Cheap Gardening: What to Plant and When

Are you ready to get your hands dirty for the best tasting produce you've ever had? I sure am. I've been craving old-fashioned tomatoes, berries, cucumbers, peppers, and lots and lots of basil for a few months now.

I have written in the past about getting cheap planters and soil and how to find seeds for cheap or even free, now it's time to figure out when to plant your seeds and what is best for your area.

First, you'll want to figure out what zone you're in. Here's a nice map that allows you to search by your zip code. I am lucky enough to live in Southern California, where we have less "bad weather" even though we complain if it drizzles or drops below 60 degrees. Spoiled people problems.

Next, you can look at charts (or the back of your seed packet if you already have some) to figure out the best time to plant for your zone. Here's a nice basic chart, another that let's you search by zone, or you can get a lil fancy and sign up for this one and order seeds at the same time. If you want to grow anything unusual or heirloom I suggest you just obtain seeds on your own. If you're looking to be more modern, there's even this plant app for $2.

Cheap Gardening: Planters and Soil

If you need a bunch of pots or just have a large area of ground to fill with rich soil... the cost can add up very quickly. Let's explore some ways to get what you need for cheap!

Planters:

Be creative! Check garage sales and thrift stores for not only regular planters, but anything that can be used as a planter! Just make sure you can drill holes on the bottom of the container for better drainage. If you don't care about the way the planter looks you can even use jars, jugs, and just about anything else laying around the house! Just keep in mind, plastic or metal containers will not "breathe" as well as pottery or wood, and some plants will need a decent sized pot to grow in.

Cheap Gardening: Seeds and Plants

Hey, ya'll. It's time (at least for us Californians) to start thinking about planting gardens! Anyone can do it, even those who don't have a yard, and it's completely rewarding! I prefer plants of the edible kind, so I'm going to mostly cover information on those, but flowers are amazing, too!

For those of us who have planted gardens before, you know it can get kind of pricey to buy all things needed unless you just happen to have a perfect spot in the ground ready to go. My house is surrounded by a wood deck - it's nice, but there's not much ground we were able to use for plants, which meant buying a lot of containers and a ton of soil. Of course we also had to buy trees and other expensive rare plants because it can be a bit of an obsession. Let's just say I don't really want to think about how much money has been spent over the past year or two. In the process I have picked up some tips on how to get things done for cheap and even free.

Today we will start with plants and seeds.

What's Growin' On?

I stole that line. I'm keeping it for myself.

It's about that time of the year to start thinking about plants and gardening. At least it is for me. Whether you have a yard, porch, windowsill, or office desk - there's room for plants in your life.

In the next few weeks I will post cheap ways to have some shrubbery of your own (of the non-human kind) so that you can reap the benefits of fresh produce and pretty flowers. For now I leave you with a new Etsy Treasury list of inexpensive gardening finds:

What's growin' on?