Discover practical frugal gardening tips and learn how to save money by reusing small household items. See how small habits protect your bank balance.
Written 29th April 2025
This last weekend I had to dig over my veggie patch in the garden. It's not big, around 12ft x 6ft.
I've got runner beans, courgette, lettuce, onion, parsnip, spinach, beetroot, basil, garlic and radish to go in.
It took me hours to remove all the flower plants from the soil. To turn all the soil over with a fork and remove as many old roots (to go in my compost heap) and all the stones from the patch. Then I dug in some manure and soil improver to give it some extra nutrients for the plants. It was back breaking work but wonderful to think of all the organic veg I'm going to grow this summer.
It was good for the soul to get my hands in the big clumps of clay and break them up. To smell the earth. To see all the worms. I'm genuinely excited about my little plot and what culinary delights will come from it in the coming weeks and months. The time just flies by and it's very relaxing and just wonderful being outside and at one with mud. Remember when you were a child how much fun making a mud pie was?
I reuse poles each year for my runner beans and sweet peas. Imagine my delight when I was able to un-tie last years string used for tying the plants onto the poles, and reuse it again this year.
I'll probably never have to buy another ball of string or twine at this rate. Why would I bin something at the end of the growing season, and then have to buy more next time I grow things that need support? Start to think about reusing your things, even what you think are insignificant things. Even if it only costs £2 or a small ish amount.
Those small amounts add up.
Remember your daily coffee could be costing £1000 a year when you add them all up.
This is the same.
A lot of my seeds say sow by this year, but I'm confident if they are stored right I'll be able to successfully use them next year. Remember, those expiry dates are a way of making you buy more of something.
No matter how small your outside space is, try to grow something you can eat this year and look forward to seeing it mature and tasting it.
If you don't fancy growing vegetables, buy a packet of night scented stock seeds, or another flower you like. Something you just scatter on a flower bed or in a pot and that doesn't need growing indoors and transplanting later. It's quick and easy and will make you smile when you see the beautiful colours and smell the sweet fragrance. It will help you remember how amazing nature is. And studies have shown people who garden have lower rates of depression and anxiety. I personally find it quite meditative. And when your head is clearer, you think better, and make better choices. You become calmer being at one with nature whether that's out for a walk or run, or pottering in your outside space.
I've gone off on a tangent (as usual), because the point of the post was about reusing the string/twine, and looking after what you have, instead of just binning things, even cheap, insignificant things. Save and reuse, the planet will thank you and so will your bank balance.
Every single piece of reused string or skipped takeaway coffee keeps your hard-earned money exactly where it belongs: with you. Head over to the Non-Essentials Calculator to hunt down your own small spending leaks and start growing your financial garden today.