• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Frugal Gardening

Simple ways to save money while you garden

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Garden Frugally
  • Buy These
  • Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Gardening 10 Commandments

August 10, 2017 by Steph Coelho Leave a Comment

Every gardener has some commandments that the hold dear and follow. These are my 10 commandments for frugal gardening, as well as for beginning gardeners who are just getting started:

1. Thou shalt have fun: If you aren’t having fun while gardening, find another hobby

2. Thou shalt save money, not spend money: If you are planting a frugal garden, the bounty you receive should ultimately save you money over the amount you put into the garden

3. Thou shalt not acquire needy plants: Nothing makes it into my garden if it has specific needs or is just constantly needy (I sat through a garden club lecture & demo once where the speaker included the word critical more than a half dozen times…nothing goes in my garden that has a word like “critical” attached to it!)

4. Thou shalt not acquire fleeting plants: Anything I plant needs to stick with me. In other words, it can’t be a fleeting, flash in the garden bed sort of annual. No spot-of-color sort of event in my garden. Plants have to come back again and again; and on their own too!

5. Thou shalt keep digging to a minimum: The less digging the better. I’m all for raised beds, container gardening and getting anyone else to do any necessary digging!

6. Thou shalt be willing to try new things: I will try anything once. I know, this is a slight contradiction to Commandment #3, but it is my garden & I reserve the right to try anything once. I can always pass it along to someone else if it doesn’t behave itself and it may turn out to be something that is perfect for my garden that I can use again and again.

7. Thou shalt not acquire thirsty plants: Besides my veggie garden area, I don’t want anything in my garden that will expire if it doesn’t get a daily drink of water. Things need to hold their own here as I don’t have a drip or irrigation system and I just don’t seem to be the kind of gardener that remembers to water everything at exactly the right time. Plants with good root systems will win out every time, over those that are more delicate.

8. Thou shalt favor plants with multiple uses: Plants that do two things, instead of just one, will win a spot in my garden every time. Shrubs that are green all year and flower sometime during the year are great, as are trees that show off early spring blossoms as well as provide shade during the summer. Plants that are interesting in my borders or cottage gardens plus provide veggies for the table are favorites and any plant that has a fragrance is a sure addition.

9. Thou shalt not hide your garden in the back corner: The older I get, the closer my gardens get to the house. When I began gardening, most of my beds were in the back forty; nice because there was lots of room and they could be interesting…or not. No one but me usually saw them. With my move to this current property, my gardens are located right outside my front door. This was initially due to not having any other ground ready to plant plus the proximity to a water faucet.

I will never do the back forty kind of gardening again. This is just way too much fun. Everyone that comes to my house, from family to the UPS driver, has some sort of comment about the gardens. And, since people are always visiting; I’m so much more interested in working to keep the gardens up to snuff!

10. Thou shalt disturb weeds often: My last commandment has to be the advice I received from a great old gardener friend: Disturb the little, almost invisible weed seeds on a regular basis (read this as daily) and there will be no need to spend hours weeding. So true. The more time I spend just cultivating the dirt in between the plants & rows, the fewer weeds I ever see, the little weed sprouts just get too discouraged to grow.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Grow Plants From Cuttings
Next Post: Garden For Free »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
  Thank you for Signing Up
Please correct the marked field(s) below.

1,true,6,Contact Email,21,false,1,First Name,21,false,1,Last Name,2

Popular Posts

  • Vinegar Uses In GardenVinegar Uses In Garden by Steph Coelho 1. Clay Pot Cleaning: Vinegar will remove the white salt…
  • Troubleshooting the Seed Starting Process: Using Old SeedsTroubleshooting the Seed Starting Process: Using Old Seeds by Steph Coelho I'm typing this up on a gloomy day here in…
  • Garden For FreeGarden For Free by Steph Coelho Is it possible to have a lush flower garden, produce…
  • Frugal Container GardenFrugal Container Garden by Steph Coelho Pots and planters can be an expensive item if you're…

Are You Ready to Buy a Home?

For most people, buying a home is the biggest expense of their lifetime. On top of that, a home also comes with many additional fees, some unexpected. If you’re considering buying a home within the next year, make sure you know everything involved with homeownership. Listed below are a few things to consider. Varying Interest…

Read More

buying seedlings

Buying Seedlings: Getting Your Money’s Worth

I am exhausted to the bone. Normally, at this time of year, I get excited about seed starting. I take stock of my seed supplies, order seeds I’m missing, and start planning out my garden. This year, I’ve yet to do any of that. I’m too overwhelmed and tired, so I’ve decided to forego starting…

Read More

How to Dye Flowers With Food Coloring

With the pandemic still limiting social outings, parents may be dreading the upcoming spring break. This fun little project is a great way to expend some creative energy during the March break or all through the summer. Dye flowers with food coloring and make a rainbow to display in a favorite vase. Use storebought flowers…

Read More

buying houseplants

5 Houseplants That Won’t Waste Your Money

Ever since the pandemic began, I slowly started buying houseplants. I’d scour my favorite online nurseries and pounce when they had a sale or coupon code up for grabs. Of course, I already had some plants before the COVID situation, but adding more made my home feel cozier, livelier. When buying plants, I always opt…

Read More

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework