Start a Garden for FREE with these tips! If you are starting a garden on a budget these gardening freebies are a great place to start.
Do you already have garden you are growing? My son has been asking for a garden for months now. A little kids garden he can feel proud of growing and we are ready to make his dream come true.
We’re anxiously looking forward to planting weather so we can get started. I don’t want something too difficult or time consuming, because the attention span of kids changes rapidly.
I also don’t want something expensive so these tips are helpful to start a garden for free. Check them out an share your tips in the comments below.
How to Start a Garden for FREE
FREE Garden Planning Tools
Plan out your garden space using free garden planning tools. Request this free Gardener’s Idea Book and visit the sites below that are free, or offer a free trial that you can cancel after getting the information you need to start a garden for free:
FREE Mulch or Compost
Check with your local recycling center to see if they offer free mulch and compost. Generally you have to bag it up yourself but it is worth it for free or even really cheap.
You can also check ChipDrop to see if they are in your area. They connect gardeners looking for mulch with arborists or tree companies looking to get rid of it. I don’t know who thought of this but it is an awesome service!
If you want to learn more about composting, download one of five FREE Compost eBooks HERE! One of our kids did this for school one year. I wish I remember the steps or that we had kept it up!
FREE Fertilizer
Score FREE Coffee Grounds at Starbucks to use for fertilizer. Our Starbucks sets out bags of coffee grounds in front of the counter that you can help yourself to. They must be pretty popular because the basket is usually empty when I am there. Check with your local Starbucks next time you are in and see if they offer them.
FREE Seeds
Check online exchange groups and forums, as well as social media, for people to swap seeds with. The ones below are great places to get started:
- SeedSavers
- FreeHeirloomSeeds.Org
- IHeartSeeds.com
- Facebook – search your city and “seed swap” to find a local group
Another place to check for seeds is your local library. Ours recently started offering them and they are filed in card catalogs by type. We are allowed so many each year and this has been my new favorite thing as we start a garden for free.
Other Garden Freebies to Start a Garden
Save Our Monarchs offers free seeds to schools and clubs to start pollinator gardens.
Grab these free garden printables to create a garden notebook! There are pages for planning, tracking, garden chores, seed sorting, and more.
Are you part of gardening club? Request free samples of Osmocote Plant Food for your group!
Keep an eye on free kids workshops at Home Depot and Lowes. Sometimes they offer bird houses or other garden projects that kids can build for free!
Some of these freebies run out and new freebies pop up. Stop each season before you plant to see what is available to add to your garden! Happy planting!
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