My love of all things gardening continues and I’m SO excited to share with you these frugal gardening tips in time for spring and summer. These budget gardening ideas will save you LOTS of money on your outdoor space. So you can enjoy your backyard and front yard while sticking to your budget.
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Frugal Gardening – More Awesome Than Ever
Just take a trip to any supermarket these days, and you can see how expensive food really is. Especially during the summer, when gas prices rise sharply, food prices also increase. Stores had to pass the expense of bringing the food to the market on to their customers. Gas prices have gone down some, but the food is still costly.
Now is a good time to plant a garden and save some money on your food bill. Growing your own food is actually pretty simple once the ground is prepared, and the seeds or young plants are in. What vegetables and fruits you plant will depend on what you and your family love to eat (and what grows well in your area).
Some people just start out with a few plants like tomatoes, peppers, beans, and lettuce. More experienced gardeners might want to plant eggplant, carrots & potatoes. Either way, most people will enjoy whatever they choose to plant. I completely love cultivating, watching, growing, and eating the food from my garden. My Instagram stories in the summer have LOTS of plants in them! (you can follow me here on IG if you aren’t already).
Another good point to growing your own food is the fact that it is much fresher and tastier because it is right out of the garden. It also stays fresher when left on the vine and only picked as needed.
Budget Gardening Ideas for Your Outdoor Space
It’s easy to spend a lot of money on your garden, but you don’t have to. These budget gardening ideas will save you LOTS of money on your garden. Tell me you're as pumped about the gardening season as I am! (and I am always pumped about saving money!!)
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More Budget Ideas for Your Garden
1. Gardening as a frugal family activity
Making budget gardening a family affair is a good way to spend quality time with your spouse and children. The main person I garden with is 5 (as in, years old). She doesn’t always pull her weight in the helping department but she more than makes up for it in the eating department.
Kids especially love putting the seeds in the ground and watering. I think Miss O has about half a dozen watering cans of different colors and sizes.
Kids also enjoy trips to the nursery and have a great time picking out plants. One of my favorite childhood memories is picking juicy blackberries straight from the vine in my grandparents’ garden. Gardening is a cheap family activity and one that can make lasting memories for kids.
For other frugal family activities see these posts:
15 Cheap and Fun Things to Do When Bored at Home
25 Activities To Do With Kids When You’re Stuck at Home
Easy Board Games – Activities for 3-year-olds at home when you’re stuck inside
2. Community gardening
You might want to consider getting your neighbors involved and possibly starting a community garden.
Maybe your neighborhood has a small park or common area where a garden can be grown. During World War II, neighbors got together and planted “Victory Gardens” because money was tight.
This is also a good way to get to know your neighbors and make new friends. Make it a weekly or monthly get-together to exchange produce, tips, or just to visit each other’s gardens.
If you are near a farmer’s market, take your extra produce and sell it! Now, your not only saving money. You are actually making money!
3. Cheaper organic food
If you’re into frugal gardening, you can also choose to have your food be pesticide-free which is much healthier. This is a good way to have organic food without having to pay the extra price at the supermarket.
If you are trying to lose a little weight eating more vegetables can help meet that goal along with the extra energy expended while working in the garden. (Here is a way you can actually get paid to lose weight if that is one of your goals.)
Frugal Gardening Final Thoughts
Whatever your reason is for starting a garden, you will save money at the grocery store. On top of that the fun in growing food will be a rewarding experience, and something kids love helping with (mine loves the eating part the best).
So consider a garden this year and start on the road to saving money and more healthful living. There are tons of ways to frugal garden and I hope these budget gardening ideas gave you some new ideas!
Next steps:
Read 16 Genius Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget You Need to Know
How To Eat Keto On A Budget + 22 Cheap Keto Recipes You’ll Love
Paleo on a Budget – How to Save Money on the Paleo Diet
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Christina
Thursday 22nd of April 2021
I have a really small yard, but I still find room to plant vegetables and herbs in pots. Nothing beats the taste of home grown vegetables. It was a bit expensive to get started, but once the pots were purchased I can use them year after year.
TheCuriousFrugal
Thursday 22nd of April 2021
Love that! I have a friend who doesn't have a backyard, just a small balcony and she grows tomatoes and cucumbers every year! It's so true, I can't wait to taste the salads that come out of our backyard :)