Nov 23, 20223 min read

Start a vegetable garden on a budget

Anyone can start a vegetable garden

Here's the thing, you don't need a landscaped garden to have a beautiful and producing garden. I've built most of what I have in my own garden (with the help of my family and gardening team of course when it was needed). We repurpose wood frames, pallets, bamboo sticks, rocks, wood mulch etc. Keeping things tidy is more important than investing in expensive structures and designer layouts off the bat. Rather invest in better soil and seeds/ plants.

I do have a few spoils but you can absolutely start without having manicured garden paths, raised beds or fancy matt black trellis.

What you need to get started

You can start a productive vegetable garden in no time and on a budget. Just check to see that your space gets lots of sun.

1. For bigger spaces: find some boxes on their way to recycling at your local supermarket with minimal print, remove plastic and overlap them onto a 1m x 1m patch of grass

For smaller spaces: Grab some Woolies woven bags for the below steps.

2. A nursery near you might have their own in house compost available to purchase in 40 or 45 dm3 bags. When you order from specialist soil providers you'll likely need to order per m3 and add a delivery cost to that. Your other option is retail compost if you're in a hurry, try find an organic brand.

3. Starting from seed needs a bit of practice, so select seedling trays with vegetables you actually like to eat at your nursery.

4. You'll need a water source. The closer a tap that can fit a hosepipe the better. You don't want to be lugging heavy watering cans up and down. Irrigation is a plus

5. Basic gardening gear like a pair of gardening gloves, spray bottle, plant markers and fertaliser. If you can't afford a trip to buy handy tools you can still start. You can thrift a lot of things as you start out.

Buy essentials

You will need some fertiliser so go with an option that gives you bang for your buck - like a Talborne VITA VEG 2kg packet will go a long way. buy a bit smaller to start off and DON'T overcomplicate fertilising.

At some stage you'll be combatting pests and disease as well. My no 1 tip here is to observe your plants daily, and manually manage pests or visible signs of disease. There are some home made remedies if your budget is not flexible, otherwise opt for smaller (250 ml) organic solutions that you mix and apply.

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. —Gertrude Jekyll (2011)

Learn the basics for free

Youtube and Instagram have loads of useful accounts to follow for gardening tips. If you can afford time to research and read up on gardening 101, these accounts generally offer great tips. Try follow a few accounts from different countries, to see what's happening in their seasons as well (You'll learn quickly and can apply those seasonal learnings when you plan for next season).

Have fun!

There is a lot of often confusing and unsolicited advise from social media. Find your favourite sources and just enjoy your gardening journey. We must make mistakes to learn, no one has a perfect garden. If you can unlock the joy gardening offers to you and your family, you're winning already. There will always be challenges, but take it in your stride and focus on the harvests, excitement of selecting seedlings or seeds, seeing your seeds germinate etc. etc.

Enjoy the rewards

Gardening not only allows you to get out a bit more and move, you'll learn a ton, grow your own food and experience the rewarding feeling of the entire process. There's nothing quite like it.

I hope you found this useful. Earth and Leaf's purpose is to make vegetable gardening a little more simple and fun for everyone. While you're here check out our shop or services to see if there's anything you need. If you don't see it listed but you want it - contact me (no obligation).