A newbie gardener on a budget really can’t afford to buy
tools, seeds, soil, etc on his garden especially if he doesn’t even know how to
really begin gardening. What if his crop fails? The money spent on the garden
would be wasted and he can’t afford to pay someone to teach him to garden. So
how does a newbie gardener learn to garden for free and on a budget?
Hit
The Library
If you are a newbie gardener head
for the library and hit the gardening books in the gardening section. After
skimming through a few that make gardening a little easier to understand
checked them out and take sometime carefully reading them. Jot down notes as
you read because there is a lot to remember. Then use your notes and what you
learned to start gardening.
Expert
Gardening Neighbor
Chances are that somewhere in your
neighborhood there is an expert gardener. If you find one make friends and let
him/her know that you would love to learn to garden, but don’t know how.
Chances are they will overwhelm you with information based off of their
gardening experience.
Botanical
Garden Center
If you live near a botanical
garden center, visit the place go to the information office and ask them if you
can ask one of their gardeners a few questions about your garden. Most of the
time they are more than willing and happy to help. The botanical centers also
offer many free or nearly free gardening classes throughout the year.
Gardening Club
Join a free gardening club in your
local area. You can search for them on the Internet,
(Yahoo.com, meetup.com, etc.) or
ask a gardener from the botanical gardens if they can refer you to one.
Local Nursery
Attend a free gardening course at
your local nursery. If they have a website sign up for their newsletter and
when a free gardening course is available they will notify you. You may also
just ask them directly if they have free gardening classes. If they say yes,
ask them when and where they have these classes.
Ask a Farmer
Who else knows more about
gardening than someone who has depended on the success of his garden for a
large part of his life? If you are a hands on student, offer the farmer your
two helping hands around the farm in exchange for free gardening advice.
Borrow Gardening Magazines
Gardening magazines are often
filled with valuable gardening tips. If you know of anyone who reads gardening
magazines ask him or her if you can have their magazine issues when they are
done reading them. Libraries also have gardening magazine you can check out.
Trial and Error
Sometimes the best way to learn to
garden is to get your hands dirty. Put some seeds in the ground and watch them
grow or not grow. Take notes of what your plants look like and how long they
take to grow. Take note of your garden and what kind of soil you have. All this
will take time, maybe even a few years, but you will learn and the experience
will be valuable.
Watch YouTube
YouTube as videos about almost
everything it seems, including short how to garden videos. It’s free and
sometimes it is even funny.
Turn
To The Internet Once More
Turn to the Internet once more but
this time specifically search for free gardening tips. The Internet is filled
with free gardening tips written by anyone from the average gardening Joe to
the expert gardener. I would probably be considered an average gardening Jane.
If you still haven’t learned to
garden after taking free gardening course, reading about gardening and so on
you may just have to face the truth- you don’t have a green thumb.
