If you are a homeowner with your very own garden you may be harbouring deep unrequited yearnings to grow your own fruit and vegetables. You may have resisted over the years thinking it’s simply cheaper and  efficient to shop at the local farmers market or cooperative supermarket. Well, don’t give up that dream. Here are seven top tips to help you along your dream of home gardening while saving money.

How To Save Money by Home Gardening: 7 Tips

Gardening is arguably one of the most popular hobbies. And some hobbies are known for being pretty expensive pastimes. However, there is always a way to reach the goals without breaking a budget, if you know a few useful hacks. To give you a hand, we’ve summarised the top seven some tried and tested ideas on how to save money gardening.

Tip #1: Start With Seeds

Wanting a hassle-free experience, many newbies gardeners prefer to buy ready seedlings instead of seeds. It does save time plus, you don’t have to purchase as many trays and lights, not to mention planting mix. Still, every seasoned gardener will explain why buying seeds is cheaper and is in fact little or no hassle at all. 

First of all, quality seeds can bring you a significantly larger number of plants (packets have up to 100 seeds). Growing from seed gives a whole new dimension to your hobby. You will be able to swap seeds and then extra plants with fellow gardeners. Either way you will grow a diverse assortment of plants and you’ll meet some people who also love of home gardening. By the way, there is no need to throw away the already used trays, you can just wash them, so they continue to serve the purpose. 

Tip #2: Take Advantage Of Sales And Vouchers

Who doesn’t love bargains? We all do because there is nothing better than paying less for something we want to buy. So, if you have a limited budget remember to check the internet for offers on affordable gardening tools and materials. It brings them right to your fingertips.

Regularly check the websites of local nurseries, dedicated corners at garden centres, and group plant sales. If you want bigger investment in home gardening with either a building or equipment, look up discount code from sheds.co.uk. You can even save money on a brand new shed. Similar vouchers can be found for a wide range of products, from fencing and furniture to plants, tools, and accessories. It pays to shop around. 

Tip #3: Do Not Buy Compost

It is an organic next step in home gardening to make your own compost instead instead of buying ready compost. It’s not rocket science and you will save a of a lot of money, and it’s more sustainable which jells with the home gardening vibe. It does take an investment in time, but weighing up the pros and cons you will see it’s worth the effort. Again, on the internet, you can find numerous recipes and choose the one that suits your circumstances and needs. Things are much easier if you have your own livestock or poultry. However, even if it is not the case, you can manage with kitchen scraps and regular garden waste. 

Tip #4: Enjoy The Full Benefits Of Nature

Chemicals can be expensive and can cause harm to the environment. Moreover, they can pose risk to people’s health when used excessively or inappropriately. While it is harder to engage in home gardening without chemicals at all, you can minimize the amount you use. Organic home gardening practice encourages planting arrangements that attract good insects that eat bad bugs and delivers the best home grown vegetables. 

The list of such plants is pretty long. It includes a wide variety of options, from sunflower and meadowsweet to hardy aster and lacy phacelia. Take a deeper look into the subject and figure out your perfect match for your garden at home. If you wonder which insects exactly are seen as beneficial, again, the roster is quite extensive featuring lovely ladybirds, lacewings, tachinid flies, predatory stink bugs, and soldier beetles, to name just a few.

Tip #5: Know Your Soil

It may sound like a no-brainer but in reality, people rarely test their soil. Instead they rely on what neighbours share. However, growing plants without facts about the major characteristics of your soil is nothing short of working blind. Certain specificities of the soil could explain repeated unsuccessful plantings. Many people think that tests are too expensive but in fact, they can save you a lot of money in the future. In addition to that, the simplest test can be conducted at home with a kit.

Tip #6: Use Burlap Sacks To Grow Potatoes

Many people who love home-grown potatoes start them in burlap sacks or jute bags instead of using raised beds. Why? Well, one of the reasons for that kind of aquaponics approach (and the most obvious one) is a lack of space in their garden. However, there is more to it. If you have ever grown potatoes, then you know that they have specific diseases and contaminate soil. As a result, it is not possible to use that piece of land again for other plants. Burlap sacks eliminate that problem too. So you do not have to worry about the eventual contamination of your soil.

Tip #7: Learn How To Propagate Plants in Home Gardening

Propagating plants allows you to save money and offers you the chance to home grow pants from seedlings at home. Depending on the type of the plant, multiplying can be done in a variety of ways:

• leaf or stem cuttings,
• rhizome or tuber division,
• water propagation.

Home gardening gives you the choice to decide how to proceed at every step. Whichever path you take, make sure to research the topic first so you succeed from the very first time. 

A final word on home gardening

A fascinating pass time in many ways, home gardening can be a lot of fun. And, what’s most important, is it doesn’t necessarily have to be super-pricey.  There comes a certain age when as a homeowner with a garden you can invest time in growing your own garden. You can be thrifty too. In fact, you can enjoy the aroma and beauty of exotic flowers or eat home-grown vegetables while saving money. Take advantage of these seven great tips and just see the difference a year can make in your finances!

OTHER USEFUL GARDENING BLOGS

At Housesitmatch.com we often share practical ideas and information for our members. Here are some useful links for some of our earlier gardening blogs. We hope you enjoy them and find them of use.

Create the perfect garden – 7 Top tips

Home gardening safety tips – Green thumb 101

Gardening tips – How to stop insects eating young plants