Simple ways to save money while you garden
Those piles of fallen leaves covering your yard could become valuable compost, but there’s one simple trick that can make them decompose much faster. Instead of tossing whole leaves into your compost bin and waiting months for them to break down, running them through your lawn mower first can make a noticeable difference. The reason…
Your kitchen scraps could be the secret to turning all those fallen leaves into rich garden compost, but there’s a catch. Tossing everything into a pile without paying attention to the proportions can leave you with a soggy, smelly mess instead of the nutrient-rich soil amendment you were hoping for. Fortunately, balancing leaves and kitchen…
Before you bag up all those fallen leaves and put them on the curb, consider this: You could be throwing away one of the most valuable ingredients for your garden’s soil. Fall provides an abundance of free composting materials, and many homeowners don’t realize how much money they could save by putting them to work….
A packet of seeds can cost less than a single trip through the grocery store’s produce aisle, but does growing your own food actually save money? The answer depends on what you’re planting, how much you harvest, and whether you’re comparing your garden against everyday grocery prices or weekly sales. Some vegetables are so inexpensive…
That $150 backyard makeover might seem like a brilliant way to improve your outdoor space without spending thousands of dollars. A few bags of gravel, some inexpensive landscape edging, or a small DIY water feature can completely change how your yard looks. But what happens when that budget-friendly improvement starts causing drainage problems, damaging nearby…
A $20 tree at the garden center might seem like one of the best landscaping bargains you’ll ever find. It’s small, healthy-looking, and promises years of shade, privacy, or beautiful seasonal color. But that inexpensive purchase could eventually lead to thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses if you plant the wrong tree in the wrong…
A neighbor offers you a truckload of free manure just as you’re cleaning out your garden for fall. It sounds like the perfect opportunity to improve your soil without spending money on expensive fertilizers or bagged compost. After all, manure has been used to enrich gardens for generations, so what could possibly go wrong? Quite…
What if the lettuce you bought at the grocery store could grow again instead of going straight into the trash? That’s the promise behind a popular social media gardening trick that involves placing the leftover base of a lettuce head in a shallow container of water. Within days, tiny green leaves may begin appearing from…
You might love the towering privacy hedge, elaborate flower beds, or backyard pond you’ve spent years creating, but potential homebuyers may see something entirely different. Instead of admiring your landscaping, they could be calculating how much money and time it will take to maintain or remove everything. That’s a problem if you’re planning to sell…