A lot of public libraries have free seed libraries. One of my local libraries has a wonderfully curated collection of heirloom seeds free for the taking-- they order them in bulk and then repackage them in tiny manilla envelopes with pictures and instructions on them. Also, sometimes you can get pots from new building sites when they're doing the landscaping-- they'd much rather you take all the pots from their trees and perennials than have to haul them to the dump
Woah, thank you for the reminder! I've never actually used these programs but think they're so neat. I'll have to check it out to see if you have something local =)
these are great tips! I agree! I started my garden with seeds I literally saved from Organic tomatoes and peppers I ate! Then bought seeds 4 packs for a dollar from Dollar Tree! Since then it has become an obsession and I am loving building on the initial garden I started! I have saved the first pepper plant grown form seeds I saved from a pepper I ate about 7 yrs ago and I call him the "OG Pepper" and get incredible large red peppers from him. (I overwinter him in my house and decorate him with christmas lights over the holiday season.)
This year I don't have any trays. Instead over winter, I collected plastic food containers and toilet paper rolls. I have started all of my seeds in this totally free setup, only splurging on some plant lights (in lamps I already had). I even had seeds saved from last year's plants, making my expenses on seeds even lower. I've always been frugal, but now I have it in a comfortable and efficient way. This Sunday I went around my rural town and got people's old Christmas trees. I will chop off the branches to use as mulch and fill in beds. The stems will become trellises for climbing plants. Also, people liked to get rid of the trees and I got some good points with my fellow townies.
1. Homemade soil amendments and fertilizers can save a lot of money. 2. Make friends with local gardeners. Swap plants. Seeds. Ideas. 3. Grow veggies from store/market vegetables. I don't cut corners in my garden but I do cut costs. I only buy a few things for my garden. Tools and seeds mostly and I've got a seed buying problem 🤣😂😀🤣 No kids so I have more time than most. 4. Building your own trellises out of wood and trees from your area and from neighbors. I've got several neighbors in my area who drop off their leaves, grass and tree cuttings, etc. 5. Whatever I can't use gets turned into wood ash , compost, mulch and biochar. Gardening doesn't have to be an expensive hobby. I grow at least 50% of our vegetables for about $10 a month and give loads away. My wife even sells a bit which makes my garden virtually free because a few neighbors pay top dollar for locally grown organic veggies. Downside is it takes time. I love building things out of things I find in my garden. When you find that perfect stick that fits the final piece of the puzzle it feels so satisfying. 6. Meet some local organic livestock farmers. I get manure free from one up the road. All I need to do is bag it up. Another neighbor has chickens but no veggie garden. She just sells eggs. I go in and clean out the pen every few months. I get enough to add to compost, fertilize the garden for free. I've got so much I even sprinkle it on my mulch paths just to break it down faster. I'll add some more times to save, save, save $$$$ the next time I revisit this video. This list is long enough. :)
I love all of these but want to echo a few here that would definitely make the "cheap garden tricks part two" video if I ever make one! Such good ideas! 1. Making friends with other gardeners is so fulfilling. I always plant extras and give away seedlings. There's nothing better than hearing about food someone ate from your seedlings! And in turn you can ask for cuttings from their plants =) 2. Trellissing can be so expensive. If you have the skills (I'm terrible at it but learning), you can make really beautiful supports with natural options. I'm using some of our almond tree trimmings for seedling supports right now =)
Last year was my first year really investing my efforts in gardening. I had grown just some cucumbers and carrots the previous year but last year I wanted to grow potatoes, but there was no way in heck I was going to dig those out of hard compacted clay. Not happening. So, top tip, get some large 10-20 dollar plastic storage tubs. Make holes in the bottom, fill the first half with random organic matter, for example this year I used some wood chips and sunflower stalks and last year I used native soil mixed with anything I could find. Then fill the top half with looser soil and top with mulch of your choosing. I grew potatoes from the supermarket in these tubs and they produced well and it was so much easier than digging in a heavy clay soil. This year I got more tubs so I can grow carrots and beets in them as well. This also is a budget way to do raised bed gardening for people with back issues or the elderly who can't really get down to the ground anymore and for someone who only makes 30 dollars a month it was the only way to do potatoes. (I had never seen anyone use those grow bags before, but now that I have seen your video they may have worked just as well if not better, but I received some of the tubs for free, so they were a very good choice for me)
THANK YOU! Love me some creative use of plastic tubs - we've all got 'em and half the time they're stacked in the garage ;) Those fabric bags *can* be super cheap but only if you're pretty patient about waiting for a deal. I got a 100 gallon bag (I'm making a video on it soon!) for $12 bucks =) As you say though, the real challenge is filling them inexpensively. I like your tips on that front. Cheers!
