As with so many hobbies and around-the-house projects, it's easy to blow a big hole in your budget on gardening and landscaping. But is that really necessary? The following tips will help you beautify your yard for very little money, or no money at all.
1. Make your own compost. Create a compost pile in an old trash can or on a small plot of land with exposure to both sun and rain. Throw raked leaves, potato peels, egg shells, coffee grounds and other leftovers into the pile. Mix those ingredients well, and leave them alone for a week. Then add more leaves and garbage and mix well. Within a season, voila! Free fertilizer!
2. Opt for free mulch. Another freebie alternative for frugal gardeners: free mulch from recycling centers.
3. Don't pay for seeds and plants. Why pay for seeds at a nursery when you can pull seeds off existing plants and save them over the winter for next year's garden? You also can grow free plants from cuttings you trade with your gardening aficionado neighbors and friends.
4. Grow plants that want to be here. Do a little bit of research about the plants and flowers that thrive in Florida's climate. This will help you save time and money by avoiding expensive feeding, special compost and lots of fussing.
5. Use free plant containers. Old wheelbarrows, tea kettles and baskets can make ideal containers for flowers, herbs and other plants, so don't throw them away. Instead, value them for their rustic appeal.
6. Tap birds for free pest control. Buy a 50-pound bag of birdseed (at a local agriculture co-op if one is nearby). Make bird feeders out of empty 2-liter soda bottles and hang them upside down. The birds that flock to your yard for the birdseed also will gobble up bugs and pests for you.
7. Make dirt-cheap birdhouses. As an even greater incentive to get entire bird families to stick around, put birdhouses up on your property. You can make a birdhouse out of virtually any rain-tight container. Just add a perch and a hole for access.
8. Read free advice. Visit your local library and do some browsing in the gardening section. Why pay big money for new gardening books when all sorts of great information is available free of charge? The library also has books on how to make inexpensive bird feeders and birdhouses.
9. Tap into the extension service. Each Florida county has an extension office in partnership with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Resources include educational materials, demonstrations, answers to questions and classes leading to certification as a "Master Gardener."
10. Enjoy your free health club membership. Okay, maybe you haven't joined a health club, but you will get a good, no-cost workout from weeding and hauling dirt and plants around your property.
- Sources: The Dollar Stretcher www.stretcher.com; "Tips for Dirt Cheap Gardening," by Rhonda Massingham Hart, Extension Services (http://extension.ifas.ufl.edu/)
