Penny Pincher: Organic Gardening Made Easier

I love gardens. I also love to garden. Unfortunately, I don't have as much time, money or knowledge to garden as I would like. I also believe strongly in organic gardening. Organic gardening can be difficult and takes effort, but the fruit of the labor is so sweet. I have put together tips, ideas, information and more about gardening that have made it a little easier for me and I wish to share with you. I add to it whenever I learn something new. A quick gardening resource for easy gardening tips.Take a look and feel free to leave your thoughts below.

To have a successful garden it helps to know what type of garden you have. Do you have a vegetable garden? Is your garden just a flower garden? Are your plants in pots or in the ground? Is your garden indoors (like your house) or outdoors? How much sunlight/light/shade does it get? What is the purpose of your garden? Is it for aesthetic looks, to supply your home with nutritious and delicious food, to keep your house cool, to keep up with the neighbors or all of the above. It is okay if you don't know the answer to these questions. Take some time to think about it.

Also, take some time to think about your finances. Do you have money to spend on your garden? If your answer is no, this too is okay. A garden doesn't have to cost you anything, but you will have to come up with creative ways to come up with the materials you need such as mulch, dirt and so on. If your answer is that you have a lot of money to spend on a garden, please understand you can garden inexpensively. So instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on your garden donate the money to a good cause like the one on this lens or a community garden in a less fortunate area.

For Gardening

If you plan to do all your gardening with a dull hand shovel than you are either a Masacist or know less about gardening than I do. To make gardening easier your need the right tools. The tools don't have to be expensive either. In fact you can buy used tools, borrow tools from a neighbor (don't forget to return), find some at thrift stores, freecycle, and so on. New tools don't have to be expensive either, especially if you buy basic tools: various shovel (spades) with different heads, a pitch fork, a dutch hoe, a hand shovel, gardening scissors, garden hose, watering can, wheelbarrow, etc.

If there is a particular tool you use a lot you really want it to be sturdy and of good quality. I have a hand shovel and pruners (the one pictured above) I have owned for years and they are my go to tools for any gardening project. You don't want your tools to fall apart after a few uses. If this is a tool you really need and you are going to use it a lot then do some research and consider buying a good quality version of this tool. If the price worries you divide the cost by the importance of the tool or how many years you will be able to use it. Also consider how much it will cost you to buy a new version of a low quality tool over and over. It may surprise you that the price will be about the same in the long run as buying a good quality tool.

I tend to look at the warranty. For example if the tool will last me 5 years I divide the price by 5 years and that is how much it will cost me per year. If it makes sense and is reasonable than I strongly believe in purchasing it. Again this is only for tools you use a lot and are not easy on.

To make the tools you have last longer (I need to practice what I preach) it is important to keep your tools sharp and out of the rain (to keep them from rusting).Keep your tools clean, dry, out of the rain and safely put away. It isn't cheap replacing tools over and over especially when just a little care can make your tools last and function well for a long time.

Now that you know what type of garden you have (or want to have) and you know that it is important to have good tools you need to ask yourself if you are willing to get dirty. Are you willing to GET DIRTY with your garden? Are you willing to love your garden? Are you willing to take five minutes a day (or more if you would like) to walk through your garden, inspect it for disease, harmful weeds or bad bugs. If your answer is no, can you do this once a week for an hour or twice a week, half an hour each day? If your answer is still no to one or all of these questions than maybe gardening is not for you or you would be better off just watering a few potted plants in your home, but if your answer was yes to one or all of these than I know and now you know you can handle it.

Does it help to know that gardening is NOT an all or none process? If you get sick and don't tend to your garden for a whole week your garden will very likely fair well. It may even fair well for two weeks or three (so long as environment temperatures are not severe). In my case, during a summer drought in the early 2000s we were on water restrictions. My plants withered away. I hated it. Just a few months prior my garden bloomed with color. Then without rain or permission to water I watched my plants wither away through my windows. It was too hot to even go outside. Finally that year the rains came back. It rained a lot after that. Today I see roses covering all three of my rose bushes. One bush is filled with so many large roses I had to apply a stake to it to keep it upright. New green leave buds are growing on my magnolia, my avocado and my lemon saplings. I love it.