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Editor’s Note: This story was originally live on the cheap.
Many people want to start a vegetable garden to save money. Not surprisingly, buying produce on the market costs him eight times more than growing it himself.
To help you on your quest to grow vegetables, we’ve put together the following list of gardening tips and ideas that will help you keep your upfront costs as low as possible and successfully grow all the vegetables you need on your table. Once you’ve got that in place, here are some ideas for how to make one cheaply.
Benefits and Challenges of Gardening
There are many other reasons why you might want to grow your own produce in a vegetable garden. First, as with many market vegetables, you can enjoy a tastier food by growing varieties selected for their flavor rather than for shipping or storage.
Also, many people feel that their cooking habits have changed since growing their own vegetables. They prepare simpler and cheaper meals. Some even make gardening a family activity and teach their children about healthy eating. Get the whole family outside and get some exercise. Pulling weeds is training.
Along with these benefits, there are also some challenges to consider before starting a vegetable garden.
Know that gardening involves routine tasks such as planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting.
In addition, you need a sunny place to grow vegetables. Most vegetables need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day, and more.
The upfront costs can be high, especially if you need to buy fences and gardening tools, or make the soil suitable for growing. However, you can get a return on your investment for years to come.
We also need to realize that not all gardeners are successful. Some report losing some or all of their crops, especially during his first two years as he learns how to plant, care for, and harvest crops.
But many new gardeners take the leap each year and learn that planting a vegetable garden is a highly satisfying outdoor summer activity that can help you save money and eat healthier.
Here are some inexpensive vegetable gardening ideas.
plan a garden
Decide which vegetables to grow. Make sure you can provide the best growing conditions: sun, water and space. Ask your neighbors what vegetables have been successful in your microclimate and which have not.
obtain Free garden plan From Better Homes and Gardens.
Start small with container gardening
Container gardening is easy and scalable, especially if you live in an urban area. Instead of planting a garden in the ground, plant seeds and seedlings in portable containers such as ceramic planters.
Containers can be reused for almost anything. Inexpensive containers that can be used to grow vegetables include milk jugs, 2-liter soda bottles with truncated tops, 5-gallon plastic buckets, metal containers, and plastic kiddie pools. You can also use plastic bags with dirt as ad-hoc planters.
Start with a few small containers or one large container. Choose a container that matches the vegetables you want to plant.
If planting in the ground, start by digging a 10-by-10-foot or smaller garden plot, or add some vegetables and herbs to your existing landscape.
here are some advices container gardening with vegetables From Farmer’s Almanac.
Start with easy-to-grow salad greens
Many first-time gardeners start with vegetable salads and herbs. Plant a few heads at a time and plant them back-to-back for a continuous crop, which means starting a new set every 2-3 weeks.
For herbs, start with easy-to-grow, versatile herbs like parsley, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. You’ll be amazed at how you can save money when you don’t have to buy an entire bunch of expensive herbs just to use a few twigs in a recipe.
Visit these to get started A Gardening Guide to Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs From the National Horticultural Society.
plant seeds instead of seedlings
As you gain confidence, you can learn to sow seeds instead of seedlings. (See “How to sow seeds indoors” below.) Seeds are a cheap way to create a garden, as they are much cheaper than potted seedlings already grown in nurseries. .
Seed packets are inexpensive, but your bill can add up quickly, so it’s a good idea to consider your choice. List the vegetables and flowers you most want to grow, then list your options and compare prices.
Look for seeds at your local nursery or buy cheap seeds online. Check several sites as prices vary.When choosing a variety, choose the one that suits you best climate zoneFor example, if you live in an area with short summers, choose varieties that take the shortest time from sowing to harvest.
The easiest vegetables to start with seeds are beets, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, greens (including kale, spinach, chard, lettuce), squash, winter squash, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, or other summer squash. Follow the planting instructions on the seed packet.
For spring gardens, you may need to start seeding indoors (see below). Other seeds can be planted directly into the ground.
To get seeds cheaply, ask a friend or family member if they have spare seeds or if they’d like to share the seed cost with you. That’s two gardens for the price of one!
Once your garden is established, save seeds from one year’s harvest and plant them the next. You can also be generous and share with your gardening neighbors.
Grow vegetables for your family
Start with the vegetables you already buy and eat. Choosing to grow vegetables your family enjoys will yield higher returns than store-bought produce. You might be surprised that something homemade tastes better, or that your kids love to try food from your backyard.
water wisely
The best time to water your garden is early morning or late afternoon. Do not water during the day when evaporation is high. Less water goes to your plants.
Another way to save money on your water bill is to collect rainwater and use it in your garden. You can buy rain barrels at Home Depot, Walmart, etc., but you can also make them cheaper.try these 4 DIY rain barrels From or to these PDF instructions build your own rain barrel From Washington State University Extension.
Make your own compost from garden and food waste
By incorporating composting, you can be kinder to the planet and kinder to your garden. You may need to buy good soil to start a garden, but you don’t need to buy compost or fertilizer after you’ve made your own.
You’ll need to invest in a good compost barrel to get started, but that purchase is worth it because you’ll be reusing food waste instead of throwing it away and saving on gardening costs.
If you want to get compost bins cheap, check out the buy and sell groups and giveaway groups in your neighborhood to see if anyone is ready to part with theirs.
use cheap fences
You may need to put up a fence to keep out critters like deer, raccoons, and rabbits. Not to mention household pets and young children. An inexpensive fencing option uses inexpensive chicken wire attached to wood or metal stakes to keep vegetables from being eaten by animals.
how to sow indoors
You can jump-start your spring garden and save money by planting vegetables and flowers indoors. Basically, you get your garden started faster by growing seeds into seedlings inside your home before transplanting them into an outdoor container or garden plot. It’s a cheap method if you can do it well.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a vegetable garden indoors.
- Find your container. Seeds can be planted in any kind of container as long as it has drainage holes. You can use flower pots you saved from previous seasons or cheap plastic containers from the grocery store that used to hold produce.
- Add soil. Fill each container with a pre-moistened soil mixture for light seed germination. Flatten the surface of the soil by tapping it lightly.
- Sow seeds. Avoid mixing up seeds by planting each type of seed in a separate container. Sprinkle the surface of the soil with small seeds and cover with additional seed starting mixture in a layer as thick as each seed variety. Light seeds require a very thin coating. Tuck large seeds, such as squash, cucumbers, and squashes, under the surface of the soil to a depth equal to the width of the seeds and cover with soil.
- label. Use a pencil to label craft sticks with the name and date of each plant. Place in a suitable container.
- Moisten and cover. Mist the surface of the soil with a spray bottle until it is completely wet. Cover the pot with a plastic lid or use plastic wrap. Place the container in a warm place.
- maintain. A moist environment promotes seed germination. Moisten the soil and cover the container. Once the seedlings have emerged, remove the lid or plastic.
- Find your perfect light. Seedlings must receive adequate lighting. A bright window might be fine, but it’s best to put it under full-spectrum lighting. Such lighting can be found in tubes and light bulbs. Place the light within 2-3 inches of the top of the plant.
- water. Keep young plants moist, but do not overwater. Too much moisture can lead to fungal pathogens that cause root rot, and too little moisture will quickly kill tender seedlings.
- Transplant. After 2 sets of seedlings grow true leaves, ready to be transplanted outdoors in the garden once the chance of frost has passed. If the weather is still too cold, put it in a container and store it under indoor light. Plants should equal two-thirds of the plant/pot combinations.