I love using old flower buckets from my local supermarket as plant pots.They let me take loads of them for free and all i have to do is poke some holes in them
I failed this year in my first attempt at a garden in Tennessee. I protected my garden from the deer and other critters with a filament netting, which prevented polination. Such pretty flowers but no squash or cucumbers or eggplants or peppers showed in spite of lots of blooms. I tried to figure out how to polinate by hand but it seemed I did not have both male and female blooms. I have so many critters that will take anything I grow before I can get to it. I am going to try again next year and for now I am enjoying the beauty of the flowers before they fall off. Haha!
Ive been getting black pots from aldis for free and i sure will be using my green house for seed starting. I started most of my seeds last year for cheaper garden and yes i used seed potatoes from aldis and will try starting red raspberries this year. Mother always had a green thumb and passed it on too me . Moms chery bushes was the easiest too start just put the seeds in compost and watch them grow,just transplant them were you want them. So good for jams and jellies or syrups.
Mediterranean herb garden! That sounds like something I should try next year. Will you do a video series on how you choose to plant it out and harvest?
Hey there! I was looking for a video that covered shade cloth and its use. I gather it's extremely hot where you are but I didn't see anything. If I missed it let me know. I currently use old bed sheets when it's blistering hot but I'm trying to use something more appropriate and streamline what I have that could possibly be more efficient and take less storage space and possibly be multi use. You got me thinking maybe I can have some sort of modified shelf for starting seeds in my shed if I can streamline my system. Cleaning out all the miscellaneous containers for dedicated seed starting trays will be 1st up. Thanks again!
I totally agree about the raised beds. I have this gut feeling that our native soil is very good and could be even better with a little amendments, but I have this fear of gophers tearing everything up. We have a lot of gopher activity around here so we made 18 inch beds with hardware cloth underneath. Thankfully we got the soil in bulk from a local nursery and it has proved to be very good quality. I also have a bunch of grow bags to increase growing capacity.
I really do like raised beds as well - and as you say they're perfect for some situations! We're installing more actually. I just find it frustrating to hear from new gardeners who regret purchasing $250 raised beds because they thought it was necessary =(
@@NextdoorHomestead The raised beds are too expensive for me as a retired senior. Goodness even the supplies to make them myself are a bit pricey. I had a friend give me two small raised beds for 15 a piece. 3x2 . The price was so reasonable, I had no idea how expensive they were until I needed more. I don't need a big garden because it's just me so I figured the space would work, but the plants take up a lot of area in the little grow beds. I started looking for more raised garden beds and that is when I realized I couldn't do a garden like that, because I would not be able to pay my rent. I thought about planting in the ground for next year, but the deer, ground hogs, rabbits, moles, and armadillos are too many. My next idea is to find chicken wire on Market place to lay on the ground, and then use grow bags instead of the boarded garden beds. Then I will put up the deer netting around the whole garden section, but keep the top wide open so the birds and bees and butterflys will pollinate the plants. I hope that will work. I want my vegetables to produce more than the pretty flowers next time. Haha!
