Simple ways to save money while you garden
Garden season can trick you into thinking perfectly good supplies are objects that look ready for retirement. A muddy hand trowel, a slightly rusty pair of pruners, a half-full bag of potting mix, or a stack of dirty nursery pots can seem destined for the garbage, especially when the garden starts winding down. But “looks…
The end of summer can make a garden look like it has nothing left to offer. Spent plants, half-used seed packets, empty nursery pots, piles of leaves, and crooked tomato stakes can quickly resemble a collection of gardening junk, but much of that “junk” still has a job to do. A little sorting can save…
The calendar says summer is winding down, but garden-center bargain season is just getting interesting. Once the big rush for colorful annuals fades, many nurseries and garden centers start clearing space, which can create excellent opportunities to pick up plants and supplies for less. That does not mean every sad-looking plant in the clearance section…
Spring gets all the gardening glory, but fall has a sneaky advantage: it can cost less to get growing. The season favors vegetables that handle cooler weather, many of which grow beautifully from inexpensive packets of seed rather than trays of pricey transplants, heat-loving plants, and all the gear that comes with them. That difference…
Fertilizer is like the garden equivalent of a helpful snack. A little boost seems harmless, especially when plants still look green and productive, but late-summer feeding can sometimes encourage exactly the kind of growth a plant does not need heading into cooler weather. For several common garden plants, August and early September mark the point…
September can fool a gardener into watering the garden exactly as they did in July. The calendar says summer has nearly packed its bags, but the soil may still dry quickly on warm afternoons, especially around thirsty vegetables, newly planted perennials, and containers. As temperatures gradually cool and daylight shortens, plants generally lose water more…
September does not mean the vegetable garden has packed its bags for the year. In many areas, gardeners can still plant a surprisingly good lineup of cool-season vegetables and harvest them before winter arrives. This involves choosing crops that handle cooler temperatures and matching planting dates to the local first frost date. Some vegetables grow…
September can turn a garden center into a financial trap. Shelves fill with fall plants, shiny tools, bags of mysterious soil amendments, and enough “must-have” products to make a perfectly sensible gardener suddenly question every decision made since spring. September gardening does not require a shopping spree. In many cases, the smartest move involves using…
The end of summer can turn a productive garden into a surprisingly useful pile of leftovers. Those dried seed heads, fallen leaves, spent plants, and half-empty bags of garden materials may look like cleanup chores, but many can give next season’s garden a head start. The trick involves knowing what deserves a second act and…