I know what you’re thinking, “isn’t it too late to start a garden?” Depending on where you are in the world, right now is the perfect time to start your summer garden! You may not be able to start seeds indoors, but you can sow them outside or buy plant starts from your local farmers market or nursery.
We live in SE Texas, so we have an extra long growing season! I’ve actually just sowed a few seeds directly outdoors and they’ve already taken off!
If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about! I know Ive been a bit MIA from my blogging space, so the long story short update: we moved out of our apartment in the city and bought some land in hopes of starting a small homestead. We’re doing this all on our own, and on one Income. With prices of lumber and materials skyrocketing, we had to do lots of research as to how we would make our garden. And so, our budget garden was born!
Here’s what I’m using this year:
Grow bags!
Grow bags are a great option to grow your veggies in! The materials are self-wicking, they are a great help to the plant’s root-system, and the best part they’re cheap! I’m growing in 10 gallon grow bags, you can get away with 5 gallon grow bags ; but I really wanted my veggies to not have to compete or sacrifice for space. However, because of their self wicking nature they do need to be watered more often. Currently with this Texas heat I water once a dawn and once at dusk, for some this may be a con but I honestly enjoy being in my garden space so I don’t mind.
A trellis!
Depending on what you grow, your veggies may need something to climb up on. I’m growing tomatoes, cucumbers, and sugar baby watermelons. You can use a tomato cage for all of these, upside down for the melons. I also really wanted to use cattle panel, but I drive a sedan so getting a trellis and tomato cage home was a challenge. I found this trellis netting for under $10! It’s actually surprisingly sturdy and does an awesome job! You’ll need something to attach it to, and something to help support and guide the plants onto it.
Garden Stakes
As mentioned earlier, you’ll need something to attach the trellis netting to! That’s where these garden stakes come in, I stuffed these on each side of the grow bags on the inside and secured them to the handles of the grow bags. Using the zip ties
Garden Zip-Ties
I needed a way to hold everything together. Originally I hammered the garden stakes into the ground, however that made them way too short! So, not only did these zip ties allow me to secure the netting to the post, but it also was able to secure them to the plant and grow bags! These items seem like such a mindless thing, but they really are the “glue” that keeps it all together!
Garden Velcro Tape
Velcro? For plants? YES! Now because of the type of trellis Im using, I needed something to help guide the plants up and to also keep them secure during wind and storms. Tomatoes naturally grow up, but melons like to spread out unless you train them to go up yourself! This Velcro tape is more gentle than using something like zip ties, and it allows the plant to grow without being disturbed. I found growing the plants up rather than letting them stay on the ground have helped minimize the pests.
EXTRAS
Hand pruning shears
Pruning is almost always necessary for a healthy garden. I thought – because pruning seed starts were easy with my fingers – that i didn’t need these. I was so so wrong, these plants got SUPER thick. These pruning shears are a MUST!
Organic Potting mix
Having an organic garden is my priority! This organic potting mix is affordable AND effective in the garden!
Organic compost
Two of the most important components of your garden should be your soil/mix and your organic matter. This compost has been working great in our garden and is also very affordable!
And there you have if, a simple garden on a budget! Are you gardening this year? If so, what are you growing? I’d love to know In the comments below!
Grace Mccoy 