With the cost of living crisis hitting us hard, coupled with concerns about extreme weather, a focus on sustainable gardening and wellness has become a big trend.
This means maintaining your garden without depleting natural resources, while still looking after yourself.
Gardening expert Kim Stoddart and her new book, out now. Photo by Kim Stoddart
It's a difficult time in the world and we all need a little help.
So Kim Stoddart, editor of Amateur Gardening magazine, shares her five best ways to garden well while saving money.
1. Seed Saving
Saving some seeds from plants you have already grown will result in plants that are more adapted to your area.
This is how you grow plants in your vegetable patch: just select the seeds from the plants that grow best.
Choosing the ones with the best flavor or those that haven't produced flower stalks will not only save you money, but will also produce more robust plants.
2. Tool Management
Take care of your tools, make them last, and create a true connection with them.
You can also sharpen it, oil it, you name it.
Carrying out small fixes can really make you feel better, save you money, and give you confidence.
This means you won't have to keep buying new ones every year.
There are a variety of expensive oils available but WD40 which you can buy from Poundland for £1 will do the trick.
Transform your garden on a budget with Home Bargains!
3. Turn your plants into perennials
Let your plants grow longer, some can be turned into semi-perennials.
This pairs well with Swiss chard, purple sprouting broccoli, and flat leaf kale.
Once the plant has finished growing, cut it back before it flowers and sets seed.
Leave some leaves for photosynthesis, but cut off about a third of them so that the plant has energy left to keep growing.
As long as you have some sort of covered space, you can keep growing for years.
4. Swap seeds!
Make connections – barter, swap, share tools, exchange seeds, neighbors, local gardening groups – there's a social and feel-good factor to it.
It's more sustainable, you get things for free, it's a better use of your money, and from a happiness perspective, small acts of kindness make people feel good and make them smile.
5. Charity shops!
Charity shops are a great place to find interesting things to plant, and they're always under a pound.
You could even go so far as to turn your Wellington boots into windowsill planters.
Get creative by transforming unwanted items into great gardening items.
Kim's book, “The Climate Resilient Vegetable Grower, How to Grow Vegetables in a Changing Climate,” is out now.
In this week's Veronica Sun Gardening column…
Follow @biros_and_bloom for tips, contests and news
BBC Gardeners World Live is taking place at Birmingham NEC this weekend, and a sustainable outdoor space created by fans of the show is a highlight of the venue.
The Viewer's Garden, designed by Pip Probert, celebrates videos of their gardens and growing spaces sent to the TV show by Gardeners' World viewers, and was awarded a Platinum Award by the judges.
Pip Probert said: “Seeing how popular our viewer submissions were each week, we realised that people enjoy seeing old, everyday materials upcycled into something different and new. We chose a range of clips from TV programmes and invited the talented and imaginative people who created them to be part of our show garden – a practical garden which focuses on sustainability through recycling and celebrates the joy of growing your own food.”
Learn! To help you cope with sudden changes in temperature, British greenhouse company Griffin have bought you a free booklet explaining how to achieve better results in hotter conditions.
This booklet identifies key changes to make for “growing success” and offers tips to improve greenhouse growing of fruit and vegetables, and also introduces six new crops that can be grown under hot glass.
It is available as a free download from the Griffin Glasshouses website.
This week's work! I'm starting to tie down the hydrangeas and support them with stakes. I have to be especially careful with Annabelle hydrangeas, as they often get too big and fall over.
Tip of the week Black flies are starting to appear on your roses. Put a few drops of insecticide mixed with water into an old spray bottle and spray your roses liberally.
Save money! Pinch off dead branches with Niwaki's 14-pound Clever Snips, or cut back with Spear and Jackson's 7.46-pound version, available on Amazon.
WIN! Our lovely friends at Stiga are giving away a Mountfield Typhoon 30 Litre Kit Mower to the value of £119. To enter, fill in this form or write to Sun TYPHOON Contests, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Please include your name, age, email address and phone number. Open to UK residents aged 18 or over. Ends 29 June 2024 at 23:59 GMT.
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Top charity shop tips from Sun Gardening editor Veronica Lorraine:
“You can get all kinds of gardening equipment from charity shops and it's usually in pretty good condition.
“The electric clippers are always working and they come from a charity shop so should be in good working order.
“Remember, you can turn anything into a pot, but if you're putting it outside, make sure you put holes in the bottom.”
“But even old-fashioned glass fruit bowls, vases, bowls, pans and mugs can be transformed into planters.
“Buy gardening clothes from a charity shop to avoid staining your everyday clothes. You can buy a whole set for a few pounds so it doesn't matter how dirty it gets.”
“Also look at old gardening books. Gardening trends are always changing, but the basics remain the same.”
“You can also use old cushions as throws or old rugs to decorate your outdoor space.”
Kim Stoddart's book is out now. It's full of tips to help you save money. Credit: Kim Stoddart
