Starting a vegetable garden doesn’t have to send you into debt. It’s more than possible to set up a space that’s both beautiful and productive on a budget. You just need a little creativity and a lot of resourcefulness.
Whether you’re looking for cheap garden ideas to get started this season or trying to stretch an existing setup further, these 15 tips will help you grow more for less.
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Follow the 15 tips below to grow your own produce without breaking the bank. But first…
WHAT TO SPEND MONEY ON
Before we get into ways to create a budget-friendly garden, I want to emphasize that there are two things you should spend some money on. Bearing these costs now will allow you to enjoy your garden to the max for years to come.
Two Things Worth Splurging On
1. Raised Beds
Sure, it can be a lot cheaper to garden right in the ground, but if you want to grow your own annual vegetables, you’ll find so much more success (and put in a lot less work) if you garden in raised beds. There are plenty of budget-friendly options that will look good and last a long time.
👉 Learn more about the top reasons to grow in raised beds and which materials we recommend (and which cheap garden bed ideas we’d stay away from).
2. Soil
Good soil (that’s a light, fluffy mix full of nutrients and free of pesticides and other harmful chemicals) can make gardening so much easier. Good soil holds onto moisture without drowning plants and all but removes issues like root rot, weak plant growth, and poor production.
Soil at the store can be expensive, but don’t worry. We’ve got tips below to help you fill up your beds with good soil for very little money.
If you save your garden budget for raised beds filled with good soil, you’ll ensure every dollar you do spend on your garden really counts.
1. MAKE OR USE YOUR OWN SOIL
Filling raised beds with store-bought soil gets expensive. I’ve seen a lot of “hacks” on the internet to save money on soil by using fillers like plastic nursery pots at the bottom of planters and raised beds. I’d avoid this for two reasons. First of all, the filler will impede the progress of your plants’ roots. And secondly, the plastic will degrade and shed microplastics in your soil.
Fortunately, you can save money on soil by making your own soil. This might sound too good to be true, but it’s not. It just takes time and a little patience. It also helps if you have lots of organic materials (like leaves and other yard waste) lying around. These items will break down over time and become soil with the ideal fertility and texture for growing veggies and flowers.
Options to make your own soil include lasagna layering (aka sheet mulching), using the Hügelkultur method, and collecting fall leaves to turn into leaf mold. I have a whole post about filling raised beds for cheap that dives deeper into each of these methods.
If you have access to a lot of native soil (the dirt in your backyard), you can also use that to fill your beds, assuming it hasn’t been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. Just know that most native soil isn’t ideal for growing annual vegetables—it’s typically too sandy or clay-heavy. You can improve your native soil by amending it with coarse sand and compost.
Whichever method you use, the key is to top off the growing space with about 9 inches of good soil mix. This will be the layer your seeds will sprout and grow in while the organic materials at the bottom of your container break down into a nutrient-rich growing medium. That’s why I recommend saving some of your garden budget for this soil mix.
👉 Use our raised bed soil calculator to determine how much soil you’ll need. (Just use 9 inches in place of raised bed height.)
2. GROW LOTS OF CUT-AND-COME-AGAIN PLANTS
You may think that starting a vegetable garden will save you tons of money on your next grocery store visits. That’s typically not the case, unless you’re growing at scale and preserving your harvests to last you year round.
But there is one group of plants that actually will save you money, and that’s herbs. Herbs are what we call cut-and-come again, meaning you can harvest from them over and over again. In fact, the more you harvest from your herbs, the more they produce.
That’s why herbs have, by far, the highest ROI on your grocery bill. I mean, think about how much those little plastic containers of herbs cost at the store, and you’re only getting a couple of sprigs. If you had just one plant, you could harvest the equivalent amount on a weekly basis… for free.
Whether you’re growing your favorite culinary herbs like basil and rosemary to use in the kitchen or making tea from your mint or lemon balm plants, growing your own herbs always pays off.
You can grow herbs from seed or ask your friends and neighbors for cuttings that you could root. Propagating is especially easy for herbs like basil, mint, and rosemary. The most expensive route to source herbs is to buy a healthy-looking plant from the grocery store or nursery. Even if you spend $5 on a little 4-inch pot, you’ll make up for your investment after just two harvests.
Besides herbs, you can grow leafy greens, even lettuce, as cut-and-come again plants. You just harvest the outside leaves and allow the plant to continue pushing up new growth from the center. If you eat a lot of salads, then growing these greens can also save you money in the produce aisle.
