Who gardens to save some money?

[indimom]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to try those this year.

 

[shortbun]

We save money gardening but that's only a small part of why we do it. We do it for healthier food and excersize and emotional well being. It's fun and it's a family acitivity. The food is organic and locally grown so it's environmentally good for the earth and for us. It just tastes better too. Yeah, we save money but we've never measured that part of it. My husband is growing seedlings in the basement for a few things. Gosh, it's almost time to get started.

 

[pperfectmom]

Asparagus grows from crowns which you can order or sometimes find for sale at nurseries or gardening stores. They spread pretty quickly but it is normally 3 years before you will get a decent amount. Our bed is 4 years old(I think) and we have never had enough to freeze but it does taste awfully good. You just have to put them somewhere you won't be disturbing from year to year.

I'm not sure if I ever actually save money by gardening because it seems like I spend a fortune on it but you can't beat the quality. I also can and freeze a lot of beans, tomatoes, corn, zuchini, okra, etc.

 

[Leshaface]

I worked at Starbucks for 7 years, and everytime we had to brew a new batch of coffee, we would have to save the grounds for the "Grounds for your Garden" program.

Has anyone actually used coffee grounds and liked it?

Just last weekend, we planted my first garden and have been saving the grounds from our coffee in the mornings, but haven't incorporated it into the garden yet until I found out if it really worked!

To get back on topic, we're growing tomatoes, asparagus, bell peppers, eggplants, zucchini, jalepeno's, watermelon, strawberries, and okra! I'm super excited to see what happens!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I've heard there are some flowers you can plant around your vegetable garden to keep the pests away. Anyone know what kind of flowers (or if this is even true)?

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

We do shared gardening. Our family along with 2 others each plant different items and then share all our bounties with each other. Plus, we have raspberries and a mullberry tree. Another family has blueberries.

Several years ago I was told to plant a border of lettuce around the garden. This way the animals will eat the border and get full. Leaving the garden alone. And just an FYI, did you know that you can get 2 heads of romaine lettuce off of 1 plant. When the head is ready for picking, remove one of the outer leaves and place it back in the soil. It will produce another head for you.

Don't forget to donate any extra produce to your local soup kitchen or food bank. We always plant 1 extra of each to donate.

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

I worked at Starbucks for 7 years, and everytime we had to brew a new batch of coffee, we would have to save the grounds for the "Grounds for your Garden" program.

Has anyone actually used coffee grounds and liked it?

Just last weekend, we planted my first garden and have been saving the grounds from our coffee in the mornings, but haven't incorporated it into the garden yet until I found out if it really worked!

To get back on topic, we're growing tomatoes, asparagus, bell peppers, eggplants, zucchini, jalepeno's, watermelon, strawberries, and okra! I'm super excited to see what happens!

We use them and love them. They make GREAT compost!

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Several years ago I was told to plant a border of lettuce around the garden. This way the animals will eat the border and get full. Leaving the garden alone. And just an FYI, did you know that you can get 2 heads of romaine lettuce off of 1 plant. When the head is ready for picking, remove one of the outer leaves and place it back in the soil. It will produce another head for you.

That's interesting!

Is there a certain place everyone buys their seeds/plants? Most of the nurseries around here have turned in to these expensive home landscaping design stores. Lowe's has some decent varieties of seeds. I love online shopping so was wondering if anyone used a good place online? Or even brick and mortar store suggestions are good too! (I don't shop at Walmart though)

 

[swilshire]

I see reasonably priced seeds on line, but when I get to the checkout, the shipping always makes them too expensive. I buy a few seeds at Walgreens (watch their ads for 5/$1), the local Coop, and plan to go to Lowes today because their ad said BOGO this weekend on two brands of seeds including Burpee. Walmart always discounts Burpee from list price, so we buy some there.

We have a couple of local places that sell seeds in bulk, so we get some things there. We also have a nature center that does a seed swap every spring, so we make it a point to go there.

Sheila