A store-bought bag of topsoil, a roll of landscaping fabric, or a bag of cedar chips doesn\u2019t go very far if you have a large garden or a very limited budget. Here are some ways to create the materials you need for a beautiful, organic, productive garden, by both re-directing household waste, and foraging in your local area. I use a lot of these tricks in my garden to make it almost completely free for me to continue growing new things, and expanding the workable area every year!
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For soil
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Save your food scraps to create a rich\u00a0compost\u00a0for growing veggies and amending your soil. There are numerous options for every size of dwelling and yard. Small space solutions such as\u00a0Bokashi\u00a0and\u00a0vermicompost\u00a0work indoors and don\u2019t produce bad smells, so you can keep them underneath the sink.Worm towers, compost heaps, and\u00a0outdoor compost bins\u00a0are a great solution if you have more space. The more you add, the more rich, nutritious material you can make for your garden. I like composting because it means I don\u2019t have gross smelly garbage bags to deal with, because food waste is diverted. It seems like a lot of work at first, but it actually saves time, money, and transportation.
There are three things that are essential for plant growth. These are\u00a0nitrogen\u00a0for leaves and vegetation (N),\u00a0phosphorus\u00a0for roots and shoots (P), and\u00a0potassium\u00a0for water movement, flowering, and fruiting (K). Commercial fertilisers will give the relative concentrations of each of these compounds with and \u201cNPK\u201d rating.\u00a0Plants like tomatoes also need calcium to produce healthy fruit. You can create amendments for your garden and soil at home so that you do not have to purchase fertiliser.
\nHuman urine\u00a0contains 12% nitrogen, and it\u2019s sterile. Dilute before adding directly to plants.
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\nLegumes\u00a0such as beans, clover, peanuts, and alfalfa fix inorganic nitrogen into the soil with\u00a0mycorrhizal\u00a0organisms and nodules on their root systems. Plant these crops every few years in rotation with others to renew the soil organically.
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For phosphorus
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\nHuman urine\u00a0is also a great source of phosphorous and trace amounts of potassium.
Many plants are particular about what the\u00a0soil pH\u00a0should be.
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To make soil\u00a0more acidic: add\u00a0oak leaves, pine needles, leaf mulch,\u00a0urine, coffee grounds\u00a0or\u00a0sphagnum.\u00a0
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To make soil\u00a0more alkaline: add\u00a0wood ash, shell,\u00a0or\u00a0bone.
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Mulch
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Mulch is decomposing organic matter that adds nutrition to the soil, while simultaneously keeping out weed growth and retaining moisture. It also attracts worms, fungi and other beneficial creatures to your soil. Free sources of mulch include:
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Leaves
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Garden waste
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Grass clippings
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\nStraw\u00a0(often straw bales are given away after being used for decoration in the fall. You can also plant vegetables directly in straw bales using a technique called\u00a0straw bale gardening).
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\nWood chips\u00a0(if you can borrow a wood chipper after you\u2019ve collected some wood you can have attractive wood mulch for free)
When mulch isn\u2019t enough to keep the weeds down, many people opt for landscaping fabric. It can be quite expensive and inorganic-looking. Free solutions that both attract worms and can be replaced in small segments as they break down include:
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Newspaper*
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Cardboard*
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Egg cartons*
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Printer paper, looseleaf, etc. in thick layers*
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*try to make sure you are using paper that has vegetable-based dyes, so you aren\u2019t leeching toxins into the soil.
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Soil density/drainage
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If your soil is compacted and you have plants that require low levels of water, or excellent drainage, add\u00a0sand. I don\u2019t recommend stealing it from the beach, but ask around and you\u2019d be surprised at how easy it is to get for free.\u00a0Sawdust\u00a0also improves drainage. Adding organic matter and mulch encourages\u00a0worms, who also till and aerate compacted soil.
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If the area still needs drainage, dig a hole and fill it with bricks or rocks to create a \u201cdry well\u201d
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For drainage in pots, add\u00a0crushed bricks,\u00a0terra cotta pot fragments, packing peanuts, small stones, marbles,\u00a0orsand\u00a0to the bottom under the soil layer. I find these in construction sites, on craigslist, or at flea markets.
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Pots and growing containers
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If you have space, raised beds are a great no-dig way to establish growing space. If you are pressed for space (like working on a balcony) there are many cheap or free options for container gardens.
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Creating\u00a0raised\u00a0beds\u00a0allows you to build up the soil without digging. Free ways to do this include using\u00a0rocks\u00a0or\u00a0lumber\u00a0(like my\u00a0DIY \u201clasagna garden\u201d made with the sheet composting technique), using the \u201cwattle\u201c method with sticks and posts you have found, using\u00a0discarded straw bales,\u00a0old bricks,paving stones,\u00a0cinder blocks\u00a0or really anything else you have lying around.
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\nHugelkutur raised beds, which fix carbon and provide drainage, can be made by stacking sticks and untreated wood, and then piling soil or compost over it. (Thanks milos-garden)
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\nRubber tire gardens\u00a0retain heat in the night and allow for great drainage. They can also be painted in fun ways.
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\nHerb spirals\u00a0(here is mine:\u00a01,\u00a02,\u00a03) can be built with stones, bricks, and other found materials.
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I often use old\u00a0cooking pots,\u00a0barbecues,\u00a0teapots, or other found objects as planters.
If you can track down peat moss, cement, and vermiculite, you can make an easy\u00a0Hypertufa planter\u00a0in whatever shape you would like, provided you have a form in which it can dry.
Paving often requires a foundation of sand or another stable and well-drained substrate, and a covering of stones, bricks, or other weatherproof elements. Slowly collect stones over time, or free paving stone fragments to create a mosaic-type walkway. Often people give these things away on craigslist.\u00a0I made a patio and fireplace out of free salvaged bricks, for example.
Save seeds from foods you like from the grocery store: consider growing peanuts, ginger, garlic, peppers, or a walnut tree: all of these and more can be planted from store-bought produce.
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\nLearn to take cuttings. There is a tonne of info on the web about basic cutting propagation,\u00a0layering, (like I do with rhododendrons)\u00a0air layering, and numerous other techniques to take clones of plants you like. This saves going to a nursery and shelling out big bucks for all the variety you want.
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For cuttings, willow tea and honey are great rooting hormones/antiseptics/anti-fungal agents, which can save you $40 if you were thinking of buying commercial rooting hormone.
I hope this helps you build your garden outside of the usual capitalist channels! It can be a cheap or free hobby if you are willing to think outside the box, and maybe put up with things that don\u2019t look as clean or crisp as a hardware store catalogue.
If you have any further ideas, please add them! The more information the better.
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Another source for pots: Your local garden center (even some at the big name big box stores) may have many, many, MANY used pots they will sell for pennies or possibly even give away.
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