You’ll never pay for plants again after discovering a few ways to get your garden up and running without needing a money tree!
With times as tight as they are, spending money on more plants and gardening supplies is the last thing you want to do right now. But the good news is that Gardeners And Plants has got your back! So you’ll never pay for plants again!
You can also find free gardening supplies in many different places if you know where to look, allowing you to keep your costs way down when setting up your green oasis. These hacks prove that gardening doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby!
Read on to discover 8 surprising ways to never pay for plants again. And be sure to read to the end for some bonus ideas on how to get free gardening supplies.
… You’ll save green AND see green when you try these smart gardening tips!
You’ll never pay for plants again if you grow cuttings
Many plants can be reproduced from cuttings, and the best part is that you have nothing to lose by trying it. If you fall in love with a plant you see at a neighbor’s house, ask if you can take a cutting. Place it in water immediately and set it in a bright window.
Many plants will sprout roots in a couple of days. Once the roots measure at least an inch, you can move your new plant into a small pot.
When the roots become fully established, which can take about a month, it’s ready to be transferred outside and planted in your garden if you wish.
You’ll never pay for plants again is you save those seeds
You can keep seeds from your favorite plants to plant next year. Just make sure you let the seed pods ripen and dry out on the plant before gathering them. Then, take the seeds out of the pods and put them into an envelope.
Label it with the plant variety and date, and keep the seeds in a cool, dry place until it’s time to grow them. You can begin growing them indoors in pots at the end of winter or wait until sometime in early spring and plant them directly in your garden beds.
Likewise, consider saving the seeds of your veggies the next time you eat a tomato, cucumber, squash, or any other fruit or veggie.
Depending on how the climate is where you live and the type of vegetable or fruit, you can plant these seeds in your outdoor area to grow your own delicious crops.
You’ll never pay for plants again is you offer your services
Lots of people want to make changes in their landscaping but either don’t know how or don’t want to do the grunt work.
So, if you’re up for it, let your neighbors and friends know that you’re ready and able to divide or remove plants that have gotten out of hand in exchange for keeping anything you extract. In most cases, they’ll happily have you cart the extras away.
You’ll never pay for plants again if you swap with your family and friends
Generally speaking, gardeners love to share the plants they cherish. So spread your favorites around! And when you’re separating things in the garden, offer to swap some with friends, neighbors, and family, or anyone else who is doing the same.
Everyone gets to try something new and maybe even pass along some secrets to keeping each variety healthy. That’s valuable advice you can’t find at any garden center.
You’ll never pay for plants again if you explore municipal landscaping projects
This is the perfect reason to keep your area’s landscaping division on speed dial! Often, when zones make seasonal changes in municipal landscaping beds, the plants they remove are thrown onto a big heap of trash.
If you go at the right time and ask politely, you can take home any unwanted plants you want. If you’re lucky enough to score some perennials, you can plant them straight into the ground or place them in a pot and wait for them to come back next year.
You’ll never pay for plants again if you split the plants you have
Most perennials need to be divided every two years or so to keep them flourishing and overall healthy. Treat the task as a chance to multiply your landscape plants efficiently and quickly.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to take a plant that looks amazing in one corner of your garden and spread it throughout the rest of your outdoor spaces.
You’ll never pay for plants again if you check with the nursery infirmary
Not every plant in a nursery is the picture of perfect health. Some dry out after repeatedly getting passed over during watering, suffer broken branches, or become stressed in some other type of way.
To the casual onlooker, these plants look like bad risks and end up lounging on the sales floor. But many perennials that seem in lousy shape have healthy roots and just need a bit of extra TLC to thrive again.
Ask the manager of the store if they have any plants fated for the trash, and take a few home if they look like promising candidates for nursing back to health. Seeing a plant you’ve given a second chance thrive in your garden is very gratifying.
You’ll never pay for plants again if you don’t count out those random sprouts
You’ll frequently find that seeds from your shrubs, trees, or other plants have sprouted randomly in the middle of nowhere. But instead of pulling them out and throwing them away like weeds, take them and put them in places you think they would look good.
You can also move them into a small pot and display them on your patio or porch until they outgrow their container, then plant them in your backyard.
Bonus: Unexpected places to get free gardening supplies
1. Local Buy Nothing Group
If you’re not a local Buy Nothing Group member on Facebook, consider joining ASAP. These groups are just what they sound like. They aim to help community members find what they need without spending money to purchase anything new.
Group members post things they don’t need anymore and want to give away to someone in their area who can use it. So, this is the perfect place to keep a lookout for any plants and gardening supplies.
Besides waiting for someone to post something you need, you can also make your post to request the items you’re searching for.
If you need a few seed packets, mulch, or a gardening tool, post an “ask” to the group. You never know who has the things you need most just sitting and collecting dust in their shed or garage.
2. Tree service establishments
Speaking of mulch, if you know anyone who works for a tree service company or is looking to make a new friend, they may be able to help you get some free mulch. These types of places spend all day cutting down trees and branches and putting them through a wood chipper.
This means they have lots of wood chips that could serve as mulch for your outdoor spaces or help you create that no-mow yard you may have been dreaming about.
And at the end of the day, if all else fails, Amazon can be a fantastic source of budget-friendly items for your garden. For instance, we especially love this Gardening Tools Set of 10 – Complete Heavy Duty Garden Tools Set with Fashion Handbag
How amazing is it knowing that you will never pay for plants again? Be sure to leave us a comment to let us know what you think about this article.
And if you wish to read more like this, we highly recommend also checking out: Houseplant Health Issues: 6 Simple Reasons Your Plants Are Dying
