[loraxc]

We try to use our veggie garden as a way to save money, not spend it. It's tricky, though! Anyone else want to share ideas?

For us:

--We try to grow high-yield veggies that also are expensive at market. This means I don't grow onions or cabbage, for instance. I grew fennel this winter and am realizing it takes too long for the small pay-off in terms of how much space it takes up.

--We mulch with random yard clippings, leaves, and weeds. Yup, weeds. We have terrible weed issues anyway so it doesn't make much difference.

--We get cut bamboo from DH's work (it's invasive here) and we use it to stake things.

--We try to share seeds with other families.

--This year I am trying some seed-saving, which I haven't really done before.

--We buy used garden tools.

The hardest part for us is that our soil is very, very sandy and poor. We compost but it just isn't enough. I have to buy manure and other soil amendments. Trying to figure that one out.

Water is also an issue. We don't have gutters and so don't have a rain barrel. I used to collect rainwater in a kiddie pool, but I have a new 1yo and don't think that's safe this summer. We ended up buying soaker hoses this year and a timer. I HOPE this was a good investment but I'm not sure yet. With the kids, I sometimes get too busy to handwater and it doesn't take much to really parch a plant here, so I'm thinking I'll use the soaker hoses when I can't hand-water.

ETA: We DON'T can or preserve, mostly because we eat it all, but also because I don't have a canner and it scares me.

 

[onthemove]

up until now we have used old tools that are my aunts ( we garden share) she has a large space and we get to work together. we will continue that but we made an investment this year due to my dh losing his job recieving a severance pkg and not missing a beat getting a new job. We bought a greenhouse and a clothesline for our back yard as well as some fishing equipment. Totalling around $1000. ouch.

We do grow enough veggies and catch enough fish to last us until late spring when the first of the fiddleheads and morels pop up. I realize it will take a few years for the greenhouse to pay us back and it wasn't a total necessity as my aunt has quite a big one. ( she's not really open to trying new things) I am soooo excited to have it in my backyard! I babysit a couple lo's and it will make it a little more exciting as well as a great teaching tool.

I so save seeds , I purchase canning jars and dehydrators from second hand stores and garage sales. I wait for the lids to go on sale. I haven't had to purchase my dirt yet but have lots of compost. as for manure I followed a moose (we had one in our neighborhood for a couple weeks) collecting its droppings I ask around for rabbit poo. You do what you need to do, right?

 

[Hibou]

Come summer we don't seem to need to buy any fresh food at all. Even if I were buying all my seed (which I'm saving quite a bit of now) it would still be a savings. Starting seeds helps too of course, rather than buying the expensive little bedding plants from commercial greenhouses. I'm trying to trade more seeds as a way to expand the varieties in my garden without spending more money.

I plant everything, including potatoes and cabbge, but we have tons of space on our acreage. We water using the organically-rich water from the dugout/pond and runoff collected from rainbarrels. Garden scraps go to the chickens, who in turn contribute rich manure. (Poo really is the ultimate garden fertilizer

.) Also, there are lots of old-fashioned self-seeding flowers in the garden which attract pollinators and garden-friendly predators. I lean towards permaculture principles, but I'm still learning.

Dh has been sharpening my tools for me, which makes them work like new. I just read that storing smaller tools in a bucket of sand with some oil mixed in helps to keep them clean and rust-free. Most of my trellises, tomato cages, etc. are second hand.

I can, root cellar, dehydrate, freeze. We have a short growing season, so it makes it difficult not to buy some fresh stuff over winter. I extend the growing season with my cold frame, at least for cold tolerant greens and such. Trying to learn more on this front too.

 

[loraxc]

Hibou, I am wandering all over your blog--what a lovely summer garden you have! Just gorgeous.

 

[eastkygal]

We are gardening because a real lack of organic produce in our area and to have our food budget more for acquiring quality meats and dairy. We eat a traditional foods diet. So far, we've spent about $50 which is pretty good in my opinion. I'm just nervous about spending that much and nothing working out. Our ground is good, so we won't be using fertilizer or anything like that... just organic matter we might find here and there. I'm planting everything as we have a ton of space and I want safe produce. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens as this is our first go of it. Oh, used garden tools here too... inherited from DH's Papaw.

 

[Hibou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by loraxc Hibou, I am wandering all over your blog--what a lovely summer garden you have! Just gorgeous.

Aw, thanks.

Quote:

I'm just nervous about spending that much and nothing working out. Our ground is good, so we won't be using fertilizer or anything like that... just organic matter we might find here and there. I'm planting everything as we have a ton of space and I want safe produce. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens as this is our first go of it.

eastkygal, OMGosh- I felt exactly the same way last year with our first BIG garden in the country. I was so scared nothing would grow (even knowing we had wonderful soil). It was totally irrational, but I was really worried nonetheless. I was so excited when things started to grow, and the garden turned out pretty wonderful (with hours of work, of course.) Anyways, just wanted to say hang in there- it'll be worth it.

 

[eastkygal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hibou eastkygal, OMGosh- I felt exactly the same way last year with our first BIG garden in the country. I was so scared nothing would grow (even knowing we had wonderful soil). It was totally irrational, but I was really worried nonetheless. I was so excited when things started to grow, and the garden turned out pretty wonderful (with hours of work, of course.) Anyways, just wanted to say hang in there- it'll be worth it.

Well, our potatoes look lovely. I never knew they were such a pretty plant. So, that's one thing. Our seedlings are taking off too. Thanks!

So, I'd like to stop spending money on peat pots for seedlings and use egg cartons instead. Would you just fill them with soil from the garden to start the seeds?

 

[belltree]

Let's see, what we usually do is:

* make our own fertilizer from weeds, especially nettles
* water irrigation system
* we learned out to save seeds about three years back. It is important to keep crosspolination in mind, if you use different plants.
* share seed packages (who needs 50 zucchini plants?)
* we plant things, that we cannot buy cheaply in the store; i.e. we plant most heirloom fruits and vegetables
* we plant a lot of greens (from an Asian seed company), lettuce, radishes - they all grow fast and most like colder temperatures, which we have plenty in spring and fall.
* we have only used garden tools
* we have our own compost

 

[Hibou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eastkygal So, I'd like to stop spending money on peat pots for seedlings and use egg cartons instead. Would you just fill them with soil from the garden to start the seeds?

IME, egg cartons are really too shallow to bother. The seedlings barely come up before they need to be repotted. I've had my eye on something like this newspaper pot maker for a few years, but I've yet to run out of second-hand starter size packs.

 

[Rach]

We use egg cartons but they're holding egg shells filled with soil and our seedlings. (When I make eggs, I crack the top of the egg so that most of the shell remains intact.) That newspaper one looks neat.

 

[belltree]

I have used milk jugs cut in half or juice boxes successfully to start seedlings in.

 

[Aubergine68]

subbing

 

[AnnieinBC]

We use styrofoam coffee cups to start our seeds indoors. I know they are not good for the environment, but if you work in an office and can collect them free, you could wash them out and use them.

I'm on my fourth year of using the same cups. Just punch one hole in the bottom for drainage. I don't have to transplant at all until it's time to put them in the garden.

 

[mamanOiseau]

What do you guys all use for cheap mulch (not to enrich the soil, I have compost for this, but to ease the weeding) ? I'm just now trying out cardboard, but I'm finding it ugly

We don't get any leaves in our small city garden, and I'm wondering what else I could use. Plastic ?

 

[MrsAprilMay]

I wanted to bump this up. What a great thread!

Also, I found a method of making seed starting pots out of newspaper. Check out this blog. Nothing to buy! (Unless you don't subscribe to a newspaper like me, but I scavenged from my grandfather.)

 

[carmel23]

Only way I've used nutrients more effectively is to foliar feed (something like 75 percent of the good stuff is lost if you just dump it on the soil). I got a cheap sprayer on sale at the end of the season a few years ago. I use compost tea, or a fish emulsion/ sea weed mixture like Neptune's garden.

And get chickens! Free manure and yummy eggs.

And keep redworms. Nothing is better for soil then worm castings, and redworms are so much more effective and efficient at breaking down compost. Plus, if you have too many worms you can feed them to the chickens.

 

[mindymom]

Well, here are some of my money savers:

1.We home compost leaves and veggie scraps.
2.We supplement our own compost with cheap compost from the city (unscreened is free)
3.I take a 5-gallon bucket to Starbucks a couple times a year and they fill it with coffee grounds and filters - excellent fertilizer
4.I don't buy plants - if you want to save money gardening you almost have to start your own seeds
5.Library books (OMG does this save me money

)
6.Freecycle & community forklift, great sources for free/cheap items
7.Having a cheap mindset; you can spend as much or as little money as you want on a garden. (Well, almost.) Like baby gear, there is a solution for any "problem" you can come up with, but most of them you could live without if you had to.
8.Using what I grow (I'm not actually very good at this yet. It is so easy and so silly to grow things I'm not actually that interested in eating, or let good produce go to waste because I forgot about it or didn't want it at the time. This is my goal for this year - 100% usage.)

 

[ambersrose]

Thank you for this thread! I am needing to cut the cost of my gardening. We are getting chicks the end of this month and I am super excited to know that I can recycle the poop in the garden!

 

[Owen'nZoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamanOiseau What do you guys all use for cheap mulch (not to enrich the soil, I have compost for this, but to ease the weeding) ? I'm just now trying out cardboard, but I'm finding it ugly We don't get any leaves in our small city garden, and I'm wondering what else I could use. Plastic ?

If you plant everything close together (Biointensive, Square Foot, or another similar method, the plants themselves will shade out the weeds, and you won't need as much mulch, if any.

I usually do buy a bale of straw for $5 to mulch until the plants are established. One bale is enough for my 120 sf garden.

 

[DashsMama]

So far this year I've been able to get some free composted manure and wood chips from a nearby vacant lot (they're dumped there illegally). I added the compost to one raised bed and used the wood chips in walkways around my beds. I also emptied out the bottom half of my home compost bin for the first time and added that to the raised bed too.

I'm going to try and start my tomatoes, peppers, etc. inside, from seed this year. I have a bunch of older seed packets and am going to try sprouting some to see if they are still viable before I buy more seeds. I used to make newspaper starter pots, but had switched to using peat pots because I found the newspaper didn't decompose readily. I think I'll try newspaper again and just take it off when I plant the seedlings. Last year my tomato plants were all volunteers that I transplanted out of a raised bed that I was turning into a chicken coop. These were some of the hardiest plants I've ever had, so I'm going to keep my eyes out for more of these this year.

Last year I cut down an elder bush and saved all the long straight sticks to use as trellises. I used them for my tomatoes last year and have some up for my peas to grow on when they come up this year. The roughness of the bark makes them easier for me to use than bamboo, so I am really happy I've got them.

I'm looking forward to reading more frugal tips!