Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Doug Willhite <drwillhite@earthlink.net>]

http://chihuahuavalley.net



Begin forwarded message:

From: Hen and Harvest <chris@henandharvest.com>
Date: April 22, 2009 5:55:41 PM PDT
To: drwillhite@earthlink.net
Subject: Hen and Harvest

Hen and Harvest
Frugal Gardening ideas?

Posted: 22 Apr 2009 11:59 AM PDT

Treehugger featured a story recently discussing ways to keep the  
costs of a garden down. Some ideas are good, although they could use  
expansion, and some were really not that great. Let’s have a look-see….

1. Plan Ahead
–Decide what kind of garden you want. Unstructured, informal ones  
with wildflowers and random containers are cheaper than formal gardens.

Matt’s comment: Sort of. I find structured raised beds gardens easier  
to care for, which means more use around my house. They also produce  
more heavily as they can be planted more intensively. By planning  
ahead I also can make sure I have enough mulching material and  
compost around to build or enrich the beds as needed. Even better, if  
you know you’ll be gardening in the spring you can set up some sheet- 
mulched beds for use in the spring.

–Vegetable gardens can work out to be cheaper than flower gardens and  
more productive.

Matt’s comment: True that. I like a 70/30 or 80/20 veg to flower mix  
in my tended gardens. My permanent plantings tend towards fruiting  
trees, edible bushes and perennial flowers to keep my expenses to a  
one time expense, and produce year after year.

–Plan projects that you can do yourself, rather than hiring someone.

Matt’s comment: Duh.


2. Cut the Cost of Plants

–Compare prices–often supermarkets and hardware stores are cheaper  
than garden centres and the quality can be just as good.

Matt’s comment: Disagree emphatically. They are cheaper, for a  
reason. Usually plants that are started (and you purchase) will grow  
as well if they are from a store vs. a garden center, but beware the  
seed packets. They are cheap, but they don’t have the same  
germination rates. A 20 cent packet of seeds that only produces a few  
plants isn’t a useful as a $1 packet where almost every seeds grows.  
Packets last a couple years with good storage so there is no need to  
worry about them going bad. Buy the quality ones, but hopefully not  
the ones owned by Monsanto.

–Planting from seed is cheaper than buying individual plants.

Matt’s comment: True. Especially useful if watching for people to  
throw out their empty plant containers, and then using them at home  
to start your own plants from seeds. It’s like a low cost nursery to  
you. Also save the trays from any plants you do buy for the same reason

–Take cuttings from fellow gardeners.

Matt’s comment: I would suggest you reciprocate when you can as well.

–Split plants when they are big enough
–Go to local plant sales, often at churches or people’s gardens.

Matt’s comment: I like these options, and they need to get better  
promotion and see better traffic. Also don’t be afraid to save your  
own seeds. Many plants like peas, potatoes and beans are easy to save  
from year to year.

–Buy small specimens of plants–they are cheaper and still grow bigger  
over the long run
–Perennials come up every year–try not to buy annuals which are  
finished after one season.

Matt’s comment: Personally I’ve never understood the appeal of an  
annual unless it feeds me. There are a lot of perennial vegetable  
plants as well. Check out Bountiful Gardens for some options.

–Herbs go on and and can be grown outside or on the window sill.

Matt’s comment: Herbs are great to grow anywhere. Most are pretty and  
can be both edible and ornamental in your formal gardens.

Matt’s addition: Sign up to receive seed catalogs in the mail (as  
well as plant catalogs). Most have a section for plants that have  
produced extra that year and you can get some fairly large discounts  
if you are willing to accept the overruns.

3. Don’t Invest in Lots of Equipment

–Most gardening can be done with a few tools: a lawnmower, a hoe,  
spade, trowel and secateurs.

Matt’s comment: So true. The Path to Freedom folks garden almost  
exclusively with a hand trowel. If your soil is in the right shape  
you probably can too. Instead of a tiller use a broad fork. Use  
plants to break up the soil with their roots instead of digging and  
tilling. They do it better and cheaper. Worms will make your soil  
nice and loamy if you continually keep the soil mulched. Don’t expect  
overnight success. It takes a while, but you’ll see the benefit  
eventually.

–Check the clearance section of the hardware store for deals on  
larger, heavier items
–Borrow the bigger tools that you use less frequently from a friendly  
neighbour.

Matt’s comment: Or, check out a tool lending library in your area.  
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tool-lending_libraries) Don’t  
have one? Start one!

–Or rent them for a day
–Or go on the net and buy them second hand.

Matt’s comment: I would encourage you to purchase one time at good  
quality rather than 2, 3, or 4 times at poor quality. Good quality  
tools just work. And they work well. I really love the quality of the  
tools I’ve gotten from Earth Tools (http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/ 
garden_tools.html). Look for a review in the near future!

–Keep a compost heap so that you don’t have to spend on fertilizers.

Matt’s addition: Don’t be afraid to scavenge compost materials from  
neighbors. I harvest yard containers from all my neighbors for their  
grass and leaves. My son and I drive around the night before trash  
pick up and load our truck up with paper bags full of leaves and  
grass clippings. It’s great material and it’s great for the garden.

If you want raised beds on a budget just pile compost on top of  
cardboard or newspaper. Sure edging would make it look better, but  
the plants don’t care. Plant it that way and over time you could edge  
the beds with materials you scavenge.

4. Containers On a Budget

–Ceramic pots can turn into a fortune once you start buying lots of  
them for the patio
–Check the hardware store, they often have sales
–Be creative: use empty olive oil cans, old kitchen sinks, old  
buckets, teapots, chimney stacks and beer cans–your imagination is  
the limit.

Matt’s comment: My local grocery store will sell the empty plastic  
buckets their ingredients come in for $1 a piece. They work great for  
a ton of uses. Growing things. Storing things. I’m not much of a  
container person so I can’t be much help on this topic

Follow along with the discussion to this post in the Barnyard as all  
of our citizen experts talk about how they keep costs down when they  
are gardening.

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