The pop-up grocery stores sometimes put out racks of old pots. Last year I picked up tons of everything from seed starting cells to gigantic pots, trays etc. They're not the most attractive, but they work! Also, in our town, if people put things out on the curb, it's free for the taking. I've found some really great pots this way, too. I've even gotten old terracotta pots that are maybe chipped or whatever, but still serviceable. Just the other day I picked up 6 15 gallon pots from a neighbour's curb. Growing herbs in landscape fabric or newspaper lined baskets is inexpensive. Growing potatoes in cardboard boxes is great, too. Check out what you can get for free in terms of compost, vermicompost and woodchips. Our municipality makes both compost and woodchips for free. I'm not sure of the quality of the compost, but the wood chips are great. There's a very kind fellow who regularly drops MOUNDS of vermicompost in the parking lot of a business around here 2-3 times a season. It's all free. As much as you can gather. I've already collected 3 5 gallon containers from the pile, and after showing a little restraint for a couple of weeks so that others can pick some up too, I'm going back to get more today. If you're after logs, city tree trimming services will usually allow you to cart those off directly from the cutting site, so they don't have to haul them away. Also, Jadam natural fertilizers are easy and inexpensive to make. I've found excellent information about them on Hew Richards' and Spicy Moustache's channels. I made some last year that's all ready to go this year. It was an excellent use of the Canadian thistle and other perennial weeds I had Growing in my yard. 😊
OK, I always hear about people scoring cheap pots and I never seem to find these deals! Good on you for keeping an eye out. I haven't found any worthwhile cheap/free compost sources outside of my own making but LOVE free woodchips from the arborists. I had the city's team dump their truck of 'em in my side yard last fall and I already need more!
@@NextdoorHomestead I'm in Ontario, Canada, and our Zehrs market usually puts out racks and racks of planters starting in June. You've gotta be quick though - they go fast!
I hit up the dollar tree for lots of gardening stuff including gardening clips, cups like you said and trowels - even seeds like their blue scotch kale seed, Swiss chard, herbs, and flowers are unmatched in price
Really great ideas here. I love the bag ideas as a first year grower. We have a diy store in the UK that sells buckets for £1 they're strong builder types and do well with holes drilled for drainage.
Also love MI gardener - sorry I’m commenting this is an older video but couldn’t help myself - check out his seed grab bags around September Oct bc they sell out super quick and they’re cheap and lots of fun to look through
Hi there! I'm new to your channel and really enjoyed this video. Such great tips! Love the one about using furring strips and yarn as tomato supports. Much more cost-effective than metal stakes/posts (which I've used in the past). The cheap furring strips seem like a perfectly good option, especially when getting started. I hope you get great results! Thanks for sharing these tips! Angela
Hey there! Thank you so much - it's really wonderful to hear that from someone who clearly puts so much into their own garden =) The furring strips are working great so far! The yarn less so but still tweaking and testing it against a synthetic option. Happy gardening!
Save your own seeds it’s really easy and free, keep chickens they provide fantastic manure which can easily be turned into fertiliser and if you set up a chicken composting system you can cut your feed bill in half you can grow the rest of there food as well they will give you manure, fertiliser and compost oh yeh you get eggs as well.
I didn't have chickens yet when I made this but I sure do agree. Aged chicken manure isn't *that* cheap at the store - definitely helps offset the cost of keeping our birds =)
Another great video! My raised bed is part of a project in the block of flats that I live in (I'm in London) so I had zero control over how they were built and filled, hence the heavy clay and sand "soil" that we are working with. In addition the beds were overfilled and compacted so I bought a bunch of grow bags for the excess soil we removed. Just from one 2.5m X 1.5m bed we filled 8 ten gallon bags! Eventually we will amend that soil as well to grow potatoes, carrots, maybe some different varieties of cherry tomatoes. Any other suggestions for things we might grow in them? Do you think a fruit tree might grow in a grow bag , in a block of flats in the middle of London? Thanks in advance 👍🏾
That's a great use case for grow bags! Almost exactly what we do as well - fill them halfway with excess poor soil and then amend generously. The downside is accepting the risk of pathogens/pests in the older soil but I think that's a risk worth taking. As for what to grow in them I wouldn't let yourself be too limited; they're terrific containers. We've grown nightshades, beneficial flowers, leafy greens, vining plants like peas and beans - even cucurbits. For potatoes and carrots and other root crops you'll just need to make sure the soil is loose enough and that the bag is tall enough (they come in different dimensions). I can't speak for London as I've only spent time there in the dead of winter, but it is possible to grow perennial fruits in grow bags if you specifically seek out dwarf or container varieties that match your growing zone. In our hot, arid climate for instance, meyer lemons, nagami kumquats, and small pomegranates are popular container options. I might suggest considering berry bushes in addition - there are some very good, modern container varieties cropping up and berries don't require the same degree of patience as a tree =)
I repurpose anything i can. My husband can get me 50 Gallon blue plastic barrels that had soap in them. We cut them in half spray paint the outside a nice color and i plant large plants in them or multiple small plants. I have a 10 fot hibiscus in one and shes very happy. Also large tires. Paint can make Most anything pretty. I use passion vine stripped of its leaves to use as trellis. I use alot of coffee creamer. So i getting the large contaiers at same. I burn holes in them and hang them with strawberries and small flowers. If i don't have to spend money im happy basically. Plus im saving things from going to the landfill. I use old wood to make beds. If i see wood i usually pick it up because if anything i can use it for something.
