Tested Hacks that Save Money and Get the Job Done - and Put Food on the Table
Gardening can be an incredibly rewarding hobby, and it's great when you can avoid a trip to the grocery store and replace it with a quick trip to your back yard garden. But too often, it can come with a hefty price tag— from plant starts to tools, soil amendments like compost and fertilizer, trellises, row covers and more.
But with a little creativity and some smart strategies, you can create a thriving garden without breaking the bank. There are plenty of budget-friendly ways you can get your garden going and help feed your family. Here are some simple gardening tricks that I've tested over the years as I've grown food for my family.
Tricks to grow food without spending a fortune
Start Small.
Nothing says you have to have a huge garden when you're starting out. In fact, I would say it's easier to control weeds and manage a smaller space. Did you know you can create a "mini greenhouse" and grow salad greens on your patio with just a 1 cubic foot bag of potting soil, a 16-gallon-size clear plastic tote, and a packet of seeds? You can! The total cost is less than $20.
How to Create a Mini Greenhouse with a Storage Tote:
- Get your clear storage tote bin, and flip it upside down so the lid is on the ground and the bin sits on top of it. Remove the bin so only the lid is resting on the ground.
- Place the bag of potting soil down so it's laying flat on top of the lid, and cut a large rectangular section of the bag out of the "front," leaving about three inches of plastic around the rectangle. Think of it like you're leaving a frame around a picture, but in this case it's the sides and a little of the top portion of the plastic bag so it will still hold your soil.
- Loosen the soil with gloved hands or a garden trowel.
- Plant your lettuce seeds in the open soil you've prepared. Follow spacing instructions according to your seed packet. Don't forget to water your seeds!
- Take the "bin" part of your storage tote and place it on top of the lid. You should still have some space around the bag of soil so it can latch with the lid.
- Monitor and water your new "greenhouse" and watch as your lettuce grows! This works great with lettuce, spinach, and other greens that don't need a lot of soil depth to grow.
Find Local Gardening Friends
I joined a local "homesteading" group on Facebook where they talk about gardening as well as livestock. I don't have livestock on my small suburban lot, but those connections have paid off in knowledge and in free and cheap resources. Would I recognize them on the street in my local community? Probably not, but we help each other out online.
Tap Into Their Gardening Experience. Joining one of those groups, you'll be able to quickly tap into a wealth of information about your local growing area. With just a few clicks, I've been able to get questions answered in terms of when plants are best put in the ground outside as well as which varieties do/do not do well in our USDA growing zone. Want to know what kind of critter is damaging your plants? Are you wondering if it's too late to plant your potatoes? Just ask the group. These folks are very willing to share their knowledge and experience!
Tap Into Their Shared Resources. Shortly after I joined my local group, one of the women asked if anyone wanted to join in on a large order of onion starts so we could all get bulk pricing and minimize shipping fees. I didn't have an order small enough to get them on my own, but through this offer, I was able to get not just one, but two kinds of storage onions... for a song, thanks to that bulk pricing. I simply dropped by her front porch after she posted that they arrived, dropped my cash off on her table and picked up the bag that was labeled for me.
I've also found others that start lots of seeds and then sell their extra seedlings for less than the garden stores. One year I picked up my tomato starts for about $2 each, which was about a dollar less than what the garden center was asking. I also got to try out some new varieties that the garden center wasn't selling.
One thing I've also seen in my group is offers to give away things someone no longer needs. It's a great way to pick up tools and other equipment!
Join Your Local "Free" or "Buy Nothing" Groups
Joining local "buy nothing" groups can give you opportunities to get gardening supplies that people don't need anymore. I've seen shovels and other garden tools, canning jars, even extra bags of soil and compost when someone ordered too much for themselves. Keep your eyes open.
Start From Seeds if You Can
A packet of seeds at the grocery store goes on sale for around $1 each. There are so many seeds in lettuce packets that you can feed a veritable army from just one envelope. In my area, a single head of lettuce from the grocery store costs around $2 in early 2025. Plant STARTS are still a better option compared to a head of lettuce, but a pack of six lettuce plant starts will run about $3-$4 locally. If at all possible, seeds are the way to go.
A leftover plastic clamshell container from the bakery makes for a great mini greenhouse! Just drop your little seedling trays in there and close it up to keep the heat in as your seeds start to grow.
Party Cups Make Great Pots for Seed Starting
Yes, I said party cups. Those red, 16 oz plastic cups you'll often see at parties are GREAT for starting seeds!
Stop by the dollar store (ok, maybe "the $1.25 store"), and for less than $4 you'll be set to add soil and seeds and start growing. Here's your materials list for starting seeds with party cups:
- One pack of 16 oz plastic party cups, any color
- One pack of CLEAR 16 oz plastic party cups
- One bag of floral marbles (the kind they put into the base of a vase to disguise the stems)
- Seed packets of your choice
- One 8 quart bag of regular potting mix or seed starting mix, your choice (I've used both)
- Plastic wrap, for trapping moisture as you're waiting for your steeds to germinate
How to start seeds in party cups:
- Use an X-Acto or utility knife to carefully either cut drainage holes out of the bottom or drainage slits out of the lower sides of your colored cups
- Fill colored cups half- to two-thirds full of soil
- Plant seeds as directed, about two per cup so you've got a second backup seed in there in case one of them doesn't germinate
- Place one or two marbles in the base of each of the CLEAR plastic cups
- Drop the colored cups with the soil and seeds into the plastic cups. They'll sit up off the bottom so you can see when your seeds need to be watered.
- After you've watered in your seeds, place a sheet of plastic wrap loosely over the tops of your cups to keep the humidity in and encourage germination
- If you have a grow light (cheap clamp-on grow lights are less than $10 at the hardware store), turn it on and place it over your seeds. In just a few days, you'll see green starts poking through!
No Yard? Get Creative with Buckets
I've seen lots of people growing plants in 5-gallon buckets from the hardware store. Just drill in some drainage holes, fill them about ⅔ or ¾ full with potting mix, and plant your seedlings. I've seen this with tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli and more. This works well on patios and balconies!
Have an indoor cat? Kitty litter comes in many packages - some brands even package it up in 3-gallon buckets. Simply wash and repurpose those 3-gallon buckets that hold kitty litter just like you would a 5-gallon utility bucket.
Do you buy in bulk? Even smaller buckets that might hold rice or other bulk foods will work well. Look around and get creative.
Need a Row Cover? Head to the Painting & Plumbing Aisles
One of my favorite tricks for a cheap row cover that keeps my early outdoor plantings safe from colder nights is to head to the painting and plumbing aisles instead of the garden center.
Your shopping list includes a package of plastic drop cloths, some flexible PVC piping, and some 18" rebar stakes. Just make sure your plastic drop cloths are the thicker ones - 1 ML or 2 ML are best, as the .7 ML ones tear too easily and are too thin to keep any heat in.
Stick your rebar stakes along your garden edge, keeping at least 8 inches above ground. I have raised beds, so it's pretty easy to stick them down into the loose soil. But this will work well if you've got a more traditional in-ground garden, too. Once you've got your stakes in the ground, place that flexible plastic PVC piping over the ends of your stakes, making an arch with the pipes, over to the opposite side of your garden. You'll end up with a structure that kind of looks like the inside of a covered wagon. Now unfurl the plastic drop cloth and drape it over your arches. Use bigger rocks, old wood blocks or bricks to weigh down the edges of the plastic so they don't blow away. You've now created a low tunnel for under $20!