Don’t let inflation give you nightmares. Take charge: Keep calm and carry on gardening!
If only we had a magic wand that could magically make groceries cheaper! Well, we have the next best thing – Ben’s top money saving tips for an abundant garden! With over 20 tried and tested inflation-busting tips and tricks, you can cut your grocery store bill while getting healthier food for next to nothing.
Sound good?
Binge watch these videos! Swat up and get more bang for your buck!
🌱 X 🤓 = 💰💰💰
Did somebody say raspberries and blueberries?! Yum! (Bat your eyelids at your fruit bush friends!) For our video on that, see this link:
For https://youtu.be/RgkC5I7NpUA
Want to 10X your plants? See this video:
https://youtu.be/03TDLCVrSRM
For more on how to maximise and multiply grocery-bought herbs see: https://youtu.be/jYNiCsfyrn0
Or to create your own herb garden, go to: https://youtu.be/VTFLtfA4KEw
Protect your plants with a quick and easy cold frame or hoop house:
https://youtu.be/PqK0HdZFlMc
Want more compost and soil for free? Check out how to collect and use leaves in your garden:
https://youtu.be/ZQAEQMvEtA0
…and how to use your kitchen and household waste to build soil: https://youtu.be/kN8OMgaLiaI
If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
https://www.GrowVeg.com
https://gardenplanner.almanac.com
https://gardenplanner.motherearthnews…
and many more…
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If you’ve noticed any pests or beneficial insects in your garden lately please report them to us at https://BigBugHunt.com
What species of bamboo do you recommend please
Great top about putting seeds to germinate on top of the fridge
when I needed to fill some beds with better soil and I didn't have the money, I initially asked if they made compost and no, they didn't they sold bags of commercial. So, then I asked them if they had any spent potting soil that they woudn't reuse I could have and they let me go out where they dumped some mums and other stuff. So I filled a 40 gallon plastic horse trough and I had a cow mineral feeder tub probably 30 pounds and I filled that up. Which was really nice of them to do that. It was kinda funny, I was in back of the greenhouse at the end of the parking and this lady thought I worked there and asked me if there was a butterfly bush anywhere. I looked like I worked there I had my shovel and my wheelbarrow, so I thought I can help her find this bush. I owe the greenhouse at least that.
You are amazing!
My main tip is: Limit yourself to what you know works in your climate. I have tried well over 150 verieties over the past decade but reality is only about 25 to 30 really work well and reliable in my climate/soil. So inform yourself and limit yourself there will still be plenty of food and be honest do you even find that much variety of veggies in the supermarket. Trying to grow things that should not grow in your region you will just leave you dissapointed and wastes money. Trust me i tried so many of them. (with the exception if you have a greenhouse ofc) .
And you can use bulk seeds for a lot of types. Like all cabbage/kale family seeds can be used up to 5 years same goes for bean/peas family (sugarsnaps excluded stick to 3 year for those if they have the shrinking raisin type seeds) and they retain a near perfect germination rate.
I planted 2018 climbing beans this year and i had a 95% germination rate. I have sown 8 pots with 7 seeds each and i have 1 pot with 6 germinated and 1 with 5 so only down 3 seeds.
Carrot is more picky and i stick to 2-3 years for those and sow extra in 3rd year.
And corn really only use it 1 year. So buy corn seeds to your demand and discard or sell excess as they will not be good next year. I never had last year corn germinate.
As for bamboo im doing a experiment this year. I'm going to dig deep and spend a lot of money on rebar and paint them a light colour. It costs me hundreds the first time but they should last forever. I have spend more on bamboo in just the last 5 years. I don't find growing it myself a option as i have a tiny garden and it would take at least 3×2 meter to supply me with enough for all beans, cukes, tomatoes, and so on.
Good news, plant your veggies in random shit so you’ll absorb chemicals and who knows what
Have you done a green house review ?