So, I love them. Love love love them. I'm biased on that front. Anyhow, I'm not sure. I don't think any of mine have meaningfully deteriorated. Our low humidity may play a part in that though - they are prone to mildewing when wet for long periods of time =(
Yep! They won't grow after hitting the edges. Some folks consider this a positive as it effectively "prunes" the roots without allowing them to get rootbound. I'd probably rather use something opaque but the clearish ones have honestly worked juuuuust perfect and were very, very cheap!
A lot of public libraries have free seed libraries. One of my local libraries has a wonderfully curated collection of heirloom seeds free for the taking-- they order them in bulk and then repackage them in tiny manilla envelopes with pictures and instructions on them. Also, sometimes you can get pots from new building sites when they're doing the landscaping-- they'd much rather you take all the pots from their trees and perennials than have to haul them to the dump
Woah, thank you for the reminder! I've never actually used these programs but think they're so neat. I'll have to check it out to see if you have something local =)
these are great tips! I agree! I started my garden with seeds I literally saved from Organic tomatoes and peppers I ate! Then bought seeds 4 packs for a dollar from Dollar Tree! Since then it has become an obsession and I am loving building on the initial garden I started! I have saved the first pepper plant grown form seeds I saved from a pepper I ate about 7 yrs ago and I call him the "OG Pepper" and get incredible large red peppers from him. (I overwinter him in my house and decorate him with christmas lights over the holiday season.)
This was such a fun origin story to read! Now I wish I had my own OG pepper to decorate at Christmas... ;)
This year I don't have any trays. Instead over winter, I collected plastic food containers and toilet paper rolls. I have started all of my seeds in this totally free setup, only splurging on some plant lights (in lamps I already had). I even had seeds saved from last year's plants, making my expenses on seeds even lower. I've always been frugal, but now I have it in a comfortable and efficient way. This Sunday I went around my rural town and got people's old Christmas trees. I will chop off the branches to use as mulch and fill in beds. The stems will become trellises for climbing plants. Also, people liked to get rid of the trees and I got some good points with my fellow townies.
I love me some frugal gardening! Thank you for sharing your tips. I want to do more natural trellis materials.
1. Homemade soil amendments and fertilizers can save a lot of money.
2. Make friends with local gardeners. Swap plants. Seeds. Ideas.
3. Grow veggies from store/market vegetables.
I don't cut corners in my garden but I do cut costs. I only buy a few things for my garden. Tools and seeds mostly and I've got a seed buying problem 🤣😂😀🤣 No kids so I have more time than most.
4. Building your own trellises out of wood and trees from your area and from neighbors.
I've got several neighbors in my area who drop off their leaves, grass and tree cuttings, etc.
5. Whatever I can't use gets turned into wood ash , compost, mulch and biochar.
Gardening doesn't have to be an expensive hobby. I grow at least 50% of our vegetables for about $10 a month and give loads away. My wife even sells a bit which makes my garden virtually free because a few neighbors pay top dollar for locally grown organic veggies.
Downside is it takes time. I love building things out of things I find in my garden. When you find that perfect stick that fits the final piece of the puzzle it feels so satisfying.
6. Meet some local organic livestock farmers. I get manure free from one up the road. All I need to do is bag it up. Another neighbor has chickens but no veggie garden. She just sells eggs. I go in and clean out the pen every few months. I get enough to add to compost, fertilize the garden for free. I've got so much I even sprinkle it on my mulch paths just to break it down faster. I'll add some more times to save, save, save $$$$ the next time I revisit this video. This list is long enough. :)
I love all of these but want to echo a few here that would definitely make the "cheap garden tricks part two" video if I ever make one! Such good ideas!
