Does anyone know of any good ways to grow a garden really frugally??

[CAGmomof2]

Does anyone know of any good ways to grow a garden really frugally?? All of our top soil is at the bottom of a slope with grown up brush in our backyard!! So all we have is Hard Red Clay !!
I have Flowers ready to be planted but I would like to also grow vegtables and fruits!!
Any ideas or advice will be greatly appreciated and used greatly!!
Thank you all!!

[ronsan]

Have you thought about container gardening?

If you can grow it in the ground, chances are it can be successfully grown in a container. And you need not use those expensive containers so many gardening magazines and garden centers are trying to sell you. There are so many other alternatives that WORK WELL! Possibly some of these might help you:

1. Find an old tire and fill it with good, rich soil.

2. Create a raised bed of piled up flat stones or wood and fill with good, rich soil.

3. Look at everything you currently have or can acquire as a possible source for a garden or mini-garden. Some of the things I have grown vegetables and/or flowers in include an old enamel sink (sunk in the ground and holes drilled for drainage), old enamel dishpans, above ground round metal rings from discarded swimming pools, old straw broad-brimmed hats and old plastic garbage cans. All you want is something to hold your soil and your plants ~ I have even seen flowers planted in old discarded boots and coffeepots! Whatever you have already might be just the ticket ~ cut it down or bury it to the level you want.

4. You can turn that hard, red clay you have now into sumptuous black earth with time and a good compost pile. There are many sites on the internet for tips and hints on constructing, starting and maintaining a good, viable compost pile, and they don't cost a thing. Amending your soil (improving what you have now) via compost is like finding black gold!

5. Be on the watch this spring for garage sales, swap meets, gardening exhibitions or just friendly neighbors who will give or sell you (cheaply, of course!) starts or propagated plants for your garden. Local garden clubs are also another great outlet for advice and free stuff. Another is to check NOW with your local school district to see if they have a horticulture class in their curriculum, and if so, when their plant sale will be. This resource remains one of the single biggest money saving venues for this frugal gardener. I have purchased tomato plants, brocolli, pepper plants, cabbage plants, all kinds of annuals (by the flat or tray) and a myriad of house plants as well as beautiful hanging basket arrangements from local high school horticulture classes in four different states.

Be resourceful and look for what you have already that will work. Happy Gardening!

Sandie

[CAGmomof2]

Thank you for your helpful tips and advice!!
I am going to especially do the composting with our yard!!
I have already started a little bit with the composting in our yard!!
I would love to try container gardening !!
Does anyone know of any good websites where I can get even more information on container gardening and working on our yard(our clay soil so one day I can actually grow a succesfull garden)!!
Thank you all so much for your helpful tips and advice!!

[MrsManiac]

Try Gardenweb--they know everything lol!

Also, look around in your community, sometimes construction sites will give away free topsoil--all you have to do is go get it!!(Yes, I have taken lawn and leaf bags, filled them, and lugged them home in my car trunk!)

Also, look up your county extension office. You can send them a soil sample and they'll tell you exactly what you need to do to amend it. You could also try raised beds--when I did this I put a layer of compost down, covered that with layers of newspaper(organic material--will breakdown over the season). Then I put 12-inch high boards around the bed and filled it with dirt(free from a friend who has a farm!). This saved a lot of work on my part, and was fairly inexpensive as I recycled the boards from other things. When the growing season was over, I turned the dirt over and put more newspaper on top, then a thick layer of mulch(free from neighbor who was chipping some trees he'd cut down!). Over fall/winter, all this broke down, and I barely recognize the soil back there now!

Make friends with your neighbors that grow the stuff you'd like to grow, too. If they save their seeds, they'll most likely love to give you some--we usually have more than we know what to do with!
Also, check the dollar stores--I can find seeds sometimes 10 packs/$1. If possible, start your plants from seeds, it's a lot cheaper, but you have to start them indoors if you have a short growing season. If you prefer plants, check around--the feed store here has a greenhouse in the spring and the plants are WAY cheaper than at the store!

Okay--that's all I can think of for now. Good luck getting your garden started! It'll be well worth all the effort you put into it now")

[CAGmomof2]

Thank you for your helpful tips and advice !! My Husband and I talked about the issue of a garden over the weekend and we have decided to use plants that have started to grow and put them in a container so we can let our soil rest and rebuild our soil for another time !!