Frugal DIY gardening tips for Fall planting

For thousands of years frugal gardening was the only way to garden. Instead of buying starter plants at a local nursery or garden center, people planted seeds they had collected and saved during the previous harvest. Or swapped seeds and cuttings with friends and family. Or divided their own existing plants.

They didn’t buy mulch or composting equipment from those Big Box garden stores either. For century after century they created soil amendments themselves or did without. All gardening was do-it-yourself gardening.

This thrifty approach still works in the 21st century and may be more important than ever, especially for those of us whose gardens scorched right down to the bare earth during the relentless heat this summer. Replacing the plants that died as well as introducing new ones may be what you are facing this Fall. And the expense can be shocking. You may even have moments when you think: Buy groceries? Or buy for the garden?

So here is what to do to create a money-wise, water-wise garden this year.

Your Library is Your Frugal Gardening Friend

Hundreds of public libraries from coast to coast have turned their old card catalogs into bins containing packets of free herb and vegetable seeds. The seeds are most commonly collected locally and packaged in carefully labeled plastic bags by volunteer gardeners. Because the seeds come from their own gardens you know that they should thrive in your climate.

If your local library does not offer this service, ask them to start one of these “seed banks”. Master Gardeners or members of gardening clubs may be willing to help launch this free seed service.

There are also free seed swap services online. I haven’t used any of them, so I won’t make a specific website recommendation. If you use one, keep in mind that seeds that thrive in one location may not in another, for example, in a hot dry garden. It’s best to find local seed sources.

And DO NOT plant any seeds that come from China or other foreign countries. Don’t even put them in the garbage. Destroy them or turn them in to the US Dept. of Agriculture.

Multiply by Division

Plants that grow from bulbs, corms or rhizomes, which are basically fat roots, can be easily doubled or tripled by dividing them after they have finished their growth season. Note: In most U.S. Southwest climates, it is not necessary to dig up and store these over the winter. Leave them in ground year ’round unless your garden experiences hard freezes.

Among the easiest to multiply by dividing is the drought-tolerant Bearded Iris (Iridaceae). Every 3 or 4 years simply dig up the rhizomes, trim the leaves back to about 5 or 6 inches, then cut the rhizomes apart with a sharp, clean knife. Allow the rhizomes to dry for a couple of weeks, then shallowly replant in late September or October. Don’t wait until Spring.

When you divide Canna Lilies (Canna indica) there’s no need to dry out the rhizomes for weeks before replanting, but do wait until it has stopped blooming and the leaves have died down before you dig it up. After you’ve cut the rhizomes into pieces each with a short length of stem attached, let them sit for one or two days. Once the raw cut side has scabbed over you can replant.

Daylilies (Homercallis) and  Agapanthus also lend themselves to being divided. Again, dig them up, divide the large root ball clumps and replant. No long drying out period is required. You should do this every 3 to 5 years to encourage these plants to keep blooming beautifully. After replanting be sure to water them frequently until they are established.

Cutting it up

You can multiply many shrubby perennial herbs, like salvias, rosemary, thyme, lavender, marjoram and oregano simply by taking a 4 to 8 inch long cutting of a stem with two to four leaves attached, then putting that stem in a pot of natural soil from your garden or use commercial potting soil mix. I prefer to mix native soil with potting mix. Take the cutting from fresh new growth for best results and keep the soil damp until ready to transplant into your garden.

You can also take cuttings from your favorite Geranium (Pelargonium) and simply stick them into a pot of soil or potting mix. Keep the soil damp and — voila — you will have vigorous new geraniums in bloom next summer.

Garden Shows mean big savings on uncommon plants

Because people who belong to specialty flower clubs and garden clubs usually cultivate rare and uncommon varieties of plants, at their plant sales you are likely to find unusual hybrids and colors to add variety to your garden.

Check out nearby botanical gardens, too. They often have ongoing plant sales to help support their operations.

Because of Covid-19, however, this is not a good year to hold a neighborhood plant swap in your front yard or driveway. Garden club sales and Botanical Garden events may also be cancelled because of the pandemic.

Not So Perennial

Now many of these plants are ones we think of as “perennials”, but perennials are not really perennial. They don’t last forever. Over a period of 4 to 10 years you may have to replace every perennial in your garden so DIY frugal gardening can be a real budget saver.

Some perennials don’t even last that long. One of our favorite plants for a perennial flower border in a hot dry garden is the Santolina. I love its brilliant yellow ball-like flowers but it rarely lasts more than 2 or 3 years and then must be replaced to remain beautiful.

And Finally: A Wake Up Call

And remember, it’s best to plant in Fall when the average daily temperature falls below 90F (32C). After all, that’s when Mother Nature plants her seeds. And plants that survived this summer’s blistering heat and have been in summer dormancy are now waking up and they are hungry. Feed them well in the next few weeks so they will be strong and not need replacing next year.

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