Composting at home
Composting is a great way to reduce food waste, but it can also serve as an effective way to save money. Instead of buying expensive fertilizers for your plants and garden, you can make your own compost at home!
Though making compost does require a little bit of time and effort on the front end, it’s worth it in the long run. Not only will you be able to cut down substantially on what you send to landfills, but you’ll also save quite a bit of money—a store-bought 40-pound bag of fertilizer costs about $20, and if you’re gardening regularly, that money adds up quickly.
Making compost is easy. The basic idea is this: take organic matter like vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, let them break down into something called “humus” (which is basically just decomposed plant or animal material), and use that finished product as fertilizer.
Getting seeds for free or cheap
We were also wondering if there was a way to save money in gardening. Not money, I mean—money isn’t the issue, we have plenty of that. But if you’re trying to save money in gardening, there are things you can do to make it happen that don’t involve getting more expensive seeds or buying more equipment. The best thing about the three suggestions below is that each one of them will help you save money whether or not you buy seeds for free or cheap:
#1: Get free seeds from your local library
If you have a library card and like gardening and growing herbs, browse their seed selection or just see if they have any new ones available. You’ll probably find something useful! If not, look up another public library with an herb section nearby and ask them how they can help and visit their garden yourself!
#2: Search the internet for bargain garden seed packs
There are loads of websites selling a range of cheap seed packs which are often very high quality. Your local garden store may even stock some varieties themselves; they’re likely to be more expensive than what’s available on these sites, but still cheaper than buying good quality seed from somewhere else! If not then check out seed saving forums such as Seed Saver’s Exchange ( http://www.seedsaversexchange.org/ ). Most online stores will give discounts if you sign up for their mailing list so consider doing this for free plants that appeal to you too. For example, if you’d like to try growing some meadow flowers then signing up for the American Meadows newsletter could work out cheaper than buying from them directly (their discount might be steep though so compare prices carefully). As an added bonus these newsletters often contain other articles such as “The best ways to save money by learning how to plant herbs” (see above) so it’s worth signing up just for this reason alone!
Reusing garden stakes and containers
- Reuse wooden garden stakes. Instead of buying new stakes for your plants every year, consider investing in a few sturdy ones that you can use for years. Don’t have any on hand? Have them cut to size for free at hardware stores; there’s usually no charge if you’re purchasing something else from the store.
- Buy reusable gardening containers. Plastic and metal pots can be reused over and over again, while clay pots will eventually break down after years of use if they’re exposed to freezing temperatures. They don’t last forever, but they’ll do just fine with some TLC.
- Check thrift stores and garage sales for usable containers before recycling old ones. Don’t rule out damaged or broken items—you’ll probably be able to find something you can repair!
These are ways you can save money as a gardener.
- Composting at home
Composting at home can save you money on fertilizer, and it’s a great way to help reduce the amount of organic waste in landfills and incinerators. Composting also saves energy and reduces emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change. It’s very easy to start composting, even if you live in an apartment or condo.
There are two primary methods for composting: cold composting, which takes longer but requires less work, and hot composting, which speeds up the process by creating conditions that optimize decomposition. You can even purchase an electric composter for your kitchen scraps!Composting at home
Composting is a great way to reduce food waste, but it can also serve as an effective way to save money. Instead of buying expensive fertilizers for your plants and garden, you can make your own compost at home!
Though making compost does require a little bit of time and effort on the front end, it’s worth it in the long run. Not only will you be able to cut down substantially on what you send to landfills, but you’ll also save quite a bit of money—a store-bought 40-pound bag of fertilizer costs about $20, and if you’re gardening regularly, that money adds up quickly.
Making compost is easy. The basic idea is this: take organic matter like vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, let them break down into something called “humus” (which is basically just decomposed plant or animal material), and use that finished product as fertilizer.
Getting seeds for free or cheap
We were also wondering if there was a way to save money in gardening. Not money, I mean—money isn’t the issue, we have plenty of that. But if you’re trying to save money in gardening, there are things you can do to make it happen that don’t involve getting more expensive seeds or buying more equipment. The best thing about the three suggestions below is that each one of them will help you save money whether or not you buy seeds for free or cheap:
#1: Get free seeds from your local library
If you have a library card and like gardening and growing herbs, browse their seed selection or just see if they have any new ones available. You’ll probably find something useful! If not, look up another public library with an herb section nearby and ask them how they can help and visit their garden yourself!
#2: Search the internet for bargain garden seed packs
There are loads of websites selling a range of cheap seed packs which are often very high quality. Your local garden store may even stock some varieties themselves; they’re likely to be more expensive than what’s available on these sites, but still cheaper than buying good quality seed from somewhere else! If not then check out seed saving forums such as Seed Saver’s Exchange ( http://www.seedsaversexchange.org/ ). Most online stores will give discounts if you sign up for their mailing list so consider doing this for free plants that appeal to you too. For example, if you’d like to try growing some meadow flowers then signing up for the American Meadows newsletter could work out cheaper than buying from them directly (their discount might be steep though so compare prices carefully). As an added bonus these newsletters often contain other articles such as “The best ways to save money by learning how to plant herbs” (see above) so it’s worth signing up just for this reason alone!
Reusing garden stakes and containers
Reuse wooden garden stakes. Instead of buying new stakes for your plants every year, consider investing in a few sturdy ones that you can use for years. Don’t have any on hand? Have them cut to size for free at hardware stores; there’s usually no charge if you’re purchasing something else from the store.
Buy reusable gardening containers. Plastic and metal pots can be reused over and over again, while clay pots will eventually break down after years of use if they’re exposed to freezing temperatures. They don’t last forever, but they’ll do just fine with some TLC.
Check thrift stores and garage sales for usable containers before recycling old ones. Don’t rule out damaged or broken items—you’ll probably be able to find something you can repair!
These are ways you can save money as a gardener.
Composting at home
Composting at home can save you money on fertilizer, and it’s a great way to help reduce the amount of organic waste in landfills and incinerators. Composting also saves energy and reduces emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change. It’s very easy to start composting, even if you live in an apartment or condo.
There are two primary methods for composting: cold composting, which takes longer but requires less work, and hot composting, which speeds up the process by creating conditions that optimize decomposition. You can even purchase an electric composter for your kitchen scraps!
