We all want to get back to the simple life, and one of the ways that we all can do that is to plant our own garden. The benefits from eating from our own garden are many. You’ll know just where you food has come from, just when it was picked, and how it was grown.
Imagine going out in your own garden backyard, no matter how big or small, out on your deck full of pots, or even reaching down in between your flowers, and picking your own vegetables and having them for dinner that day. You just can’t get it any fresher than that.
Then there is the exercise and the fresh air that you will get by getting out there and tending to the garden. Better than a gym and less expensive. It can be both invigorating and relaxing. Some of my best ideas and thoughts have come from being outside and tending my garden. Believe me, no one will bother you there!
The problem for many, though, is the start up cost. For a new gardener, it can be overwhelming. I just can’t imagine if we all just went to the store and bought everything we need or think we need to start gardening. So, I thought of some tips that might help a new gardener get started, and they might help us “old gardeners” as well.
- Buy used: Consider buying your gardening tools like rakes, hoes, shovels and tillers used. A lot of people are getting out of gardening about the same time you are getting into it, and you can find many deals at early spring garage sales or on Craigslist. I have also found many canning jars this year that have come in handy. While you’re at it, look for gardening books, the more resources you have to help you out with your questions the better.
- Free fertilizer: You can make your own free fertilizer by making sure you compost. I have a compost bin, but that is not really necessary, you can start composting in just a pile.
- Buy seeds on sale: Seeds can be costly to order from the seed catalogs, and of course if you’re new to gardening you don’t have any seeds saved. Now is a great time to find them in the clearance section and don’t worry, they still will be good next year.
Even though I’ve saved and traded seeds, I never seem to have enough, so I just recently was able to by some seeds for 5 cents a package at a clearance sale.
- Seedlings: If you think you might start seedlings indoors, start saving your egg cartons and plastic cups, such as yogurt cups and cottage cheese containers. They make great seed starter pots.
- Share: Become friends with other gardeners, most of us love to share plants and seeds from our gardens and maybe help you when you need some advice. My neighbor, Wilma, really helped me when I first got started.
- Pot gardening: If you don’t have lots of room for a garden, consider growing plants in pots on your deck or plant a few tomato plants in with the marigolds.
- Don’t start too early: It’s so hard not to get out there and start gardening the first sign of spring. Of course, you can plant early spring crops like peas, but to plant tomatoes or other plants that are not hardy, our date for vegetable gardening here in Michigan is Memorial Day. That doesn’t mean we haven’t made this mistake a few times and lost a few plants.
I hope these tips will help you start a garden next year and reap all its rewards – inexpensively.
