Growing veg cheaply

[alldigging]

What ideas have people got for ways to grow veg as cheaply as possible?


- paper pots & loo roll pots
- sharing seeds


What's the cheapest way of getting compost? Am investigating bulk buying - any suppliers would be useful!

[zazen999]

I've got a 3 hour course designed on this! Will be running it in Nottingham a bit later in the year.

[SarzWix]

Have a look on eBay; I searched 'bulk compost and found quite a few? Also, places like LBS Garden Warehouse are good for bulk buying module/cell trays and pots.

Seed saving has to be one of the best money-saving exercises; you don't just get free seeds, you also get seeds adapted to your conditions and so potentially higher yielding plants too

[KittyColdNose]

I work in a cafe so can get hold of coffee, tea bags and raw veg etc. I also claimed the plastic trays the "flowerpot" muffins (yes, they really are called flowerpot) are delivered in. They are a great size for starting off my seedlings and have a lid too. At the moment they have toilet roll tubes in them with beans and tom's just started. Maybe if anyone has a friendly cafe owner nearby they could ask if there are any that would normally be binned?

[KittyColdNose]

I forgot to mention the hot chocolate! We get through tons of the stuff and it comes in 5l tubs with tight fitting lids. I bring stuff home for composting in these and plan to use them for nettle tea as they are stackable and I can rotate them

[carolineholding]

Grow comfrey (or find a comfrey patch), so you can make your own tomato feed.
recycle containers for pots -yogurt tubs, margering tubs.
and I guess thinking of crops in terms of saving money, for example salad is really easy to grow, doesn't require too many nutrients and those bags of salad are really expensive. Or Courgettes that produce a lot for their money.

When I lived in London and was gardening on a budget in containers I used to buy municaple compost from the council, I think it was £2 a bag or free if you could use a ton, I dunno if your local authority does that still. lots of people were snotty about it but i grew everything in it and had really good yields. then I reused the same compost by growing green manures in it and adding chicken manure pellets (bought in bulk) and then worm casts -after i starting using a wormery.

I'm sure there are lots more ideas

[Aberdeenplotter]

I forgot to mention the hot chocolate! We get through tons of the stuff and it comes in 5l tubs with tight fitting lids. I bring stuff home for composting in these and plan to use them for nettle tea as they are stackable and I can rotate them

where do you keep the clothes pegs? Nettle tea don't half hum

[KittyColdNose]

where do you keep the clothes pegs? Nettle tea don't half hum

I have heard that it is a bit pongy, but if I can cope with a "fertile" bull terrier then I should be ok. Anyway, I'll send the hubby in first to open the lid

[Aberdeenplotter]

make sure you aren't at home, it does absolutely stink.

[Bren In Pots]

What ideas have people got for ways to grow veg as cheaply as possible?


- paper pots & loo roll pots
- sharing seeds


What's the cheapest way of getting compost? Am investigating bulk buying - any suppliers would be useful!

I mix my own compost using that out of the Dalek with some leaf mold and soil from stacked turf plus a bit of sand for sowing my seeds it seems to work out OK.
I still buy the odd bag of multi compost for things like toms and chilli seeds that i start of in the heated prop just in case I bring slugs into the kitchen.

[BUFFS]

OH buys those large type yoghurt pots and thats all i have used for seed sowing for several years now and they are large enough to let the plants stay in them for quite a while,so i rarely pot on now,it doesnt seem to be a problem,grew 19 pepper plants started in them last year,and we had a bumper crop,despite the constant dark days...

[Likac66]

I've got a 3 hour course designed on this! Will be running it in Nottingham a bit later in the year.

How would I find out more about this course?

[Two_Sheds]

What's the cheapest way of getting compost?

Leafmould / Royal Horticultural Society

[greenishfing]

I've found local car boot sales are always a good source of exceptionally cheap plant plots etc. Manure I get delivered free from a local stables a year before I need it and let it rot. I make a lot of compost but buy some of the cheapest but least lumpy I can find (with the highest possible peat content) for my greenhouse crops. I have tried peat free but it was a waste of money. If I have spent money on seed I want it to germinate. The only thing I have spent more than I had to on was good quality tools. I swop a lot of seedlings with my family, friends and other allotment holders. My brother in law is in charge of chilli and herb babies this year. I seem to grow cauliflowers and other brassica babies for everyone I know.

[zazen999]

How would I find out more about this course?

Once we have finalised dates they will all be on the Gro website...