Growing vegetables can save someone money but you can save even more if take it all a step further. Here are some ways you can save even more money: - Get free seeds, seedlings, cuttings, etc from neighbors. - Don't buy fertilizers. Composting is easy and the organic manure is chemical free. - Make home made pesticides. Log In - Buy second hand gardening equipment and buy only what you'll are certain you'll be using. - Save seeds for the next planting season. More tips?
We get free planting materials from the vegetables we eat. For example the squash, we throw the seeds in the backyard and they just grow. The flower of squash vine is a good ingredient in pakbet - a vegetable dish. With fertilizers, that's another by-product of vegetable leftovers that we toss in the compost bin. In return, we get vermicompost for potting material and the compost for fertilizing our plants.
I'd like to add to where you can get free seeds though the selection can be limited...a regional library I go to has free veggie seeds all organic free to take, so maybe there is a library near you that might have the same thing. There is Urban GardensLog In where you can learn and buy seeds for nominal prices. There might be Urban Gardens in your area too. Hawaiian Electric has an Arbor Day free plant give away every year. Some plants include fruit trees. Check in your area for community plant give away too. Log In I buy plant starters for my tiny back yard at my apt. They do well with recycled water. I have aloe and broad leaf plantain an herb for kidneys. Log In This is the broad leaf plantain that grows in the wild and to many it's just a weed. The seeds are planted in wet soil and needs constant watering for leaf growth. This plant loves water may will pop up in your garden after rains.
Thanks for the tips, @Denis Hard I'm not big into gardening myself, but my mum and dad love it, especially since retiring! My mum even seems to think it's a sin not to have any sort of greenery where you live LOL I will be sure to pass on these pointers and see if she finds them useful.
I always think that the best way to grow things that you want is to take cuttings from other plants, rather than to buy one from a garden centre. Doing it this way is usually free, and it's a much better idea as it means that you are responsible for it from the beginning, and don't have to pay anything for it, which of course is great news indeed. Plants can be wonderful things to have in your garden, and there is no need for them to cost a lot of money either!
Absolutely - no two ways about it - growing your own vegetables is extremely worthwhile - especially as the rewards - not just in terms of monetary savings but in many, many other ways too - are huge However - as growing all my own produce is something I do and have been reaping the benefits of for well over 12 years and do agree that its always good to make savings in every way that we can - sorry to say this - but this is one area where being too cheap generally doesn't pay off - particularly as it more often than not - leads to more work and extra unnecessary expense So bearing in mind that savings aren't really a factor here - as they are a certainty - especially when you consider that just $40 - can provide a family with an abundant supply of fresh produce for a whole year - one of the biggest tips for anyone considering growing their own produce - would be to always put quality over quantity as a high priority and particularly where seeds are concerned. As apart from the fact that seed is one of the least costly elements of a garden - collecting and saving home-grown vegetable seed in order to try and save money is generally false economy - for the simple reason that - as the majority of vegetables and fruits grown today are now hybrids rather than old heirloom varieties - which not only rarely ever even remotely resemble the mother plant - but more importantly - have extremely low germination rates and if they do - usually result in poor quality, low yield, disease susceptible plants with unpleasant tasting fruits and therefore - there is no guarantee that you will have any vegetables - let alone anything edible. Its normally considered way, way better - if wanting to be successful - to buy fresh vegetable seeds every spring - especially as greater savings can be made - using some of the other more beneficial ways already mentioned - like making your own compost, fertilizers, swapping plants/cuttings and collecting rainwater - along with - making your own plant ties, labels and recycled containers for growing seedlings and young plants or even making your own from paper, cardboard or citrus skins and of course - multiplying everything you already have in your garden - by either division or growing from cuttings and taking care of your garden tools by keeping them clean and well maintained will contribute greatly to keeping the costs down too.
I think this thread was placed in the wrong section? It should be moved to Home and Garden. Anyway, my dad loves to plant plants and we have many in our front and back yards. He also makes his homemade fertilizer which I don't know how he does it, but he says that those pails that contain water is actually fertilizer.
