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Money Saving Gardening Tips |
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Articles, How-To's and Interviews -
Personal Finances
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Written by Jennifer Thompson
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The longer
that I garden, the more interested I get in saving money while I'm at
it. I've spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars - easily - at my local
nursery over the years. During these years, I've learned
a little bit about what I can do to save some money and am starting
to relish the thought of getting something for nothing in my garden.
Here's a short summary of some of what I've learned. Stay tuned for
more articles to come, as well as some related how-to's.
Cheap Plants
Learn to grow
plants from cuttings. Many, many plants can be grown from cuttings,
which means you can have a whole new plant for free just by snipping
off a piece of an already grown plant. I've had great luck with mint,
red valerian, hydrangeas, pincushion, geraniums and scented geraniums.
While you're at it, learn to divide
plants such as mums (or find a friend who has plants like this). This
way, you get more plants from your original plant, and you keep your
plants from becoming overgrown. Plants like daylilies, society garlic
and agapanthus are great for dividing.
And, while you're at it, learn to spot plants that 'volunteer'
themselves in places that you don't want them. You can dig them up and
transplant them in more desireable locations. My mother-in-law grows
raspberries, and I now have them too, thanks to digging up some volunteers
from her garden and bringing them home.
Grow plants from seed. Seed packets are cheap and most come with
a lot of seeds in them, so you can potentially get quite a few plants
for a very small price.
Opt for smaller sizes when buying plants in pots at the nursery. The
smaller sized plants will soon catch up to the larger ones - in a matter
of weeks, sometimes.
Know your area and don't buy plants that won't thrive. Ask the people
at the nursery for advice if you're not sure whether or not a certain
plant will work in the area you have in mind. Just because a plant looks
great in the store doesn't mean it will look great at home. When in
doubt, ask!
Water Saving
Techniques
Drip watering
systems will target the water right where you need it, while sprinklers
or hoses spray the water everywhere. An extra bonus to drip watering
is that you can keep the space between plants dry, which helps reduce
the number of weeds that sprout up!
Spread mulch around your plants. This will help keep the water from
evaporating. You can buy mulch at the store, use compost
(homemade would be great!), bark, pine needles...there are lots of options.
Plant like plants together. Know how much water your different plants
require, and plant the thirstier ones together and the more drought-tolerant
ones together, so that you're not watering plants that don't need it
so much.
Water in the morning or evening. Watering in the middle of the day leads
to more evaporation and less water actually getting down to your plants'
roots.
Catch rain water in large containers when you can and use it to water
your plants later.
Home-Grown
Benefits
Growing your
own vegetables, herbs and flowers at home can translate into savings
at the market. You won't have to buy as much produce, and you can have
fresh flowers in your home for a fraction of the cost. If you get really
good, you can make your own salsa, spaghetti sauce, pesto, jelly and
more with the bounty of your garden.
Jennifer Thompson owns and manages DivaTribe.
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