Garden Guide to Container Gardening on a Budget

Welcome to Home Ever After’s Gardening Guide.  Be sure to check our our gardening tips for beginners and guide to compost for beginners also.  Today we’re talking about the frugal way to grow your own food – container gardening on a budget.

For those who would like to plant a garden but are inexperienced or have limited space, a container garden on a budget may be the perfect alternative. Container gardening is easy and inexpensive, and can be started even when on a tight budget.

Before you begin, decide which plants you would like to grow. Stick with fruits or vegetables that you will consume to avoid waste and keep costs down. Make sure your choice will work in your climate and research to make sure it will successfully grow in your area.

Editor’s Note:  Instead of spending a lot of money to buy plants which have already been started from a nursery, go the frugal route.  Start a little earlier in the season and start your own plants from seeds.  If growing organic fruits, vegetables and herbs is important to you, make sure you buy organic seeds to use in your container garden.  Seeds are a very cheap way to grow your own organic produce.

Save Money on Pots and Containers

You can further decrease costs for your container garden on a budget by refraining from purchasing expensive or all matching containers. Get creative and use items you already have instead to plant in. In addition to typical flower pots, you can use items made from wood, metal, plastic, clay or even paper pulp. Old children’s toys such as metal or plastic trucks and toy bins work well, as do household bowls and small trash cans.

Be mindful of the soil depth you will need for the particular plant you will be growing. You will need to use items as planters that will allow drilling in the bottom to create holes for drainage. Be sure to clean and rinse containers before using them.

Tools for Container Gardening

Unlike traditional gardening, container gardening does not require you to purchase expensive gardening tools. Chances are you have many items in your home that you can use.

• Chopsticks make excellent plant stakes and can be used for seeding.
• Plastic milk jugs or juice jugs can be cut and used as a scooper for soil. They also double as great protective coverings for plants in colder weather.
• Old stockings can be used as stake ties.

Don’t Scrimp on the Important Things

The most expensive aspect of container gardening is the soil itself. Although it may be tempting to use basic dirt from the yard, it will not produce quality results and is not recommended. Keep in mind that because container gardening requires good planting soil, you will not need to spend additional money on treatments for poor soil problems as you would if you were growing a traditional ground garden.

Once you purchase the potting soil, you can add the seeds to the soil in the container. Follow planting instructions on seed packets and tend to plants just as you would if growing in a traditional ground garden. 

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Check out Thrifty Thursdays at Amanda’s Cookin’ and Frugal Friday at Life as Mom for more great frugal tips. Top container garden photo by thomas pix.  Bottom container garden photo by by LollyKnit.

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2. Gardening Tips for Beginners
3. 10 Steps to Frugal Gardening & Landscaping
4. Dream Garden: Small Residential Wonderland
5. Dream Gardens: Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou China