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If a quick trip to your local nursery for a bag of compost usually results in you leaving with a whole cart full of plants and accessories — along with a hefty bill — then it might be time to explore how you can improve your garden for free. While you can achieve a lush and thriving yard by spending a fortune, you can just as easily score a similar outcome by spending time and effort instead of dollars.
When it comes to sourcing gardening equipment, you’re probably sitting on a gold mine of untapped potential without even realizing it. The trick? Knowing where to look. Checking out city services, getting involved with online swap groups, or even looking for junk in your attic could lead to a treasure trove of gardening supplies that won’t cost you a dime. Try these tips if you want to save money and benefit from a flourishing outdoor space.
How to Find Gardening Supplies for FreeInvestigate public services
Stephen Lucke is the founder of Gardopia Gardens, a nonprofit urban micro-farm and education center located in San Antonio, Texas. Lucke, whose mission is to teach people how to build food systems in homes and schools, recommends looking into free services offered locally in your area.
“Many cities, including San Antonio, offer free or low-cost mulch and compost made from recycled yard waste,” he adds. “It’s a great way to improve soil health, retain moisture, and reduce weeds without breaking the bank.” A glance at your city’s website should indicate what services are available.
Credit: knape/Getty Images Credit: knape/Getty Images
Save seeds to sow next spring
If you’re not in a hurry to expand your plant repertoire, harvesting seeds from your existing flowers is one of the easiest ways to fill your yard with new, lush greenery. You’ll just need to harvest the seeds from the plants in your garden when their blooms fade at the end of the season, then store them properly until it’s time to sow them. Edwin Dysinger, expert gardener and cofounder of Seedtime, recommends saving seeds from self-pollinating plants, such as tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, legumes, sunflowers, marigolds, and zinnias.
“Beans and peas are probably the easiest of all plants to save seed from. Wait for them to dry completely on the vine before you pick them,” he says. Not a legume fan? Try your hand at saving pepper seeds instead. “Peppers are self-pollinating, and the seeds are easy to access. Leave the pepper fruit that you want to collect seeds from on the plant until it is completely ripe, which allows the seeds to fully mature. Then harvest it, cut it open, and save the seeds,” Dysinger says.
Take advantage of local tool libraries
Need a mower but lack the space to store it? Hire one from a local tool library for free or with a small annual membership fee. “Instead of buying expensive tools, borrow or share with neighbors, or check if your city has a tool library,” suggests Lucke, who notes that the service is especially useful for items you only use on occasion, like a hedge trimmer or rotavator. Many hardware stores also offer tool rentals; you’ll have to pay, but the price tag will be minimal compared with buying the gadget outright.
Credit: AngieYeoh/Shutterstock Credit: AngieYeoh/Shutterstock
Propagate existing plants
Plant propagation sounds like something from a high school biology textbook, but don’t let the technical jargon put you off this easy way to create new plants for free. If you’re growing plants like buddleja, petunia, fuchsia, verbena, or hydrangea, you can take softwood cuttings in spring or early summer and root them in soil or water.
You can also propagate herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and mint with cuttings for your herb garden. Within around two to four weeks, root systems will have developed from which a whole new plant can grow. If you don’t have any species you want to create more of, ask friends and neighbors if they would mind you taking a small cutting of their desirable plants. Voilà! Free greenery for your garden!
Upcycle unwanted items
Thrifty gardeners love the double-duty that upcycling provides — it’s great for the planet and great for your wallet. Look at the existing items you have that no longer serve a purpose. An old drawer from some broken furniture could easily be turned into a raised flower bed, while mismatched bowls could be used as planters. Packaging that you’d usually throw away can also be upcycled into useful gardening equipment. Try starting seeds in egg cartons, cutting up soda bottles to create self-watering containers, or using a bag of old wine corks as mulch.
Credit: Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock Credit: Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock
Make your own compost
Lucke describes making compost at home as “a sustainable way to build healthy soil without spending money.” You can quite literally turn garbage into a useful product that will help your garden thrive, with very little effort or investment. Add anything from garden scraps to pet hair and lawn clippings to a composter or compost heap, and let the microorganisms do their thing.
Want to go one step further? Brew up some compost tea. “This liquid fertilizer, made by steeping compost in water, boosts microbial activity in the soil and gives your plants a quick nutrient boost — all for free using materials you already have,” Lucke explains.
Check out local swapping or gifting groups
“If you keep an eye on the ‘free’ category on Facebook Marketplace, you can find a number of things that can be used in the garden,” Dysinger suggests. “Things like pallets are often available for free on Facebook Marketplace and at businesses that receive shipments regularly. You can use pallets as sides for compost bins, or for fencing, trellising, or whatever else you can imagine.”
If your local online groups don’t get your green juices flowing, ask around among friends, neighbors, and colleagues instead. Remember that swapping and gifting work both ways — if you have an excess of saved seeds or propagated plant babies, offer them out to your local community so that others can enjoy the pleasure of free gardening goods.
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