How is your gardening going this year? I have been working a lot in my garden and as much as I love it, it does get expensive. That’s why I have worked hard over the last couple of years to figure out how to best save money on garden supplies. 

Part of the reason I love gardening so much is because it is a great way to save money on groceries. Well that and I love to feed my family healthier, fresh produce.  

4 Tips for Saving Money on Garden Supplies

Gardening for me helps me to lower my stress levels. When gardening becomes expensive though, my stress levels begin to rise again. These tips will help you to save money on garden supplies and help gardening stay a low stress activity in your life. 

Reuse Soil 

You can always use the soil from your yard to grow your garden. If your garden is a raised bed or container garden, you can easily use your soil from last year. 

Order in Bulk

If you need more soil, you should check into ordering your soil in bulk. If you have a pickup or a trailer, you can save a significant amount of money by purchasing a load of soil as opposed to buying it in bags. 

Shop Used

If you need new shovels or other gardening tools, you should shop used. Many people downsize into apartments, etc and they no longer need their garden tools. You might even find them on your local buy nothing group. I know I have bought most of my garden tools second hand, most of which I paid just a dollar or two for.  

Here are some of the best places to look for deals:

• Offer Up
• Craigslist 
• FB Marketplace 
• FB Buy Nothing Groups

Use What You Have

Last year I did a greenhouse as opposed to a typical garden. It worked out great, but earlier this year I got chickens and decided that what used to be my greenhouse would be better utilized as space for a chicken coop. So this year I was going to build raised beds for my garden. Oh my gosh though, if you have never looked at large raised bed planters, you would be shocked to see how much they cost. 

After looking through Pinterest for days, I decided that I was going to utilize some materials I already had on hand to create my raised bed planters. I happened to have a couple of sheets of galvanized metal and some leftover lumber from a project I did last year. I combined the two to create some awesome raised bed planters all for the low costs of $00! 

Are you planning to start a garden this year? If you answered yes, you may need a little bit of help trying to figure out where to begin. Gardening can be confusing and overwhelming, but I promise you, it is worth it! 

No matter what you are hoping to grow, you will find that some of the rules with gardening tend to be the same. Check out these gardening tips for every beginner and see how you can thrive in your gardening this year! 

Gardening Tips for Every Beginner

Choose Your Location Wisely

Choosing the location of your garden is incredibly important. There are 3 things that you need to look for when choosing the location of your garden. 

Ease of Access – As much as you may not like to think so, it is quite easy to forget about your garden, so it is important to locate your garden in a place that it will be seen easily and it is easy to get to each and every day. 

Sunshine – Make sure that the spot that you have chosen for your garden receives plenty of sunlight each day. Ideally, this spot should receive at least 6 hours of sunlight each day.

Water – Also make sure that your garden location is within easy reach of your water source. It’s imperative to water your garden regularly so it makes sense that your garden space will be accessible to a nearby hose.

Use Good Soil

Yes, you can use the soil from your yard, but for a great garden, don’t be afraid to splurge a little bit on soil. You can buy bagged soil from your nearby big box store or gardening center, or you can order an entire load of soil from a local farm store.

Choose the Right Plants

Here’s the thing about gardening. You need to choose the right plants for a successful gardening season. This is a two part issue. You need to figure out the plants that you like and the plants that your area likes. 

Do a little bit of research to discover which plants tend to grow well in your area.  Certain climates are better for growing certain plants. 

Also, be sure to only grow plants/veggies that you are going to actually eat. Why work hard just to grow plants that you don’t like anyway? The more you like the plants/veggies that you have grown, the more excited that you will get when they grow successfully. 

Do you garden? What tips have been the most helpful to you in your gardening journey?