My favorite cut-and-come-again plants:
3. PLANT HIGH-YIELD CROPS WHEN BUDGET GARDENING
Besides cut-and-come-again herbs and leafy greens, there are certain fruiting plants that produce a lot of food, mainly vining tomatoes, beans, and of course, zucchini. These plants will give you tons of harvests with fewer expenses.
The trick with tomatoes is to grow indeterminate (or vining) varieties. Unlike determinate (or bush) varieties, these plants produce fruit continuously throughout the season. You can expect to harvest about a cereal bowl of fruit from each plant on a weekly basis once production begins. Vining beans are the same.
Just make sure you enjoy using these things in your kitchen so you don’t end up with a bunch of waste.
👉 Explore our recs for the top 15 herbs and vegetables to grow to give you the most bang for your buck.
4. PLAN YOUR GARDEN TO MAXIMIZE GROWING SPACE
Whenever I see a raised bed filled with a couple cabbage plants, all I can think is: What a waste. If there’s one lesson about gardening you take away from this post, let it be that you can fit a lot more plants in a raised bed or container than you think.
Bare soil is unutilized planting space. It not only loses moisture and nutrients quickly, it also invites weeds. Instead of having a bed with nothing but cabbages, plant medium-size and small plants (like radishes and lettuce) around those cabbage so that the plants will fill the entire raised bed when mature.
If you’re going through the expense and trouble of setting up a raised bed, then make it count by planting up every possible square inch. You’ll maximize your harvest and minimize annoying issues like weeds.
Learn how to utilize your space better by checking out our Square Foot Gardening guide or our printable Garden Planner, which walks you through how to plan your garden layout for every season.
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5. PRIORITIZE PERENNIALS WHEN STARTING YOUR GARDEN ON A BUDGET
This is especially true for large in-ground gardens. Perennial plants come back year after year and typically require less maintenance than annuals. You’ll get lots of beauty for very little work or money.
What’s more, many perennials can be divided after they’ve been growing for a couple years. That means you get free plants you can spread to other places in your garden.
Low-maintenance perennial flowers include Russian sage, echinacea, rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans), native salvias, blackfoot daisy, turk’s cap, and anise hyssop.
You can also grow perennials in your vegetable garden. Edible perennials include asparagus, artichokes, blueberries, and strawberries. These plants grow well right in the ground—no need for raised beds.
If you live in a warmer climate, perennial herbs like rosemary, oregano, sage, and thyme may stay green and productive year round.
It’s also a great idea to research perennials that are native to your area. Native plants naturally thrive in your climate, so they require even less maintenance and, once they’re established, no supplemental watering. They also attract tons of beneficial wildlife, which helps your garden thrive as its own little ecosystem.
6. START SMALL WITH A CONTAINER GARDEN
Container gardening is a great way to start growing on a small scale while minimizing costs. And you’d be surprised by how much you can harvest from a couple of large containers set on a sunny patio or apartment balcony.
Don’t be discouraged if you’ve killed a potted plant before. It’s surprisingly difficult to keep a plant in a small pot alive. Especially if that plant isn’t doing much.
Instead of one plant per pot, grab a larger container so that you can plant a variety of herbs or even interplant herbs with flowers and veggies that grow well in containers. Larger containers are better able to retain moisture, and plants actually like the company of others.
This is the key to container gardening: you need enough plants so that you stay invested in their maintenance. You’ll remember to water the container if you’re snipping some herbs for dinner or admiring the beauty of the flowers spilling over the side.
The exception to interplanting in containers would be root crops (like carrots and radishes) and potatoes. But again, you’d be surprised how much you can grow in just a couple barrel planters or grow bags.
Bonus: You can easily add more containers to your space as your confidence grows (and your wallet allows). You can also maximize space by growing vertically using small panel or obelisk trellises.
Inexpensive container options include:
- This 3-piece-set of wooden planters
- This 5 pack of 15-gallon grow bags
- Any of these steel tubs (just add drainage holes)
👉 Check out Easy Container Gardening Basics to find all of our recommended planters and grow bags, plus step-by-step directions on setting your little garden up.
7. MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST
There’s no need to buy pricy soil amendments and fertilizers when you can enrich your soil naturally… for free! Composting is nature’s way of turning trash to garden treasure. Economical and environmentally friendly.
It may feel intimidating at first, but once you pick your setup, it’s super easy to process your kitchen scraps and yard waste. Choose from a stationary compost pile, a rotating compost bin, or even in-bed vermicomposting.
👉 Start here with our Beginner’s Composting Guide.
If making your own compost isn’t possible, there are some alternate options to source cheap compost.
