7 Ways to Save Money on Your Summer Garden

For most regions in the U.S., summer is the peak growing season. And with grocery prices being so high, even folks who don't normally garden are likely considering putting some plants in the ground this summer to help their personal finances.

Unfortunately, starting a garden -- or even refreshing last year's beds -- can be surprisingly expensive. So if you're going to save money on your grocery bill with a garden, you need to keep the start-up costs as low as possible. Happily, help may be easy to find, if you look in the right places.

1. Start from seed

It is nearly always far more affordable to start plants from seed than it is to buy established plants from a nursery or home improvement store. A single $2 packet of seeds can be enough to start dozens of plants, while the nursery may charge $2 or more for a single sprout.

The downside? Time. It can take weeks to get a seed to the same point as the plants in the store, so you need to get your seeds going as soon as possible.

2. Join a gardening group

Another big perk of starting from seed is that you often end up with more plants than you can, well, plant. Don't throw them away! Find a local gardening group and swap your excess sprouts for new varieties or plants to add to your garden. You could potentially even swap extra seedlings for other needed supplies, like a handmade trellis or nutritious (for plants) worm tea.

3. Hit your local library

I'll happily wax poetic about the virtues of libraries at any opportunity, but this one is particularly awesome. You see, many public libraries aren't just for books -- they also have seeds! You can get free seeds of all kinds, from fruits and vegetables to ornamental flowers. Your local library may even offer a variety of tools you can check out, too. (Don't forget to take a peek at the shelves for useful gardening books while you're there.)

4. Find free compost (or make your own)

Despite the prevalence of the phrase "dirt cheap," garden soil can be downright expensive. And this goes double for the organic compost that most experts will tell you to use. But you may not need to fork over $5 a bag at the hardware store to fill your beds. Many cities have community compost programs that let you pick up dirt by the truckful. If your city doesn't have such a program, see if any local colleges have an agriculture program or extension office that provides a similar service.

Alternatively, start your own compost pile. You don't need a ton of space to get some good compost going, and it's a great way to use up extra kitchen scraps so they won't wind up in landfills.

5. Check out the dollar stores

I'll be the first to admit that a whole lot of the stuff in the dollar store is plastic junk that isn't worth the pennies you pay for it. That said, you can actually find some remarkably useful gardening gear in amongst the nonsense. My local dollar store, for instance, sells a variety of seeds for $0.50 a packet. And the weed barriers I picked up a few years ago are still effective today.

6. Upcycle your trash

Some of the best-looking gardens I've ever seen weren't made up of row after row of store-bought beds and trellises. No, they had handmade structures upcycled from all manner of items. Avoid treated wood, but pretty much anything else is fair game for building raised beds or structures for your vining plants to climb. And nearly anything with a hole in it can be used as a planter. (I have an old rusted watering can that has been a great herb planter for years.)

7. Haunt the hardware store

Home improvement stores and nurseries know very well that a good chunk of their trade happens in the summer, so they have various sales going all season long. Follow your local nursery on social media, sign up for its sales flyers or newsletters, and keep your eyes peeled while shopping to score the best deals. (Get yourself a credit card with bonus rewards for home improvement purchases to save a little on every purchase, too.)

Bonus tip: Ditch the gym membership

Between the setup and maintenance, growing a garden is hard work. If you're going to get serious about your gardening, you could consider ditching the gym membership, at least for the summer. Flipping compost, weeding, and other garden maintenance will likely give you all the exercise you can handle, saving you money in this way too.