35 Cheats for Garden | Clever Gardening Tips to Save Money

Sheri Dorn is a versatile homesteader and culinary artist with a strong focus on organic and heirloom gardening. Holding a Master's degree in Culinary Arts, she combines her love for cooking and gardening in a unique way. Sheri is an active contributor to online gardening communities and enjoys quality outdoor time with her family and pets.
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Gardening can be quite expensive and if you want to break into this game without spending much, then have a look at these Cheats for Garden!

Taking care of your plants can be time-consuming and expensive in the long run. If you want to save some bucks and enjoy more time in the garden, follow these amazing Cheats for Garden!

Have a look at some amazing balcony homesteading ideas here


Cheats for Garden

Testing Soil

1. Check the Soil Texture for Free

Cheats for Garden

Gather up a small scoop of moist soil and make its ball. Poke your finger in the middle–if the soil is loamy and sandy, then it’ll crumble. If it doesn’t crumble, the soil is mostly clay. Simple!

Check out our article on soil testing here

2. Testing the Soil pH

Pour the garden soil into a glass jar, and add water to make it muddy. Now, add half a cup of white vinegar to the container and stir well. You will know your soil is alkaline if it bubbles or fizzes.

If you want to test for acidity, follow the same steps as above and add half a cup of baking soda to the container and stir properly. If it fizzes or bubbles, it is acidic. 

Learn how to check the soil pH at home here


Amending the Soil

3. Grass Clippings

Cheats for Garden 2

Collect grass clippings after you mow your lawn to make a grass clipping fertilizer. They are exceptionally high in nitrogen content with smaller doses of phosphorous, potassium, and several micronutrients that can help your plants grow well.

Learn how to use grass clippings in the garden here

4. Leaf Mold

Collect the fallen leaves from trees to make your own leaf mold, especially in autumn. It is one of the best organic fertilizers and soil conditioners, which also boosts water retention in soil by more than 50 percent. 

5. Humus

Cheats for Garden 3

Humus is considered to be the ultimate soil fixer as it is the end-product of composting. It is packed with beneficial microorganisms and nutrients that help plants grow.

Start a compost system at home that will help to provide you with a regular supply of this organic matter. 


Seeds

6. Seed Saving

Saving seeds from your existing vegetables, grain, herbs, and flowers is a great way to grow plants for free! It is one of the best cheats for the garden!

Check out the free seeds you can find in your pantry here

7. Seed Swapping

Trade seeds with a friend, gardener, or neighbor to get some other varieties of free seeds. You can also sign up for some online community program or check out the local free classifieds and even different Facebook pages and groups for seed swapping.


Plant Starts

8. Regrow Your Food

Cheats for Garden 4

You can buy several kinds of foods once and then regrow them forever, including potatoes, green onions, leeks, ginger, bok choy, garlic.

Check out the vegetables that regrow themselves here

9. Plant Cuttings

Several varieties of flowers, herbs, and foliage plants can be propagated easily from cuttings without causing any harm to the guardian plant. 

Here are the best houseplants and herbs you can grow from cuttings 

10. Division

Cheats for Garden 5
countrygardener

Perennial plants can self-propagate through roots, rhizomes, and bulbs. Many of these can be divided every year to cover up any empty patches in the backyard. It is one of the best Cheats for the Garden!

Check out the best plants you can grow from division here

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1 COMMENT

  1. These were some really amazing, smart & savvy ideas to boost soil nutrition, plant growth, and protection. Amazing blog!

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