It’s that time of year. If you’re lucky enough to have a little dirt to dig in, and the inclination to do so, maybe you’ve already tilled the soil and sprouted your seeds. Unfortunately, they don’t give gardening supplies away, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out altogether. What is a budget gardener to do? Well….
Find Free Stuff: Places like Freecycle, Craigslist, ReUseIt, and Kijiji can all be scoured for cheap or free gardening stuff. This time of year, people are doing their spring cleaning. You can even post a “wanted” ad asking for stuff, or offer a barter if you have goods or services someone might want.
Borrow Stuff: Neighbours and family might be willing to let you use hardware from time to time (especially if you end up sharing your crops with them).
Free Seeds and Plants: Winter Sown sends out free seeds. Based in New York, the seeds they offer will be perfect for Canada’s short growing season. Also consider garden clubs, online gardening forums, Gardening Facebook groups, and Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope (SASE) Seeds. A quick online search will bring up lots of options. Again, any gardening enthusiasts you know in real life are a great source for seeds and cuttings. Plus, it’s a great way to get to know your community.
Dollar Stores: Not everything is a great deal at dollar stores, but a few things are worthwhile. The gloves are pretty good, especially if you’re just a casual gardener. Even if you go through a few pairs in a season, you’re still spending a fraction of what gloves could cost elsewhere. Seeds and hand tools are good too. Again, if you’re looking for professional quality, this is not the place, but trowels, aprons, seed starting kits, soil, and even cute garden decorations can be found.
Community Gardens: Don’t have any green space? Look around for some community plots. They’re often low-cost (or free) and offer a lot more square footage than window boxes.
Well, those are our suggestions. How do you garden on a budget?
Image credit: Goods Home Design
Lanark County Food Bank - The Hunger Stop 
This is a great article. It brought up things I didn’t even think of.
Thank you for the insight and suggestions. Now off I go to garden…..
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Please grow me some cheesecake. Barring that, I’ll accept carrots.
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Reblogged this on A Wiltshire Garden and commented:
Some great tips for keeping gardening costs low!
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My husband built me beautiful raised garden beds using fallen cedar trees from our yard. He built them log cabin style with notches he cut with his sawz-all. They work great and are so much nicer looking than lumber!
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They sound beautiful, and what a wonderful use of fallen wood. Great idea!
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