These are my all time favorite money saving gardening tips. We’re not experts, so we always recommend asking the pros for the best advice. This post contains affiliate links, which may lead to a commission if purchased. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
Money Saving Gardening Tips
It seems like everyone is looking to save some dough these days. Not only are people looking to save money, but they’re starting to invest in food security, as well. Those of us who have been gardening for years know that gardening can be a huge money-sink, if you don’t know what you’re doing. These are my favorite money saving gardening tips for anyone who is hoping to save money by growing their own food.
- Chose money saving plants
- Make your own compost
- Consider auto watering systems
- Plant into the earth
- Only grow what you can handle
Choose Money Saving Plants
- Berries & Fruit Trees
- Herbs
- Microgreens
- Kale/Lettuce/Spinach
- Prolific Bearers
The most important factor in choosing money saving plants is to grow what you already eat. In other words, even though tomatoes can be very easy and prolific, growing tomatoes won’t save a lot of money for those of use who don’t eat a ton of tomatoes. Here are my favorite plants for money saving gardening tips, based largely on what we, as a family, eat most.
Berries & Fruit
It’s tempting to pass over berry bushes & fruit trees since they typically take a few years to start bearing. However, once they do, they can be some of the biggest money saving plants in your garden. In addition, once they’re established, they can be some of the lowest-maintenance crops in your care. Strawberries may be the fastest-bearing common berry to grow, while staples like raspberries will give a huge bang for your buck.
Most berry plants will naturally multiply themselves, as well. So by buying one or two plants this year, you may end up with dozens down the road!
Raspberries
Current price: $0.61/oz
Potential savings: $488/year
Based on a 20 ft row of plants, bearing roughly 50 lbs of raspberries in one year.
Blackberries
Current price: $0.60/oz
Potential savings: $480/year
Based on a 20 ft row of plants, bearing roughly 50 lbs of blackberries in one year.
Strawberries
Current price: $0.20/oz
Potential Savings: $128/year
Based on 20 plants, bearing roughly 2 lbs of strawberries (each plant) in one year.
Herbs
While dried herbs are relatively affordable, fresh herbs come at a premium. It’s no surprise; fresh herbs are both better-tasting and healthier than their dried counterparts. I always get so frustrated when I pay nearly $5 for a small serving of fresh herbs, and they go bad in just a few days. Potted herbs stay fresher much longer, and they replace themselves when used! The herbs I use often are rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, and cilantro. Growing fresh herbs is one of the best money saving gardening tips around.
Microgreens
Microgreens are some of the most profitable, quickest crops to grow. So it’s no surprise that growing microgreens is one of the best money saving gardening tips. I wish more people grew microgreens; they’re so fast, so easy, so nutritious, and so frugal. Microgreens can easily replace spinach and other fresh greens like lettuce, as a tastier, more nutritious alternative. While you can certainly grow spinach and lettuce at home as a money saving garden tip, I prefer to substitute microgreens. They’re so much easier, and I don’t have to deal with bolting.
Kale/Lettuce/Spinach
Even though microgreens are easier to grow, some of us just must have our mature leafy greens from time to time. And these are not cheap at the grocery store. Kale, lettuce, and spinach are all great money saving garden tips because they grow for “cut and come again” harvest. Of these three, I prefer to grow kale, since it has a much longer harvest window than lettuce and spinach. I’ve almost stopped growing lettuce and spinach entirely, because the bolting is just so hard to keep up with. Still, they’re one of the more important money saving gardening tips for those who buy many fresh greens at the grocery store.
Prolific Bearers
Okay, this is a super broad category, I know. I’m referring to “prolific bearers” as annual plants that create a bountiful harvest throughout most of the growing season: such as tomatoes, zucchini, and beans. Especially those that require minimal care. What I wouldn’t classify as “prolific bearers” are single-harvest crops, such as beets, pumpkins, and celery. Of course, if you grow whatever you eat the most of, you can include any crop in great money saving gardening tips. However, if you have limited space/resources, choosing one or two prolific bearer, such as tomato or zucchini, can save you a ton on grocery bills throughout the season.
Make Your Own Compost
It’s all too easy for new gardeners to encounter infrastructure shock when planting a garden. Raised beds, soil prep, and watering systems can skyrocket the price of even the smallest gardens. DIY compost is a great way to save money. We keep a few compost piles, and we use a few different methods. Here are a few of the things we compost, instead of throwing in the trash.
- Vegetable peelings
- Clean cardboard
- Livestock manure
- Plant/yard debris
We started using this tumbling composter a few months ago for a cleaner, easier-to-manage system. We love it!
Consider Auto Watering Systems
Auto watering systems can be a bit costly at startup. However, for us, they’re worth the initial investment. We’re setting up rainwater collection and auto watering systems for the garden at our land. I’ve lost too many plants and too many crops to drought over the years. With a large garden and hot weather, it can feel nearly impossible to stay on top of. Auto watering systems can increase yields, save on water bills, and decrease disease in plants as well. Even though it’s a bit costly upfront, automatic watering is one of the best-kept money saving gardening tips.
Plant Into The Earth
I’m a sucker for a pretty raised bed garden as much as anyone. However, raised beds have their pros and cons, and they’re costly to build. (Especially these days!) Raised garden beds tend to require more watering than planting directly into the ground. In addition, the cost of planting into the earth is much lower than the cost of building a bed and filling it with soil. It’s certainly personal preference, but I’ve grown much more fond of in-ground gardens ever since I ditched raised beds.
Only Grow What You Can Handle
This might be the grandaddy of all the money saving gardening tips. It all comes down to only growing what you can handle. When we plant more than we can keep up with, we lose out on a ton of harvest and money-saving potential. I’m the worst offender in this regard. My garden gets away from me almost every year. This year, I’m scaling back significantly, and really hoping to keep up with the little that I’ll be growing!