Gardening can be expensive but certainly does not have to be. Here are some ideas to help you get started, or to expand what you are already doing.
- Check out Freecycle - every spring, summer and fall there are postings for free garden tools, divisions of perennials, tomato cages, canning jars, compost and even offers for bumper crops of freshly harvested tomatoes and squash. You can either respond to an offer, or post a wanted on Freecycle. Its easy and free, just sign up.
http://www.freecycle.org/group/US/Wisconsin and then select Madison.
- Another thought would be to check Craigslist, especially for larger items like wheelbarrows, compost in large quantities, and more.
Check out http://madison.craigslist.org/
- Dividing existing plants is a great way to expand your garden with just a bit of time and effort. All it takes is to put out the word as friends and family may have divisions, and seeds. It is also a great way start a "memory" garden as it would consist of plants from people you care about. I have lilies and lilacs from my grandmother, long since gone. I also have deep purple iris that smells like grape kool aid from a dear friend. She brought them over one evening and we transplanted them by the light of the moon and flashlights, laughing and giggling like children. Every time those iris bloom I think of her.
- If you don't have much of a yard or live in an apartment with a balcony or patio, consider growing plants in containers. This could help your grocery bill as lots of vegetables and herbs can be grown successfully in containers. Consider tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, bush variety squash, onions, peppers, and more. For containers, pretty much anything goes if it has drainage and is large enough. Empty cat litter pails, 5 gallon buckets, Rubbermaid totes would all need to have holes drilled in the bottom to allow drainage.
- Plant sales and farm markets are great places to find starter plants for your garden. Olbrich Botanical Gardens annual Plant Sale with the Pros is scheduled for Friday May 11 for members from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the general public on Saturday May 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. http://www.olbrich.org
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