If rabbits or deer live nearby, you’ll want to protect your budding plants from their nibbles. Consider installing a chicken wire fence at least 2 feet high, building a scarecrow or setting out a mixture of raw eggs and water, Lal says.
Make DIY compost.
Lal suggests collecting yard waste and other biodegradable trash, such as eggshells and coffee grounds, in a container. Once the mixture starts to decompose, it offers a nutritious compost pile for your garden. If you’re just starting now, it will be ready to use next year.
Plant trees around your home.
Not only can they help reduce the temperature inside your home — and the need for air conditioning — they can also decrease the energy required to heat your house in the winter. In fact, the Energy Department reports that three trees can save as much as $250 a year in energy costs. Lori McDaniel, U.S. News Frugal Shopper blog contributor and senior content manager at Offers.com, notes that you can also reduce your water bill by planting native plants that don’t require extra watering.
Use what you grow to reduce your costs.
If you’re growing your family’s favorite vegetables in your garden, then you can spend less at the grocery store. Tomatoes and peas are popular options in the mid-Atlantic region, and if you live in California or Florida, you might even be able to grow your own lemons. Herb gardens also thrive in many climates; you can even grow them indoors.
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10 Ways to Save While Gardening originally appeared on usnews.com
