So I never have a huge budget for gardening as it is a hobby for me and not a money-maker. Under the cut you can see my favorite money-saver – collecting seeds. So far this year I have saved money on plants by:
-starting expensive plants from seed
-taking cuttings to turn 1 plant into many plants
-using heat from the tumbledryer to warm my seed-starting setup
-starting seeds and cuttings in paper egg cartons & aluminum turkey pans from Dollar Tree
-scouring discount places for cheap planters
-reusing compost bags for growing fingerling potatoes
-using our free local newspaper as weed barrier
I’m sure I’ve done other stuff, it’s just not coming to mind. Does anyone have any clever money-saving tips they would share with the community?
On the right is Bluebird, the left is Pink Innocence, both Nemesia fruticans. I crossed those last year and out came this very appealing amethyst shade.
EDIT: I’ve just remembered my favourite cheap-o trick. I keep a small bed for bulbs. When I use quality bulbs in the spring and know I’ll probably put new expensive bulbs in next year I dig up the “spent” bulbs (pretty frequently split into loads of daughter bulbs) and throw them into the nursery bed to grow for a few years until they’re back to a showy size for the spring display again.
~Å~
