Find out how to save money while enjoying delicious and healthy veggies from your garden!
We know gardening can significantly improve your quality of life! But do you know that it can also improve the condition of your budget?
In past years, and more specifically months, we are witnessing things that we never experienced before – burning forests all over the planet, climate change, high levels of pollution, and of course, the ongoing pandemic. All of this contributes to the concerns of people regarding the quality of food. That’s why many of us decide to take a step towards growing our food.
You already know that gardening became popular some years ago, as it was proven that it comes with several health benefits. Besides the obvious fact that it allows you to eat much healthier, gardening is also a fantastic physical activity that enables you to be in good shape. There is yet another benefit there, particularly when we are talking about gardening naturally and sustainably – it can make your wallet quite happy!
Beginners can sometimes be overwhelmed with questions about the techniques and tools, such as gas-powered weed eater. And reasonably so, if we may add, because there are a lot of factors to consider when you are starting your garden. As you know, we are always trying to meet your needs and answer your questions about some topics. On that note, this time, we are going to look into ways how gardening will save the world and your home budget along the way.
What is Sustainable Gardening?
Most of you are probably already aware, but let’s look at it once more if there are some here who are still not informed. Sustainable gardening is a smart term that doesn’t have a specific definition. Generally, it refers to growing vegetables and fruit in an environmentally friendly way. It means that it doesn’t harm the soil nor the insects and animals in any possible way. Besides this, it also reduces the carbon footprint significantly because the food does not travel to you.
How Sustainable Gardening Saves Money
Make Compost
A first step towards being sustainable is understanding to make your compost. Indeed, you will be tempted to buy compost as it is more convenient and time-efficient. On the other hand, your compost will always be a tad more natural and cheaper. It is not all that complicated to make, as you will see in many gardening know-how guides. Use the peels and remains of fruits and veggies and start collecting them. If you have chickens or some other animals, like sheep or cows, or you know someone who does take the manure and combine with the kitchen remains, you will get even better results.
Plant Seeds
It might also seem that this requires more work and more when you are gardening and landscaping, but it isn’t actually. Indeed you need the pots, trays and so on but nobody says you have to spend a fortune on new ones. You can read about places to look for second-hand gardening accessories to get informed properly. When you are buying seeds, you can plant plenty more vegetables than if you buy only one transplant. Then, also while you can use transplants only in that year, seeds, on the other hand, can be useful for several years in a row. You can also exchange them with your friends.
Cultivate Plants
Cultivating gardening plants will help them multiply faster. There are many ways how you can do that – cutting, layering, etc. If you are not sure how to do it, you can read about it on the National Gardening Association website.
Put the Used Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves in the Garden
It might come as a surprise, but coffee and tea come with many advantages for the veggies in the garden. Coffee is a good fertilizer and improves water retention and drainage. It also aerates the soil well. Coffee grounds will also attract different microorganisms and earthworms that are highly beneficial for soil and plants. Used tea leaves come loaded with nutrients that can help the soil become more fertile.
Use Citrus Peel as Pest Repellant
A significant element of sustainability is avoiding using any kind of chemicals in your garden. However, you might wonder what to do if your garden is infested with pests. Instead of wasting money on different pesticides, etc., you can use orange or other citrus peel to send a message they are not welcomed. Cut the peel into several pieces, arrange it around the problematic area, make a hole in it, and attach it to the leaves.
Conclusion
As you can see, you can save some money quite easily if you opt for sustainable gardening. In many cases, you don’t even have to buy seeds to start growing your veggies because you can get them from those you bought in the supermarket. In case you found this topic interesting, and this article inspired you to learn more, you can check which gardening guide to getting. Do you have some experience growing your food? Do you have some tips for us?
About the Author:
Archie was a builder for more than 40 years. Mainly after his retirement the enthusiastic electrician works in the garden and writes for a blog Homemakerguide.com to keep himself occupied. His many years of experience can get you the right tool reviews whether it is a drill, welding machine or so. An impressive fact to note about him is that almost everything in his house is a representation of his skills made by his hands.
Photos Credits:
Hand holding a plant
Sunflower seedlings
Lemons