Money Saving Garden Tips
(Here are a few. If you have any, then let me know and I'll add them to the list)
It's a good idea to have 2 compost containers. One for your compost, of course, and one for second-hand compost. And if any unwanted seedlings pop up where they shouldn't, simply pot them up and sell them!
Garden Dibber - you can buy one of course, only I use a pencil.
Labels - collect plastic ice-cream cartons (blue or white) to cut into labels. Very cheap, very easy!
Marker pen - buy a laundry pen from the local newsagents or hardware store. It's usually cheaper. The main requirement is indelible ink that won't wash off in the rain.
Wood for raised beds, decking, gates, fencing, etc. Buy direct from the local sawmill and save yourself a fortune. And if you need lengths that won't fit the average car, take a saw with you. Sometimes it's possible to buy bark direct from the sawmill too - worth checking out.
Gravel for paths, etc. Cheaper to buy direct from the local quarry, although transporting it can be a problem. A little more expensive - but still cheaper than a Garden Centre - is a Builder's Merchants.
Seed Trays Sound simple, this one, because it is. Don't buy them, collect them: Ice-cream containers, mushroom containers, fruit containers from the supermarket. Eat the contents, pierce holes in the bottom for drainage and you have a seed tray!
Yellow Pages (UK Telephone Book) An important source of information that will save you a fortune over the years. Check out 'Horticultural Suppliers' for example. You don't always have to buy in bulk.
(More to follow...)
(There's a chapter in the book entitled 'Materials' where many of these money saving ideas - and more - can be found)
The Book: "In Pursuit Of Perennial Profit - The Pot Of Gold At The Bottom Of The Garden."
History of the Garden Blether