Cheap Compost Ideas
- Local composting programs
- Bulk compost from landscape supply stores
- Farmers’ markets
- Community marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing groups
- Mycology societies (used mushroom blocks, which are great for gardening)
8. USE SCRAPS TO ENRICH YOUR SOIL FOR FREE
Besides compost, there are a number of soil amendments you can make right at home using kitchen scraps. This means you can maintain your soil health without spending a dime.
Crushed Eggshells
Eggshells provide a slow release of calcium, which is useful in preventing blossom end rot in tomatoes and peppers. You just need to process the eggshells first so that the nutrient is readily available for your plants.
Simply wash and dry the shells, bake them at the lowest temperature to dry them out and kill pathogens, and then grind them into a fine powder. Work this powder into the top inch of your soil.
Banana Peels
Bananas, as you probably know, are an excellent source of potassium (plus phosphorus and calcium). They can provide a much-needed nutritional boost when your fruiting plants are flowering.
You can chop and bury pieces of the peel in your soil, but I don’t like adding anything that will decompose right near the soil surface. I prefer to make banana peel water, aka banana tea. Soak 3 to 4 peels in about 1 quart of water inside a closed jar. Set the jar in a cool, dark place and allow it to steep for 3 to 4 days. Then strain out the peels and dilute the tea with fresh water. Apply as a liquid fertilizer around your fruiting plants every couple of weeks during flowering.
Coffee Grounds
Before you toss those spent grounds, save them for the garden. Coffee grounds are a good source of nitrogen, which supports leafy green growth, and they improve soil texture over time by helping with drainage and aeration.
Work them directly into the top inch of soil, or add them to your compost pile to boost the nitrogen content. A thin layer sprinkled around heavy feeders like tomatoes, peppers, and leafy greens is plenty — too thick and they can compact and repel water. If you don’t drink coffee at home, most coffee shops will give away their spent grounds for free. Starbucks has done this for years.
Grow Comfrey for Free Liquid Fertilizer
If you have a little space in your garden, comfrey is one of the most useful plants you can grow. Its deep roots pull up nutrients, especially potassium and phosphorus, from far below the soil surface, concentrating them in the leaves. Those leaves then become the base for a powerful liquid fertilizer called comfrey tea.
To make it, fill a bucket with comfrey leaves, weigh them down with a rock, and cover with water. Steep for 3–4 weeks (fair warning: it smells). Strain out the leaves, dilute the liquid about 10:1 with fresh water, and apply around your fruiting plants during flowering. Your tomatoes will thank you.
Comfrey is a perennial in zones 4-9, so once it’s established you’ll have a near-unlimited supply of free fertilizer every season. It’s also virtually indestructible, which makes it a good fit for most climates.
9. GROW FROM SEEDS TO SAVE MONEY GARDENING
Growing plants from seed is considerably cheaper than buying seedlings from the store. Seed packets cost just a couple bucks, and you have access to a much wider variety, including heirlooms.
Plants like tomatoes and broccoli do best when started by seed indoors before being transplanted outside. If you’re new to seed starting indoors, check out our step-by-step guide.
Here are some other ways to save money when sourcing plants for your garden:
Share Seeds with Friends
Seed packages often contain ten times the number of seeds you might use in one season (the exception might be small plants like lettuce, radishes, and carrots). Split packages for things like kale, tomatoes, and cucumbers with friends.
Another idea is to have a seed trading party with friends or neighbors.
Save Seeds from Your Garden
It’s easy enough to save seeds from your favorite (and healthiest) plants so you can grow them again next year. You basically just have to wait for the plant to flower and then harvest seeds from these flower heads once they’ve turned brown. Label your seeds and store them in a cool, dark spot for future seasons.
👉 Learn how to save zinnia seeds so you always have some to plant and share.
Look for Seed Swaps Within Your Community
Many local libraries have seed libraries, where you can “check out” seeds for free or swap with fellow gardeners. Most garden centers and local garden clubs also host annual seed swapping events. What’s cool about collecting local seeds is that they’re better acclimated to growing in your climate, meaning you can build a more resilient garden and save money!
Swap Cuttings with Neighbors
For plants that don’t grow well or quickly from seed, swap plant cuttings with friends, neighbors, or online communities. (My local library has a give-a-cuting-take-a-cutting station.) Rooting cuttings from plants that are easily propagated is an easy way to get free plants for your landscape or garden.
10. EMBRACE THE SATISFACTION OF DIY
The garden is full of opportunities to do it yourself and save money. Here are some ideas:
Build Your Own Raised Beds
Anyone can build a wood raised bed regardless of carpentry skills, whether that means slotting wooden boards into some raised bed corners or using a drill to attach boards with some steel angles.
