Starting Seeds on a Budget Start Your Garden Without Buying Supplies

Are you looking to start or expand your garden this year? Lets go down the check list of things we might need - potting soil, seed plugs, seed trays, grow lights, compost, peat, vermiculite, fertilizer, manure, pest sprays, raised bed kits, trellis, tomato cages, and on and on....... I remember the first time we decided to have a small garden in one of your flower beds. We started at the store buying seeds and dirt and all of the things we thought we would need and spent about $100. That year we barely had anything grow and forgot to have someone water while we were on vacation. Not a great first experience but we were determined to start again.

In our new home a few years ago we decided we were going to go big and year after year we are adding more and more to our garden. But we arent huge fans of spending $10 in supplies to get $5 worth of vegetables, anyone else feel like that when you are starting out? Yes, over time you get things that you can use over and over each year thus making it more and more worth while. But what about now, do we really need all of this stuff to get a garden going?



In my opinion most people (including us) spend way more than they need on gardening supplies and then are disappointed at the results their first couple of years. It does take time to get the soil just right, it takes time to learn what works best and when to plant and harvest. Gardening is not something that you can just go out and throw some seeds in the ground and have an awesome garden your first year. It takes time and in some cases a small amount of money. I have found that you have a choice in many cases, time or money.

We are expanding our gardens over time as to lessen the impact on our wallets and allow us time to develop good soil as we expand. We have also learned that while we are not going to win any awards for the prettiest seed starting operation you can get started with little to no money invested at all.

We started saving any containers with clear plastic lids last year and have saved up quite a few of them by now (probably more than we need!) These make the perfect tiny greenhouse seed starting containers. Instead of buying a heating pad and seed starting trays just use the things you already have. We have found these to be the fastest way to get your seeds started! This year in fact most of our seeds were already popping through the soil in the first 48 hours.

The next thing you need to get your seeds started is soil, there are a lot of different ideas with what works best here but again I just use what I have to get going. Last year we made a mix for our square foot gardens of our compost, vermiculite, and peat. I grabbed a bin full of this soil and brought it in as soon as it was no longer frozen. I sifted through and got out any large pieces (leafs, sticks, etc.) and then filled my containers. The only down side to using this type of soil is that you might also germinate a few blades of grass or something from last years planting so just be carful and pay attention to what sprouts. If one of these things is not like the other, pull it out.

Seeds are pretty easy to come by and dont be fooled by expiration dates on those seed packages. With proper care there is no real expiration to most seeds. Germination rates might be lower after a few years but I wouldnt worry too much about that. Look for seeds during the off season in the fall or winter. Most stores have clearance sales at this time and you can get your seeds for as much as 75% off. You can also save seeds from your plants year after year. This is a skill I have not yet mastered but will be trying some of this year.

There are many ways to save money on gardening supplies and still have great results. We are all tempted to go out and buy all the best stuff, shovels, and rototillers, etc. But that is mostly not needed. Check a garage sale this spring and you will likely find all kinds of gardening tools for dirt cheap:)

I hope that this has inspired you to get started or add on to your garden this year. Follow along for more tips and tricks this coming spring and summer and lets all try to feed our families a little more from our garden each year.

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This post has been shared at:  HomeAcre Hop, Homestead Blog Hop, Country Fair Blog Hop

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Aquaponics at the Philadelphia Flower Show

A few weeks ago Sarah Gabriel e-mailed and asked if I wanted to do an aquaponics lecture at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

"Sure." Im always up for doing something about aquaponics, but I had no idea what a huge event this is. The Philadelphia Horticultural Society is the oldest such society in America, formed in 1827. The Flower Show has been held annually since 1829 and is now the largest flower show in the world. Oh my goodness!

We were joined by Heidi Wood-Tucker who works with Dr. Stephen Hughes on the aquaponics program at Cheyney University. We had about 60 people attend our talk and demonstration. Heidi talked about the large aquaponics system they have at Cheyney, where they raise tilapia and grow basil - even using all their resources to produce basil, they are unable to satisfy the huge demand in this area. For my part, I put together a small demonstration system. I used the 10 gallon fish tank Id gotten at PetSmart and a boot box from The Container Store, all on a wire rack from Target. In the process of preparing for this I made the awesome discovery that I could make my bell out of a glass jar as long as I propped it up a bit to allow water to flow underneath. It was fun getting to "see" how the bell siphon works!

I had a great time after the presentation wandering the show and talking to folks. I came home with lots of new friends, some nifty tools and gifts, and great ideas. Awesome!

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Starting Seeds

Weve been experimenting around with sowing seeds this winter, so I thought Id share how thats been going.

Our first attempt was to plant seeds in rock wool, with the idea that wed transplant the happy little baby plants into hydroton-filled net pots after they sprouted. That worked OK for a few seeds (peas, for instance), but for the most part we were left with itchy fingers and tiny plants that were too small to work with but too large to thrive in the original rock wool cubes wed allocated.

For my next attempt, I encased each seed in a spit wad of tissue paper before planting it directly in a net pot filled with hydroton. I thought the tissue would keep the seeds moist and keep tiny seeds from falling through the balls of hydroton. I was hoping the tissue would be sufficiently flimsy to get out of the way of the plant when it started to grow.

My daughter, for her part, wanted to use peat pots, which she planted liberally with seeds. She poured lots of very warm water over the plants.

My daughters seeds sprouted first - making a little carpet of green in her container. That was all well and good until it came time to transplant the little plants. It was nasty hard, and lots of individual plants were damaged in the process.

My seeds eventually sprouted, except for some old spinach seeds that likely were no longer viable. The spit wad idea worked great, and since the plants were already growing in hydroton, there was no need to handle the plants. All I had to do was plop my net pots into my floating raft out in the greenhouse.

Unfortunately, a fair number of the plants we set out in the greenhouse have "failed to thrive." All of the ones that havent thrived are plants from seeds we initially grew in either rock wool or peat, the ones that had to be transplanted into hydroton. So taking all the good ideas and getting rid of the rest, heres my plan for planting seedlings as I wait for winter to end.

• Encase the seeds Im about to plant in a bit of tissue. I used a single ply of facial tissue, torn in 1/2" strips, then cut about 1/2-1" long. I put the seed in the center and fold the tissue over it. Then I moisten the folded square of tissue (licking works for me) and roll it into a ball or wad.
  
  
  
• I fill a net pot 3/4 full of hydroton and place two of the seed spit wads on top.
  
• Next I toss a few more balls of hydroton on top to cover the seeds and fill the netpot.
  
• I arrange the filled net pots into a plastic container (to which I have a lid).
  
• I fill the plastic container with nicely warm water so it almost reaches the top of the net pots.
  
• Last thing for today, put on a lid and stick the plastic container somewhere dark and warm. Ive found I can put it on top of some electrical appliance, where the waste heat keeps things warmer than average.
  
  
  
  
  
• Tomorrow I will drain off most of the water and wait. If Im right, I should see little sprouts as soon as my daughter got sprouts. If so, I can move these plants to the floating raft in my greenhouse as early as next week.

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