Good presentation
If you have sea close enough, you can find many things like wood, nets or sometimes even pots that you can use in the garden. Also you can collect seaweed to make your own conditioner (just check first if it's legal where you live)
Thank you! Most of these hacks I already know, but I get overwhelmed and forget to employ many of them. Drought and inflation have kicked my SSDI (US disability) ass just as I was finally getting the hang of growing rather than killing veggies and sustaining a beneficial insect population.
Been considering starting to compost and its so funny that you had guinea pigs in the video since i have them in my home and have been thinking if i could use their droppings in my future compost! Haha
Great video my friend
I've been collecting larger sized plastic cups, cup holes in the bottom of one, plant your seed in it, fill the second cup 1/3 of the way with water and put the cup with the soil inside the cup with the water, the water will soak into the soil through the holes in the cup and if the cup is clear you can see the water level dropping, just empty any extra water once the soil is saturated, even with bigger plants it's a good way to start seedlings, and help the environment.
Great information, love your videos! I try to plan ahead for next season and buy needed items from clearance this year. Got raised beds, large planters, portable greenhouse for 50%+ off. Also get premium potting mix for almost nothing and add it to gardens or even compost for over winter.
im a huge fan of seed saving and propagation, and i love the idea of making your own seed starting containers out of common biodegradable junk.
some of your plant recommendations tho like bamboo and butterfly bush are unfortunately invasive and ecologically damaging in north america and shouldn’t be planted here. personally i’d recommend sunflowers as alternatives for producing canes – the stalks dry very well and they can reach some incredible heights.
Rural King has very cheap potting mix. It's kinda woody but less than 3 dollars for a large bag. They also have compost/manure mix for the same price. I bought at least a hundred bags last year. I started with hard clay and now I have pretty dark soft soil about 6 inches deep before it starts turning back to clay. Not bad progress for first season. I expect next year to be a lot more productive. I have been making lots of compost, burying fish scraps, food scraps and basically anything that will break down in my gardens. I mulched with a layer of alfalfa pellets, a layer of cardboard, then topped with leaf mold and then a bunch of leaves. Most were from previous years as I raked them up from the forest behind my house. Human urine also makes great fertilizer for heavy nitrogen feeders. Just dilute 3 parts water to one part urine. It really does work like a champ
thank you for all your idesa. something i did this past summer that helped against aphids = i put cedar chips around near the soil where the plant is most likely to have aphids. this worked well for zucchini, squash, pumpkins, just any plant those nasty pests bother.
Thanks for these great tips, useful for when we build our new beds…soon.
I used old milk cartons as mini greenhouses, successfully before our greenhouse was built!
Seeds here in Indonesia is extremely dirt cheap, you can buy them online for about 1.000 rupiahs ( 8 cents ) for almost any kind of seeds. Which will get you 10-100 seeds for each package. And its free delivery .For an heirloom varieties it could cost double but still very cheap.
For comparison a kilo of sugar here is $1. So it's not a problem here. I lived in The Netherlands for a while and the price of seeds there were ridiculous !
I use second hand market sites to buy old fruit trees. Plant nurseries would ask 25 euros for a 2 year old peach tree, for example, and I buy one that's 7 years old, with a thick trunk, for 50 euros. A 7 year old huge kiwi vine for 20 euros with the heavy metal support system for free. In a plant nursery, a small kiwi stick would already kost 20 euros.
So much more sustainable to reuse and upcycle too!
Great suggestions as always! One question I have is, you mentioned rodent droppings are good for the compost. What about rats? Wild rats have invaded my compost bin but I’m afraid to use it now because of the possibility of rat droppings. Any thoughts? Thank u!
Thank you, Ben! I was looking into gardening but saw it was so expensive, so I didn't bother. But now your tips helped and I'm going to start planting this spring!
I suspect, that top of the fridge germination also sped up by a small vibration from it. Just a theory.
I've found a good time to stock up on seeds is at the end of the season when stores are trying to get rid of them. I got all my seeds half price at the grocery store last fall hehe
I am a new gardener and I am learning so much from your videos, thank you xx
I don’t have a green house but I have a shed. Would it work?
Ps: love your content x