1. Making friends with other gardeners is so fulfilling. I always plant extras and give away seedlings. There's nothing better than hearing about food someone ate from your seedlings! And in turn you can ask for cuttings from their plants =)
2. Trellissing can be so expensive. If you have the skills (I'm terrible at it but learning), you can make really beautiful supports with natural options. I'm using some of our almond tree trimmings for seedling supports right now =)
@@NextdoorHomestead looking forward to part 2 :)
Dude. I am HERE for more teachings. I love this man's videos, they are so helpful, and now his comment section is helpful?! Love this community!!
Last year was my first year really investing my efforts in gardening. I had grown just some cucumbers and carrots the previous year but last year I wanted to grow potatoes, but there was no way in heck I was going to dig those out of hard compacted clay. Not happening.
So, top tip, get some large 10-20 dollar plastic storage tubs. Make holes in the bottom, fill the first half with random organic matter, for example this year I used some wood chips and sunflower stalks and last year I used native soil mixed with anything I could find.
Then fill the top half with looser soil and top with mulch of your choosing.
I grew potatoes from the supermarket in these tubs and they produced well and it was so much easier than digging in a heavy clay soil. This year I got more tubs so I can grow carrots and beets in them as well.
This also is a budget way to do raised bed gardening for people with back issues or the elderly who can't really get down to the ground anymore and for someone who only makes 30 dollars a month it was the only way to do potatoes.
(I had never seen anyone use those grow bags before, but now that I have seen your video they may have worked just as well if not better, but I received some of the tubs for free, so they were a very good choice for me)
THANK YOU! Love me some creative use of plastic tubs - we've all got 'em and half the time they're stacked in the garage ;)
Those fabric bags *can* be super cheap but only if you're pretty patient about waiting for a deal. I got a 100 gallon bag (I'm making a video on it soon!) for $12 bucks =)
As you say though, the real challenge is filling them inexpensively. I like your tips on that front.
Cheers!
I love using old flower buckets from my local supermarket as plant pots.They let me take loads of them for free and all i have to do is poke some holes in them
I failed this year in my first attempt at a garden in Tennessee. I protected my garden from the deer and other critters with a filament netting, which prevented polination. Such pretty flowers but no squash or cucumbers or eggplants or peppers showed in spite of lots of blooms. I tried to figure out how to polinate by hand but it seemed I did not have both male and female blooms. I have so many critters that will take anything I grow before I can get to it. I am going to try again next year and for now I am enjoying the beauty of the flowers before they fall off. Haha!
Check if any of those flowers you've got growing are edible 😁
And I'm sure your harvest will be better next year!
Ive been getting black pots from aldis for free and i sure will be using my green house for seed starting. I started most of my seeds last year for cheaper garden and yes i used seed potatoes from aldis and will try starting red raspberries this year. Mother always had a green thumb and passed it on too me . Moms chery bushes was the easiest too start just put the seeds in compost and watch them grow,just transplant them were you want them. So good for jams and jellies or syrups.
Mediterranean herb garden! That sounds like something I should try next year. Will you do a video series on how you choose to plant it out and harvest?
Sounds fun, right?! Can definitely add that to the list. Big question is how to fill such a large container 😅
My favourite tip is getting free nursery pots from the trash at the cementary. The pots the flowers for the graves come in get discarded there
Great idea!
New idea 🔓 unlocked
Hey there! I was looking for a video that covered shade cloth and its use. I gather it's extremely hot where you are but I didn't see anything. If I missed it let me know. I currently use old bed sheets when it's blistering hot but I'm trying to use something more appropriate and streamline what I have that could possibly be more efficient and take less storage space and possibly be multi use. You got me thinking maybe I can have some sort of modified shelf for starting seeds in my shed if I can streamline my system. Cleaning out all the miscellaneous containers for dedicated seed starting trays will be 1st up. Thanks again!
I totally agree about the raised beds. I have this gut feeling that our native soil is very good and could be even better with a little amendments, but I have this fear of gophers tearing everything up. We have a lot of gopher activity around here so we made 18 inch beds with hardware cloth underneath. Thankfully we got the soil in bulk from a local nursery and it has proved to be very good quality. I also have a bunch of grow bags to increase growing capacity.
I really do like raised beds as well - and as you say they're perfect for some situations! We're installing more actually.
