LIFESTYLE NEWS - Creating a beautiful garden doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Here are some money saving gardening tips that will help you stick to your budget and even save water.
Start small
It’s cheaper to buy a smaller plant and wait for it to grow than to buy a bigger one.
Harvest rainwater
Save on your water bills by installing a rainwater tank and use this harvested water to irrigate your garden, either by attaching your hosepipe to it or hooking it up to your irrigation system.
According to Rod Cairns, managing director of JoJo Tanks, for every 1mm of rain that falls onto 1m² of surface area, you can generate 1 litre of water. So, if the annual rainfall is 500mm and you are capturing rain off a 500m² roof, you could collect up to 250 000 litres in a year.
Plant a living mulch
Rather than paying for mulches like bark chips and gravel, cover your soil with a green, living mulch. Pennyroyal makes a great groundcover as it quickly covers bare soil and reduces evaporation, plus it’s an insect repellent as well. Other options are creeping oregano and creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia).
Pennyroyal makes a great groundcover.
Upcycle castoffs
Almost anything can be turned into a container for plants, just use your imagination. You must, however, be able to drill holes in the bottom for drainage.
Think wheelbarrows, old Wellington boots, colanders, pots, tin cans and even old baths. Not only will these add character to your garden, you won’t have to pay for containers.
Reap what you sow
Collecting seeds from your garden to replant not only saves money, but also gives you a sense of satisfaction.
Simply leave your plants to go to seed, and either allow them to self-seed, or gather the seeds for sowing later.
You can collect seeds from most plants, the easiest being marigolds, nasturtiums, Namaqualand daisies and sweetpeas and vegetables such as runner beans, squash and tomatoes.
Make your own compost
Turn your kitchen and garden waste into valuable (and free) compost. Either create a heap in a corner of your garden, or invest in a composter. Choose a spot in sun or semi-shade.
Start the heap off with a layer of twigs or small branches, then add alternate layers of green waste (green garden clippings, fruit and veggie scraps) and brown waste (dry leaves and twigs), aiming for more brown waste than green.
Keep the heap moist or turn it to speed up decomposition. You should have dark, crumbly compost in about four months.
