Simple ways to save money while you garden
Just because temperatures are dropping doesn’t mean your landscaping projects have to stop. In fact, fall can be one of the best times to plant shrubs, especially if you’re hoping to save money on end-of-season garden center sales. But there’s a catch: Planting shrubs before winter requires careful timing and proper preparation to give their…
That fresh mound of mulch around your tree might look like you’ve done everything right to protect it before winter, but it could actually be causing damage that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars to fix. The practice is called volcano mulching, and it’s surprisingly common in residential neighborhoods, commercial landscapes, and even professionally…
Walk into almost any garden center, and you’ll find shelves filled with products promising bigger vegetables, healthier flowers, stronger roots, and fewer weeds. Before long, a simple weekend gardening project can turn into a shopping trip costing far more than expected. But here’s something experienced gardeners understand: Some of the most heavily marketed garden products…
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….
That beautiful little tree at the garden center might seem like the perfect addition to your front yard, but planting it in the wrong spot could become an expensive mistake. What starts as a $40 landscaping purchase can eventually turn into cracked pavement, clogged gutters, damaged siding, or costly tree removal. The problem isn’t necessarily…
What if the fallen leaves covering your yard could replace some of the expensive soil amendments you buy every spring? Instead of bagging them up for collection, you can turn those leaves into a dark, crumbly material that helps garden soil hold moisture, improves its structure, and supports healthier plant growth. It’s called leaf mold,…
A free load of manure from a nearby farm might seem like gardening gold, especially when you’re trying to improve your soil without spending a fortune on fertilizer. But spread the wrong manure around your vegetables or flowers, and that inexpensive soil amendment could do more harm than good. Fresh manure can contain high concentrations…
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…