I just find it frustrating to hear from new gardeners who regret purchasing $250 raised beds because they thought it was necessary =(
@@NextdoorHomestead The raised beds are too expensive for me as a retired senior. Goodness even the supplies to make them myself are a bit pricey. I had a friend give me two small raised beds for 15 a piece. 3x2 . The price was so reasonable, I had no idea how expensive they were until I needed more. I don't need a big garden because it's just me so I figured the space would work, but the plants take up a lot of area in the little grow beds. I started looking for more raised garden beds and that is when I realized I couldn't do a garden like that, because I would not be able to pay my rent. I thought about planting in the ground for next year, but the deer, ground hogs, rabbits, moles, and armadillos are too many. My next idea is to find chicken wire on Market place to lay on the ground, and then use grow bags instead of the boarded garden beds. Then I will put up the deer netting around the whole garden section, but keep the top wide open so the birds and bees and butterflys will pollinate the plants. I hope that will work. I want my vegetables to produce more than the pretty flowers next time. Haha!
The pop-up grocery stores sometimes put out racks of old pots. Last year I picked up tons of everything from seed starting cells to gigantic pots, trays etc. They're not the most attractive, but they work!
Also, in our town, if people put things out on the curb, it's free for the taking. I've found some really great pots this way, too. I've even gotten old terracotta pots that are maybe chipped or whatever, but still serviceable. Just the other day I picked up 6 15 gallon pots from a neighbour's curb.
Growing herbs in landscape fabric or newspaper lined baskets is inexpensive.
Growing potatoes in cardboard boxes is great, too.
Check out what you can get for free in terms of compost, vermicompost and woodchips. Our municipality makes both compost and woodchips for free. I'm not sure of the quality of the compost, but the wood chips are great. There's a very kind fellow who regularly drops MOUNDS of vermicompost in the parking lot of a business around here 2-3 times a season. It's all free. As much as you can gather. I've already collected 3 5 gallon containers from the pile, and after showing a little restraint for a couple of weeks so that others can pick some up too, I'm going back to get more today.
If you're after logs, city tree trimming services will usually allow you to cart those off directly from the cutting site, so they don't have to haul them away.
Also, Jadam natural fertilizers are easy and inexpensive to make. I've found excellent information about them on Hew Richards' and Spicy Moustache's channels. I made some last year that's all ready to go this year. It was an excellent use of the Canadian thistle and other perennial weeds I had Growing in my yard. 😊
OK, I always hear about people scoring cheap pots and I never seem to find these deals! Good on you for keeping an eye out.
I haven't found any worthwhile cheap/free compost sources outside of my own making but LOVE free woodchips from the arborists. I had the city's team dump their truck of 'em in my side yard last fall and I already need more!
@@NextdoorHomestead I'm in Ontario, Canada, and our Zehrs market usually puts out racks and racks of planters starting in June. You've gotta be quick though - they go fast!
I hit up the dollar tree for lots of gardening stuff including gardening clips, cups like you said and trowels - even seeds like their blue scotch kale seed, Swiss chard, herbs, and flowers are unmatched in price
We got a lot of our sunflowers from there this year. Such a fun aisle - I always take a look to see what we can use.
sorry bruddah, ty for the good information. am running into the same issue with grow bags, trying to make them a little more sightly. 🙏🏽
I never did figure out how to make them look nice. I still use them, but replaced a lot with metal raised beds =(
Really great ideas here. I love the bag ideas as a first year grower. We have a diy store in the UK that sells buckets for £1 they're strong builder types and do well with holes drilled for drainage.
Packets of joy they are 💕
Also love MI gardener - sorry I’m commenting this is an older video but couldn’t help myself - check out his seed grab bags around September Oct bc they sell out super quick and they’re cheap and lots of fun to look through
I LOVE their sale. I went crazy last year and must have bought at least 20 random things. So fun.
@@NextdoorHomestead agree 💯
Hi there! I'm new to your channel and really enjoyed this video. Such great tips! Love the one about using furring strips and yarn as tomato supports. Much more cost-effective than metal stakes/posts (which I've used in the past). The cheap furring strips seem like a perfectly good option, especially when getting started. I hope you get great results! Thanks for sharing these tips! Angela
Hey there! Thank you so much - it's really wonderful to hear that from someone who clearly puts so much into their own garden =)
The furring strips are working great so far! The yarn less so but still tweaking and testing it against a synthetic option.
