40 Helpful Hacks For Gardening On A Budget

This hack may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t water their gardens correctly. Some use far too much water, meaning much of it runs off the soil and isn’t actually doing any good. Others are far too sparing, which means their garden isn’t getting the moisture it needs. A good rule of thumb is to water less often, but to do it more thoroughly each time.

Acidic, neutral, or alkaline: these are the three kinds of soil in any garden. It’s really helpful to know which type is in your garden, as that way you can tailor your growing efforts to the soil you’ve got. To establish this, all you’ll need is a mug, water, soil, vinegar, and baking soda. A quick online tutorial, and you’ll find out your soil type almost instantly.

Of all the hacks in this list, this one will save you the most money. It makes perfect sense, too — instead of paying at least $4 a pop for plants to put in your garden, you should instead spend $2 or $3 on a pack of seeds. That way you’ll eventually grow lots of plants! Yes, you’ll have to learn how to seed-start, but isn’t that half the fun of gardening? 

Being an efficient and thrifty gardener is all about getting the most out of everything you do. So, if you find an old packet of seeds that you never planted, don’t assume they’re unusable. Simply place the seeds inside a dampened paper towel and leave it for a few days, keeping the towel wet as much as possible. You may find some sprouts from the seeds, and these can then be planted!

This hack can apply to any kind of shopping, but it’s an important thing to keep an eye on when putting together your garden too. The next time you hit the garden center, write a list and stick to it. Because if you buy that gorgeous plant or that decorative ornament or any number of things you don’t really need or have room for, you’re just throwing money down the drain!

Weeds are the bane of any gardener’s life. So, here’s a hack for combatting them on a budget — trim all your weeds as low as they will go, and then cover the whole area in flattened cardboard boxes. Soak the boxes with a garden hose and then layer mulch or rocks on top of everything. Hey presto — those weeds won’t be growing any more!

Instead of getting rid of an old mirror, give the frame a coat of outdoor paint and put it in the garden. It looks nifty, but the true benefit is the sense of scale it will give. You see, the way sunlight bounces off the mirror, as well the reflections of the plants in it, trick the eye and make your garden space seem larger.  

If you don’t have a lot of space to plant potatoes in raised beds, you could try growing them vertically! By growing them inside burlap sacks or polythene bags — or even plastic pots and dustbins — you’ll save a lot of space. All you need to ensure is that the sacks or bags have enough holes in the bottom so any excess water can leach away.

People spend a lot of money buying special mineral-enriched soil for their gardens. But there’s a cheaper way to ensure your soil has all the calcium it needs, and all it takes is some patience — and a blender! Simply collect the eggshells you use in a certain period, blend them all together to make a powder, and then sprinkle this into your soil. The calcium-rich shells are now enriching the soil!

Sometimes the difference between an ordinary garden and a beautiful one are the flourishes. They don’t even need to be complicated or expensive — just unique. For example, why not repurpose shells or stones you find on the beach as a covering for the soil beneath a tree or plant? It’ll draw the eye to it and will stand out as something different about your garden design.

Have you ever wanted to use the empty soup tins you throw in the recycling bin for something else? Well, guess what? You can! All you have to do is pierce some drainage holes in the bottom and then you can grow whatever plants, herbs, or flowers you want in them. It’s cheaper than buying plant pots, that’s for sure, but it also lends a certain quirky character to your garden. 

When it comes to composting, like with plants, you could choose to buy directly from the garden center. But, if you learn to make your own compost, you’ll save tons of cash in the long run — because it’s free — and you’ll develop a more holistic relationship with your garden. Heck, it’s even made with stuff you already have, like grass clippings, wood shavings, and fruit/vegetable scraps.

What is mulching, we hear you ask? Well, mulch is a material spread over the ground to protect the soil below. It can be made of organic material like wood chippings, straw, or leaves, or it can comprise rocks and plastic. Mulching ensures your soil retains moisture, stops weeds from growing and makes your garden look much cleaner and tidier.

This hack is super-thrifty but has its own undoubted charm. If you want a low-cost way to label the plants in your garden, simply save the chopsticks from your next Chinese takeout. Wash them off, stick them in the soil next to the plant you want to label, and then fix the seed packet to the chopstick. Hey presto, a unique, quirky label and a fun talking point!

If you want to add an extra dash of fun to your garden, but don’t want to break the bank, maybe a tyre swing is an option? All you need is a sturdy tree, an old tyre, a chain, and some hooks. You’ve even got a couple of options — a vertical swing, which is perfect for adults and older kids, or a horizontal swing, which is great for little kids to sit in. Hours of fun!

This hack will save you money, and maybe help you make some friends in the process — it’s a win-win! Try setting up a WhatsApp or Facebook group with like-minded gardeners. Then, arrange to meet up as a group periodically, where you can all swap seeds, plants, and any other garden items you desire. Share the wealth, people!

A rockery is simply an artful display of rocks and alpine plants, and many high-class gardens have them as features. If you want to create your own on a budget, but also want it to be quirky, why not use broken pieces of terracotta plant pots in place of rocks? Make sure the pieces are all different sizes and shapes — it’ll lend the arrangement a unique color and texture.

No, this hack isn’t about getting your garden drunk — it’s a unique way of watering your soil! The next time you’re going away for a few days, simply take a thoroughly rinsed-out wine bottle, fill it with water and stick into the soil a few inches deep, neck-first. The wonders of physics will mean the water will trickle out slowly over a period of days, instead of all at once!

Did you know that vinegar has a bevy of different uses in the garden? You can spray it on weeds, clean your clay pots and gardening tools with it, and use it to speed along seed germination. It can also be used to deter neighborhood animals from trampling through your garden, and mixed with water and dishwasher soap, it functions as an insect spray!

The next time you’re about to throw out used coffee grounds or tea bags, think again! Because they can both be used in the garden in fascinating ways. Grounds can act as fertilizer, improve soil structure, and become part of compost or mulch. Similarly, the contents of tea bags spread around a plant can improve its nitrogen levels every time it’s watered.

We all know our plants need water, but some of us mightn’t know of the benefits plants can gain from cooking water. Yes, the water used to boil things like vegetables and eggs! You see, while boiling, nutrients from the vegetables seep into the water, and calcium from eggshells does the same. This makes the water super-nutritious for your garden plants — once it’s cooled down, of course!

Buying a watering can won’t exactly break the bank, but if you want to save another couple of bucks, you can use a milk container for the same purpose. Simply clean it out and use a needle to poke some holes in the plastic lid — you’ve got yourself a perfectly good makeshift watering can! You can control the amount of water dispensed by the number of holes you poke in the lid.

Moving and replanting things in different areas is pretty common for experienced gardeners. But what do you do if fungus starts to grow in the soil surrounding your re-plant? Well, you go back in time — or, if you’re unable to flout the laws of nature, just pull up the plant again — and dip the root in cinnamon powder. This will kill any fungus that tries to develop in the soil!

If you adopt the attitude that nearly everything around the house can be used for another purpose in your garden, then it opens up all kinds of possibilities. Say you burned out the bottom of a pot on the stove — instead of throwing it away, why not use it as a makeshift planter for the garden? The same goes for pans, too.

Speaking of kitchen items that can be re-used in the garden, spare a thought for the humble colander. It’s not just good for draining the water from cooked rice and pasta — it can be used as a hanging basket too! All you need is a few hanging chains to clip on to the rim, and hey presto, you’ve got a no-cost basket for your begonias or petunias!

Truly, you can use everything from your house in the garden — even the kitchen sink! Yes, if you’re replacing a sink in the home, simply clean the old one up and put it in your flower bed. Fill that bad boy with soil and as many plants and flowers as it can hold. Heck, because of its very nature, it’s designed to drain — so that part is already taken care of!

This hack might sound counterintuitive, but hear us out. The next time you mow your lawn, don’t simply throw your grass clippings in the recycling bin. If you want to save money on expensive lawn fertilizers, simply lay those clippings right back down on the lawn, and they’ll do the same job. The shorter clippings, in particular, will break down quickly when you water them. 

