10 Super Cheap Gardening Hacks

It’s a brand-new week and I have some cheap gardening ideas for you.

Some of these you will already be familiar with if you have read my books or watch my videos on YouTube, and others may be new. I find it’s good to review ideas now and again and get re-inspired, so let’s go for it!

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #1: Make a Free Trellis

On Palm Sunday I posted a video sharing how to make a free (and sturdy) garden trellis from sticks:

That’ll hold yer beans!

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #2: Grow Citrus Trees from Seed

I love free fruit trees, and citrus are super easy to start.

There are some interesting things about citrus genetics, too – some produce totally true to type, and some don’t. As Rafael comments:

“Many citrus cultivars reproduce exact copies of the parent tree. The process is called polyembryony, more specifically, Nucellar embryony. Citrus cultivars are quite variable in regards to the production of Nucellar, vs Zygotic embryony. Dancy tangerine is 100% nucellar (all seedlings are identical to the parent tree. Temple tangor has 0% of it’s progeny identical to itself…”

Citrus are really easy to grow, and seedlings will usually make good fruit when they grow up, like most other seed-grown fruit trees!

We’ve also grown cashews, mango, peaches, plums, pawpaws and many other fruit trees from seed. It’s worth it!

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #3: Make Free Raised Beds

Two tools!

Or, alternately, you can make a Lasagna Garden without any tilling:

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #4: Start Your Own Plant Nursery

And then start making $$$ from your plant hobby!

You can also check out my book on starting a backyard plant nursery. I’ll be starting a new one soon!

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #5: Propagate Thornless Blackberries

Instead of buying a dozen or so thornless blackberries for your gardens, why not buy one, then use your machete to start a bunch more?

I love free plants.

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #6: Make a Self-Watering Kiddie Pool Garden

I don’t always garden in kiddie pools, but when I do, I drink beer.

By the way, that’s probably the best thumbnail I ever made.

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #7: Get Food from Your Food Forest FAST!

Sometimes we think too short-term, and sometimes we think too long-term.

Here’s how to get a happy medium and start reaping calories while still building a super long-term garden:

Later this year I hope my garden looks that good! We transplanted our gardens in August onto our new property. Can’t wait to see everything in full growth.

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #8: Start Your Own Sweet Potato Slips

Go to the grocery store, get some sweet potatoes, then do this!

We love growing our own sweet potatoes, but don’t like buying transplants. I have a big pot of vines right now we did with this method. They’ll start going in the ground today!

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #9: Make Your Own Fertilizer

I love this method of creating liquid plant fertilizer:

Thin it out to start, perhaps 10 parts water to one part swamp water, then apply it to plants. If they like it, you’re good. If nothing happens after a few days, then up the dosage. Your initial inputs make a difference. It can be weak or too “hot,” depending on what you add at the beginning of the brewing.

CHEAP GARDENING IDEA #10:

Make chicken compost and turn your scraps into a huge pile of soil fertility!

We got many wheelbarrows of compost this way – it works like gangbusters, and it’s way easier than turning a compost pile. Plus, we get eggs!

Conclusion

As I’ve heard it said, “it’s not redneck… it’s… sustainable!”

Work with what you have and save cash for other things. Gardening doesn’t need to be expensive!

Got more ideas? Leave ’em in the comments below.

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