Happy gardening!
@@NextdoorHomestead You're so welcome! Happy gardening to you as well!
Save your own seeds it’s really easy and free, keep chickens they provide fantastic manure which can easily be turned into fertiliser and if you set up a chicken composting system you can cut your feed bill in half you can grow the rest of there food as well they will give you manure, fertiliser and compost oh yeh you get eggs as well.
I didn't have chickens yet when I made this but I sure do agree. Aged chicken manure isn't *that* cheap at the store - definitely helps offset the cost of keeping our birds =)
Another great video! My raised bed is part of a project in the block of flats that I live in (I'm in London) so I had zero control over how they were built and filled, hence the heavy clay and sand "soil" that we are working with. In addition the beds were overfilled and compacted so I bought a bunch of grow bags for the excess soil we removed. Just from one 2.5m X 1.5m bed we filled 8 ten gallon bags!
Eventually we will amend that soil as well to grow potatoes, carrots, maybe some different varieties of cherry tomatoes. Any other suggestions for things we might grow in them? Do you think a fruit tree might grow in a grow bag , in a block of flats in the middle of London?
Thanks in advance 👍🏾
That's a great use case for grow bags! Almost exactly what we do as well - fill them halfway with excess poor soil and then amend generously. The downside is accepting the risk of pathogens/pests in the older soil but I think that's a risk worth taking.
As for what to grow in them I wouldn't let yourself be too limited; they're terrific containers. We've grown nightshades, beneficial flowers, leafy greens, vining plants like peas and beans - even cucurbits. For potatoes and carrots and other root crops you'll just need to make sure the soil is loose enough and that the bag is tall enough (they come in different dimensions).
I can't speak for London as I've only spent time there in the dead of winter, but it is possible to grow perennial fruits in grow bags if you specifically seek out dwarf or container varieties that match your growing zone. In our hot, arid climate for instance, meyer lemons, nagami kumquats, and small pomegranates are popular container options.
I might suggest considering berry bushes in addition - there are some very good, modern container varieties cropping up and berries don't require the same degree of patience as a tree =)
Dollar seed company! I'll have to try them out!
I've got to say, their seeds have germinated really well for us. I'm a fan.
So interesting!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching =)
I repurpose anything i can. My husband can get me 50 Gallon blue plastic barrels that had soap in them. We cut them in half spray paint the outside a nice color and i plant large plants in them or multiple small plants. I have a 10 fot hibiscus in one and shes very happy. Also large tires. Paint can make Most anything pretty.
I use passion vine stripped of its leaves to use as trellis.
I use alot of coffee creamer. So i getting the large contaiers at same. I burn holes in them and hang them with strawberries and small flowers.
If i don't have to spend money im happy basically. Plus im saving things from going to the landfill.
I use old wood to make beds. If i see wood i usually pick it up because if anything i can use it for something.
Thank you!
No problem at all!
08:20 root growth is more robust because fabric grow bags employ air pruning technology.👍
When do you find soil enhancers & amendments go on sale? I'm not finding any in my area. Are the sales at the big box stores?
where do fabric bags go on sale?
I typically monitor Amazon for good sales!
How many seasons did you get out of one grow bag? Never tried them.
So, I love them. Love love love them. I'm biased on that front.
Anyhow, I'm not sure. I don't think any of mine have meaningfully deteriorated. Our low humidity may play a part in that though - they are prone to mildewing when wet for long periods of time =(
Will clear plastic affect the roots at all in some plants?
Yep! They won't grow after hitting the edges. Some folks consider this a positive as it effectively "prunes" the roots without allowing them to get rootbound. I'd probably rather use something opaque but the clearish ones have honestly worked juuuuust perfect and were very, very cheap!
@@NextdoorHomestead I'll still use recycled plastic to grow but worth knowing.
Those grow bags will even hold a huge pot plant. Just an FYI.
I always say that I'm so cheap I squeak! LOL
go to a local farmer and ask for mineral tubas for raised beds
Oh, that's a good one! Thanks for the tip =)
instead of grow bags, lol, hyuck hyuck hyuck hyuck , hope your ok 👍🏽
Hmm?