Cost-Saving Tips that are good for the environment and your wallet!
Given the rising cost of living crisis in the UK, Ethical Organic Seeds wanted to help families and individuals alike by sharing some of our most cost-effective seeds as well as some ways you can save money on garden products too!
Most Cost-Effective Vegetable Seeds
Lettuce (200 Seeds per Pack)
Carrot Solvita (800 Seeds per Pack)
Perpetual Spinach (100 Seeds per Pack)
Eleonora Broad Beans (20 Seeds Per Pack)
Onion Robelja (125 Seeds Per Pack)
Blauhilde Climbing Beans (20 Seeds Per Pack)
Lettuce can produce a lot of food as you can pick at the leaves and they will grow back 2-3 times below the lettuce will start flowering and no longer produce tasty lettuce leaves so for £1.39 for a pack of 200 seeds you could grow as much as 400 lettuces with these. Grow in pots, planters or beds.
Lettuce care: Aphids (green flies) can be an issue, however if you have lots of ladybirds in your garden these will eat them or dilute washing up liquid and rub this on lettuce leaves.
Carrot Solvita produces one carrot to every seed, but can be left in the ground and pulled out as when required over the winter. Best grown in planter in 30cm deep soil.
Carrot care: Carrots are prone to carrot fly, this can be prevent by keeping a cover on your carrots, you can use horticultural mesh or to recycle an old semi-transparent/transparent plastic bag instead.
Perpetual Spinach! We are absolutely crazy for Perpetual Spinach here at Ethical Organic Seeds and that's because it is such high-yielding vegetable that is resistant to flowering (so will produce spinach for longer) and it does not attract pests plus it will continue to grow all year and stay alive during winter.
We have many perpetual spinach plants that are in their second year and still going strong.
One seed can grow up to 1m high and produce around 100g of spinach every 3-4 months. Again like with the lettuce you can harvest directly from the plant as and when you require it. Grow in pots, planters or beds.
Eleonora Broad Beans are fantastic because you can start them indoors in pots and put them outside in March. They are hardy and resistant to the snow.
Broad Beans are 25% protein making them a great way to bulk up a meal. Per plant, on average you can grow between 120 - 200 beans or roughly the same in grams so 2400 - 4000 beans per pack.
Broad Beans when they are small can attract mice so we recommend starting them inside before moving them inside. Best grown in vegetable beds.
Onion Robelja are tasty and another great way to bulk up any meal, they are very easy to grow and each seed will produce one onion. So you are looking to produce 125 onions per pack, but please be aware these onions seeds will not last more than a year so get planting or get sharing! Best grown in pots, planters or beds.
Blauhilde Climbing Beans are another seed chosen for it's high-yield, each seed/plant produces around 100 pods which are 12cm long so 2000 pods per seed pack! Best grown in vegetable beds.
All of our seeds have been grown using environmentally friendly methods and we can guarantee that these will taste better than vegetables you can buy in the supermarket too!
Now Let's have a look at...
Cost-Saving Tips for Gardening Equipment
Make your own planters
Make your own compost
Save water
Planter can be made out of anything here's some idea for planters for seedlings and when your plants are getting bigger.
Upcycled planters for seedlings
Plastic tubs that contain strawberries and grapes are perfect for growing any seeds in as they come with holes already in them. I've seen seeds grown very successfully in old cardboard cartons with the side cut off (just make sure not to add too much water) and old sushi containers make great propagators (a plant pot with a lid)! You could use old tupperware tubs or plastic bottles and drill holes in the bottom as well.
Upcycled planters for bigger plants
As your plants start getting bigger you need to get more creative! You can use old buckets or plastic storage tubs and drill holes in the bottom of these. If you know any one who works in a warehouse damaged pallets or pallet collars make excellent planters. You can turn old bits of furniture into planters too . Baths tend to be are very popular at allotments.
Make your own compost
This isn't necessarily as complicated as it sounds! If you have a garden that is covered in weeds/overgrown grass and has been left to run amok, believe it or not, the soil beneath this garden is likely to be in good condition, because it has been left undisturbed.
All you need to do is to cover the soil with some old cardboard and wait usually 2-3 months for a space to be cleared and to give you access to that soil. This is a technique used by gardening legend Charles Dowding if you want to know more.
It is a good idea to top up your soil with nutrients once a
year before you start planting.
The easiest way to do this is cold composting. Cold composting involves adding green compost from the kitchen to brown garden waste in a bin, but please check the list for compost ingredients as not everything can go in!
Save Water
Whilst a water butt is the usually method of collecting water, you can collect water in any plastic containers outside and it's proven that rainwater is better for your plants than tap water. You can also use any water used for washing fruits and vegetables.
So you can save money on water and help the environment too!