When starting a veggie patch in your backyard from scratch, purchasing all the tools and supplies you need can be a very costly endeavour. Also, to ensure the food you grow for your family is healthy, it is important that you have landscaping supplies that are free from contaminants. If you're building or renovating your veggie patch, check out these top tips to help you save money on landscaping supplies.
Use what you have on hand first
Before you go out and spend a fortune on landscaping supplies, look around in your own backyard first. Perhaps you have large rocks, chicken wire, timber, or mulch that you can repurpose for your veggie garden. Alternatively, ask friends and family if they have any odds and ends that they will be happy to part with for cheap or free—you'd be surprised how many people have piles of mulch or bales of hay in their backyard left over from previous projects. If you're building raised garden beds, make sure that the timber you use is chemical-free and suitable for use with food production.
Cash in on bulk discounts
It's easy to pop a few bags of garden soil or mulch in the trolley when you're at the local garden centre, and it might not seem like a big expense at the time. Each of those small purchases can, however, add up to a significant cost pretty quickly when you're tending to a good-sized veggie patch. To truly save on landscaping supplies for your veggie garden, buy in bulk from your local landscaping supplies company. This is a particularly great option if you need to purchase a large amount of food-grade top soil or a large amount of mulch, wood chips, or hay. As many companies who sell landscaping supplies in bulk are used to dealing with commercial quantities, they may have a minimum amount you need to purchase in order to make the sale and delivery financially viable. If this is the case and you do not need the full amount for your own veggie patch, consider going halves with a friend or family members!
Plan ahead and estimate accurately
If you want to make an informed decision about whether buying in bulk is financially viable for your veggie patch, it's important to estimate your landscaping supply needs accurately. Measure the width and length of your veggie patch and formulate a good plan for how deep your soil will need to be. While the ideal soil depth is a matter of preference, it is important to consider whether your vegetables will be shallow, medium, or deep rooting. Once you have a concrete plan and measurements, use this handy top soil calculator to help you determine the volume of top soil you will need to purchase. Adequate planning and accurate estimating will also help you avoid buying excess supplies for your needs.
For more advice on selecting and saving on supplies for your veggie garden, contact your local landscaping supplies professionals today.
Share15 April 2016
It is important to let people know how much energy they are using with normal tasks around the school so they can make some sensible decisions about how they use appliances. We want to make sure that everyone at the school understands the focus on our usage and the effect that we can have on the environment, as well as the larger decision that the school is making such as motion-sensitive lights and replacing our energy-hogging older devices with new lower power using appliances. This blog talks about how to improve the energy efficiency of schools and will be useful for school administrators.