The recent barrage of TikTok shop ads for beginner gardening tools – grow lights, raised beds, you name it – is overwhelming. While these items have value, the aggressive marketing preys on the prevalent concerns surrounding food insecurity and inflation, creating a false urgency that pressures new gardeners into unnecessary spending.
The truth is, you can do SO MUCH with gardening before you ever spend a penny. Over the past ten years, I’ve been gardening on the cheap in rentals, on patios, and in borrowed garden space while I saved up for a homestead of my own. Here are some of the ways I did it:
Acquiring Seeds & Advice:
- Find a local gardening Facebook group, or ask in your local town’s group, to get in touch with fellow gardeners. They will be happy to share advice, and most avid gardeners would be more than happy to give away some of their excess seeds.
- Older seeds are usually fine! Don’t be afraid to buy recently “expired” seeds from the sale rack; sometimes thrift stores will receive unsold seeds from gardening centers. Some libraries even have seed swap programs.
- Ask your local University’s Master Gardener program for advice and resources. My local organization sets up a booth at the big farmer’s markets. They’re very nice and happy to give advice!
Improving Your Soil:
- Ask your local Public Works department if they have free or discounted soil amendments, such as leaf compost.
- If your local University has an Agriculture program, you can get your soil tested very inexpensively; I would only do this if you’re trying to grow directly in the ground, or if you had soil health issues last year. If you’re growing in raised beds that have been filled with potting soil or similar, there is no need.
- Get free coffee grounds from local coffee shops. The Starbucks’ near me have a basket by the door; you don’t need to be a customer to take them. You can also ask local/small coffee shops if they have a program or would be willing to save them for you.
- If you know anyone who has farm animals, ask for aged manure! You will probably need a truck to haul it, or you can put a tarp down in a hatchback/trunk – aged manure does not smell.
- Sign up for ChipDrop; this service connects tree companies with gardeners. If they are working on trees in your area, they might be able to drop off some wood chips for you to use as mulch. Important Note: if you sign up for ChipDrop, you might get a LOT of mulch all at once. This is not recommended for people who are in an apartment or have a small yard/garden. Or, if you are in a small space – get some neighbors in on it and share the wealth!
Acquiring Containers & Raised Beds:
- Check garage sales, Craigslist, and your local Facebook Buy Nothing group for pots and containers. Also, keep your eyes peeled on the side of the road during spring cleanouts – I have found a ton of great pots for free! Be sure to clean and sanitize them first.
- Ask local food preparers, such as delis, grocery stores, or restaurants, for food-safe buckets. It’s really important that they are food-safe. Drill holes for drainage.
- I have not done this yet, but I’m very interested in pallet beds or picket beds, both of which I’ve seen easy plans for on TikTok. Either way you will need some power tools.
- I do not recommend fabric pots, unless you are willing to replace them every 1-2 years. They break down pretty quickly when in contact with moisture and sunlight – even more quickly if a rodent decides the fabric material is a nice amendment for their rodent nest.
Starting Seeds & Acquiring More Plants
Note: If you are brand new to gardening, I only recommend starting seeds with leafy greens – lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach. Larger plants, such as tomatoes and peppers, take a really long time to get started. While it is much cheaper to start them yourself, you’ll likely be more successful and get a better harvest as a new gardener if you buy starts from a local nursery.
- Use your trash to start your seeds: yogurt cups, cut-off milk jugs, takeout containers, cardboard toilet paper rolls – get creative!
- Ask for divisions and cuttings from friends, or from your new community gardening contacts:
- Both basil and tomatoes are very easy to root in water.
- Plants like rhubarb and asparagus are grown from rhizomes (underground stem-like structures), which can be periodically divided to create new plants.
- Strawberries grow from runners, and tend to take over any space they’re growing in.
- Grow your groceries! Plant the ends of your romaine hearts, regrow green onions, plant an extra clove or two of garlic, cover a sprouting potato with soil and see what happens!
- No matter what the internet might tell you, you cannot regrow root vegetables like onions or carrots. If you plant them, they may grow greens, which then may flower and produce seeds, and then in theory you can plant the seeds. This is not worth the time commitment.
Spending money on gardening accessories can increase your harvest and make your life easier – and it can also be really fun. This year I finally invested in soil blockers, and all of my seeds for this year are sitting on heat mats and under grow lights in my adopted family’s new greenhouse.
But don’t let social media make you feel like you have to spend money NOW. You can be a great gardener and have an amazing harvest this year with minimal upfront cost.
And when it comes to buying products, personally, I’d rather save up and buy a high quality product once than buy a low quality product multiple times – and so far, almost everything I’ve seen hawked on the TikTok shop is on the lower end of the quality spectrum.
If you’re a new gardener this year and want to know how to save money on something – let me know what your problem is and I’d be happy to help you come up with some solutions!
If you’re an experienced gardener, what tips and tricks do you have that save money on gardening?
Talk soon,
KC
P.S.: I’m now just three months out from closing on my new farm. Follow me on TikTok if you want to see every detail as I build my homestead – and DM me if you have advice to share!