When sprucing up your garden, not every job needs to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, there are shortcuts you can use that will look just as good. For example, if you’re building a shaded space, don’t use a trellis or pergola — use a vintage, upscaled ladder. Suspended horizontally or stood up vertically, it will provide the same support for climbing plants.

These days, many people want their outdoor living spaces to look similar to indoor ones: cozy, stylish, and of course, functional. They can end up spending a fortune on it. But if you're working to a tight budget, all you need is a little creativity. Why not try putting together garden furniture by repurposing wooden pallets? With some wood treatment, a coat of paint, and some roller wheels added, an old pallet could be transformed into a rustic coffee table!

Decking can offer a lovely place to relax in your garden and, let’s be honest, it also classes the joint up! But, once your decking is constructed, don’t be so quick to discard any leftover wooden planks. Ideal Home suggests cutting them to size, place them in a winding pattern, put some stones around them and what have you got? A nifty garden path — and it didn’t cost anything extra!

If you grow your own fruits and vegetables in your garden, here’s a great hack. Before you decide to throw away any scraps of celery, onions, lettuce, avocado, or garlic, you could try regrowing them in a bowl of water! Place them in direct sunlight and after a few days roots should start to show. Then you can plant them in soil and you’re off to the races!

We’ve nearly put our back out a few times trying to move heavy plant pots around the garden. But if you’re smarter than us and want to avoid that, you could try this unique hack: fill the bottom half of your pot with foam peanuts — the kind you use to pad out boxes when you order stuff online. Plant pots don’t actually need to be completely full of soil, you see. Half-filled with foam peanuts and half with soil, they'll be less heavy and will drain more easily. No more back pain!

Ah, the humble brick. It’s been used for building houses and walls for as long as anyone can remember — but can also serve a purpose when landscaping a garden. You can lay bricks as edging to give your garden a neat trim or even use them to make a garden path. Heck, even a couple of stray bricks can be used as a rustic way to label your plants!

Did you know that if you cut the leaf off a succulent plant, or a bit of its stem, you can grow a whole new plant from it? Now you do! Propagating your plant cuttings is a great moneysaver, and a fun process to do in and of itself. You could even make it a project with your kids or loved ones — see who can grow the best plants from the same clippings!

Sometimes you want to give your seedlings a little bit of a headstart before putting them into soil. To do that, why not try the soda bottle mini greenhouse trick? Simply cut the top off an empty bottle of fizzy drink and put your seedlings in there. Keep it away from direct sunlight and take off the cover for an hour every day — those bad boys will start growing in no time.

If you decide to start planting your own seeds, don’t bother buying starting trays or pots. It’s super-easy — and free — to make your own pots out of old newspaper! There are plenty of tutorials online that’ll show you exactly how to do it. The best part is that these pots will be biodegradable, unlike the ones you buy in the store.

Did you know that several common garden weeds are perfectly edible? For instance, you can eat burdock roots; chicory leaves and roots; dandelion leaves, flowers, and roots; and young nettle leaves — as long as you cook them first. A piece of advice, though — thoroughly research which weeds are safe, and which are toxic. Oh, and only eat the parts that have been deemed safe to consume.

Gardens are chock-full of bugs — that much can’t really be avoided. But if some of your plants are suffering particularly bad pest infestations and you don’t want to use chemical pesticides, here’s a great hack. Simply cut up some citrus peels — oranges or lemons will do the trick — and lay them around the affected plant. The bugs won’t like it one bit and will likely go elsewhere.

Tomatoes grow particularly well when the weather is hot. So, in the months where it gets colder and windier, this hack will help keep your tomatoes warm. All you have to do is cover your tomato cage in Saran wrap, and this will create a DIY greenhouse effect. It’ll also shelter them from the wind. So simple, yet so effective.

The next time you’re tending to your azaleas and drinking a nice tall glass of refreshing cola — your brand may vary — why not combine the two? By that we mean you should water your azaleas with the tasty soda pop. Simplify Gardening explains that cola lowers the pH level of soil, and acid-craving plants like azaleas can’t get enough of it! Weird, huh?