10 Thrifty Garden Hacks to Save Cash and Make Life Easier

By Ariana Marisol

These quick and easy gardening hacks will do wonders for your garden.

Start a seedling in a lemon grind.

Lemon rinds are easy starter pots for seedlings and they are made of all natural citrus peels. Fill half a lemon peel with potting soil, then poke a hole in the bottom for drainage. Next, add 2 seeds to the rind and water regularly. Once seedlings have overgrown the lemon peel, transplant the entire thing into your garden. The peels will compost directly into the soil to nourish the plants as they grow.

Use a shoe rack to create a vertical herb garden.

If you have issues with pests digging in your vegetable patch, use a hanging shoe rack! Attach a pole to a wall, then attach a hanging shoe rack to the pole. Use strong hooks or wire to attach it. The support should be strong enough to support the weight of the compost, plants and water. Fill each pocket with compost, then add a variety of plants or seeds of your choice. Be sure to poke a few holes at the bottom of each pocket for drainage.

Use coffee grounds to keep pests away from your plants.

Coffee grounds are a great source of organic matter. These grounds contain 10% of nitrogen, which is a great natural source of nitrogen for your plants. Nitrogen helps plants by converting sunlight into energy. Coffee grounds can also keep snails and slugs away because it is acidic and abrasive. Use two cups of coffee grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water when fertilizing your plants.

Reuse your eggshells.

Improve your gardening soil with eggshells. Rinse eggshells and put them in a blender. Grind the eggshells into a powder and sprinkle them in your garden to give your plants a quick and easy calcium boost.

Diapers absorb moisture in soil.

Yes, you read that right! Diapers are great at absorbing moisture and they are both non toxic and biodegradable. You can soak up to 4 cups of water with one diaper. If you need to dry out your soil quickly, lay diapers in your pots with the absorbent side down. If you want to keep your soil moist, soak the diaper with about 4 cups of water and lay it in the pot with the absorbent side facing down. This can keep the soil moist for seedlings.

Use old wine bottles to supply water for your plants.

This is a great hack for people who don’t have time to stay on top of plant watering. It is also great for warmer spring and summer seasons. Fill a wine bottle with water and quickly flip it upside down. Push the open end of the bottle into the dirt.

Eco-friendly paper pots with newspapers.

Plastic seedling pots are not eco-friendly, simply use newspaper instead! Shape some old newspaper into the shape of a pot, plant seeds such as beans, bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and eggplants. Once they start growing, quickly transfer them into ceramic pots.

The perfect automatic water supply.

Use paper towels and a glass of water to keep your plants watered for days. Roll up some paper towels as tight as you can without them breaking. Dunk the ends in a glass of water and lay the paper across the soil near your plants. The paper towel will absorb water from the glass and spread it evenly over the soil.

Coffee filters can absorb moisture from soil.

If you are against using diapers, try coffee filters! They can absorb moisture in soil with little to no effort.

Plastic forks can deter pests.

Reuse otherwise unrecyclable plastic forks as spikes to deter pets and animals from stampeding on your garden. This hack can deter rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and other common animals.

Ariana Marisol is a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. She is an avid nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, writer, hiker, dreamer, and lover of all things sustainable, wild, and free. Ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source, Mother Nature. She is currently finishing her last year at The Evergreen State College getting her undergraduate degree in Sustainable Design and Environmental Science. Follow her adventures on Instagram.

Photo Credit:
rachel_pics/flickr