Just don’t skimp on the lumber. Cheap lumber like pine won’t last very long in your garden. Though it’s more expensive, something like cedar is much more durable.
👉Explore the Best Materials for Raised Beds and What to Avoid.
Get Creative with Large-Scale Containers
Stock tanks, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to find at big box stores, make great starter raised beds. They’re the ideal size to grow salad greens, herbs, flowers, and more. Metal is food-safe (don’t worry!) and durable; plus, the metal sides absorb heat from the sun and keep the soil nice and warm when temps drop.
To prepare a stock tank for planting, just drill some holes in the bottom for drainage. You can even attach some casters so you can roll your planter around. (Just make sure the casters are rated to hold at least 90 pounds.)
Make Your Own Garden Trellises
Building your own trellises and plant supports can save you a lot when starting a garden on a budget. Here are three simple DIY trellises:
DIY Wood Tower Trellis
If you have scrap wood lying around, these tower structures are free and easy to build. Otherwise, grab thin pieces of lumber from the hardware store (or for a rustic look, find enough sticks to use). Shape two long pieces into an open V, and then run shorter pieces across, like rungs on a ladder. Secure with nails or twine. Repeat for the other side. Use more short pieces to connect your two ladders. Be aware you’ll need to rebuild your trellises every couple of years.
Florida Weave
This easy trellis works great along a wide raised bed or in an in-ground garden bed. You’ll need at least two stakes that are 6 feet tall (could be 2×2 wooden stakes, thick pieces of bamboo, rebar, or steel fence T-posts) and some twine.
Drive the stakes into the soil at least 12 inches deep, at opposite ends of the bed. Add support stakes every 3 feet in between, if needed. Tie twine about 6 to 8 inches above the ground on one outer stake, then run it across the entire row, wrapping it around each stake you pass for stability. Tie the twine in a knot at the end of the row.
Repeat with more lines of twine every 8 inches or so up the stakes. The goal is to create a ladder for your vining plants to climb.
Cattle Fence Panel Trellis
For this easy DIY idea, you’ll need panels of cattle fencing or farm paneling from your local hardware store. If your raised bed is up against a fence, you can attach the panels to the fence using cat’s claw fasteners or steel screw hooks. Otherwise, make a simple wooden frame to hold the wire using construction staples.
11. USE NATURAL PEST CONTROL
Who would have thought that practicing certain methods in your garden (for free) is actually better and more effective than using a bunch of expensive pesticides from the store? Natural practices like companion planting with herbs and flowers and focusing on soil health are part of something called Integrated Pest Management, or IPM.
Some key elements of IPM include:
- Attracting beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings to pray on insect pests
- Installing physical barriers like simple row covers over pest-prone greens to protect them from pests large and small
- Confusing pests by planting aromatic herbs around the border of your garden
- Adding trap crops to protect key crops
- Performing regular maintenance to keep your garden as healthy as possible
👉Learn more about the best flowers and aromatic herbs to use for natural pest management.
And if you notice common pest issues like aphid infestations, there’s no need to buy expensive products filled with harsh chemicals to handle it. Try the wallet-friendly recipe below.
How to Mix Your Own Organic Pesticide Spray
Whip up your own dish soap spray using 1 to 2 teaspoons of mild liquid soap (I love Dr. Bronner’s castile soap for gardening) in 1 quart water. Pour into a spray bottle.
This spray can be used against any soft-bodied pest, including aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips, and whiteflies. It works by breaking down their outer coating, so it must be sprayed directly onto the pests. Reapply every 3 to 5 days as needed.
Using this spray saves you money, and it’s better for your garden and the environment.
12. WATER WISELY
Having a garden doesn’t have to mean doubling your water bill. Just follow these tips to use water efficiently:
Water in the Early Morning or Evening
Watering when the sun is low and the temps are cooler means you lose less water to evaporation.
Avoid Overwatering
This practice not only wastes water, it’s also bad for your plants. Many plants (including flowers, herbs, and veggies) like for the soil to dry out a bit between waterings. If you stick your finger in the soil and feel moisture an inch down, it’s not time to water again.
Cover the Soil
Some gardeners use mulch (e.g., straw or wood chips) to insulate their soil, which helps to preserve moisture by reducing evaporation. I prefer to cover with compost and plant intensively so that the soil is continually receiving nutrition from the compost and the plants themselves provide shade to the soil. You’ll be amazed how much moisture is retained with a well planted garden.
Invest in a Rain Barrel to Collect & Store Rainwater
If you live somewhere with high water bills, then this upfront investment will ultimately save you a lot of dough by giving you a free (and sustainable) water source for your garden. Plus, it’s eco-friendly. Check if your county or city offers any kind of water conservation rebate.
Install Drip Irrigation
This is another initial investment that can ultimately save you money. Drip irrigation delivers water to the growing area way more efficiently than watering with a hose, sprinkler, or watering can. Even a simple little system uses 30 to 80% less water than other irrigation methods.
👉 Learn more about the best ways to water your garden.
13. REUSE AND RECYCLE
There are probably some items you already have lying around the house that could be converted for use in your garden. Get creative. You’ll save yourself some money and reduce waste.
Here are just a few ideas of repurposing household objects:
Turn Old Bathtubs or Stock Tanks into Planters
These containers are the perfect size for a beginner garden. Just make sure there are plenty of drainage holes at the bottom. You may need to drill some so that water can leave the growing space.
Start Your Seeds in Paper or Plastic Cups
There’s no need to buy special plastic trays when you can use inexpensive plastic or paper cups. Reuse old yogurt cups, K-cups, or leftover cups from a party, each make the perfect little vessel for seed starting indoors. Just make sure to poke some holes in the bottom of whatever container you choose.
Other household items that can be used for starting seeds include toilet paper rolls, plastic fruit cups, and paper egg cartons.
Kill Weeds with Cardboard
Here’s something else you can skip purchasing: weed barrier cloth. Just save your cardboard boxes. Cardboard is biodegradable, so it’ll decompose after a couple of weeks in the garden space, but during that time, it’s great for preventing weeds from coming up in and around your garden beds. Just flatten the cardboard box and remove any tape or labels.
14. LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNITY
There are so many free educational resources available online that you can take advantage of. Here on our site alone you can find:
- A Soil Calculator
- A Seed Starting Guide, plus an easy-to-use, customizable Seed Starting Calendar
- Hundreds of articles and how-tos on vegetable gardening
You can also learn a lot and access resources by connecting with other gardeners in your area. Here are just a few ideas:
- Follow your local library and plant nurseries on social media to sign up for any free gardening workshops they host.
- Check your local Buy Nothing Group on Facebook or Freecycle.org for freebies. Landscapers sometimes offer extra pavers or scrap wood to whomever can pick them up ASAP.
- Google your nearest garden extension office. They offer county or state residents free expert advice and materials, planting calendars, equipment rental, and workshops. They’ll even test your soil for you.
15. MINIMIZE TOOL PURCHASES
Raised beds minimize the physical labor of tending your garden. That means less work and also zero heavy machinery required. There’s really no need for wheel barrows or even huge shovels, and certainly no tillers or backhoes. (If you require these items to install your raised beds, consider renting or borrowing them.)
Once your garden is set up, keep it to a few basic hand tools to stay on budget. Here’s what I recommend:
- A good pair of gloves with rubber palms
- Twine for tying up vining plants
- A dedicated pair of garden scissors for the garden (no need for anything special)
- A thin trowel or hori hori knife
A hori hori knife with a serrated edge can do so much in your garden: saw through thick vines, dig holes for planting, aerate soil, harvest, and more.
Look for sales so you can buy good quality tools. Keep your tools clean and store them in a dry place so they’ll last for years.
What about dibbers and planting rulers and rakes? You can use chopsticks in lieu of a dibber, make your own planting ruler by drilling holes in a regular 12-inch ruler (which you probably have in your junk drawer), and use your gloved hands as a rake (which helps you be more precise in tightly planted spaces anyway). Add charm to your garden by painting some smooth rocks to use as plant tags.
BONUS TIP
Once you’ve gotten your garden up and growing, make sure to harvest from it regularly and actually use your homegrown produce. That may sound obvious, but it takes some getting used to over time.
For example, make sure that the person responsible for shopping in your family knows what plants are currently producing. I can’t tell you how many times my husband has bought parsley from the grocery store when we have perfectly healthy plants growing out back.
It’s also helpful to preserve any excess food by freezing, drying, canning, or even freeze drying. These methods allow you to enjoy your harvests throughout the year.
👉Learn how to freeze green beans and dry homegrown herbs.
The best way to start a cost-effective garden is to maximize the resources you already have. Embrace DIY projects, plan and plant thoughtfully, and look for ways to reuse things you’ve got lying around.
Other than that, save money upfront by holding off on some projects. Expand a little each year: add one new bed, trellis, or growing area at a time. I love the saying “Home takes time,” and we can apply that to our gardens, as well. You don’t have to do everything all at once.
Let us know your favorite money-saving tips in the comments below!
