I’ve never met a gardener who didn’t bite off more than they could chew.

Or at least want to. The biggest inhibitor to my gardening plans is the money. (Yes, there are other inhibitors. I’m not exactly the energizer bunny, so I would be limited as to how many new garden beds I can turn over in a year… but so far, I’ve run out of cash before I’ve run out of energy.)

1. 1. Buy in Bulk:  Plants are almost always cheaper if you buy more than one. Split a larger order with a neighbor, or buy two years’ worth of plants at once instead of splitting multiple small orders across multiple years.
   2. Study the Sales: Watch closely! Most nurseries tend to host the same sales (and for online companies, free shipping offers) each year. If you watch a company of interest for a full growing season before you order, you can get a good idea of what sales to look out for next spring… and which promotional emails are just over-aggressive advertising. You may find that ordering early in the season will get you the best price for some nurseries through early-bird sales, while others save their lowest prices for end-of-spring clearance.
   3. Steward Your Investment: The biggest waste of your money is the waste that could have been avoided. Keep your plants alive! Purchase or schedule delivery for a timeframe when you’re available to plant them right away, follow instructions, and make sure to provide the appropriate care for established plants. Don’t forget to winterize your fruit trees and shrubs as well, particularly if you live in a northern gardening zone.
   4. Learn to Propagate: Instead of buying new strawberry crowns each year, learn to root and transplant the runners. Most soft-fruit species are easy to propagate, and you can save a lot of money by increasing your fruit plants with a little dirt and maybe some rooting hormone. Similarly, most soft fruits are extremely easy to root and divide, while hard fruit might take some additional work – but it’s worth the effort to learn.
   5. Don’t Throw Out Pruned Whips: Many nurseries recommend cutting back a bare-root whip when you plant it for the first time When I do this, I treat the pruned stem as a new cutting, and plant it – even if it’s late in the spring. It doesn’t always work – and even if it does, I’m aware the mature tree won’t have the benefit of the rootstock. But sometimes the cutting does take root, and I get a free tree for the price of none.
   6. Avoid Diseased Plants: This one is a no-brainer. Bringing home one diseased plant can destroy your entire orchard. Not cool. Make sure you purchase from a reputable company – and if you are bringing home plants from a neighbor, make sure you are aware of the local diseases those plants might be susceptible to. Know the signs and symptoms and be ready to cull or move potentially infected plants into quarantine if necessary!
   7. Compare Prices: Again, this seems like a no-brainer… but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve regretted a purchase after running across the same plant for a fraction of the price elsewhere. Choose your own personal “top 3” trusted greenhouses or companies, and cross-check their prices. There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite supplier, but you will do yourself a favor if you find several reputable options instead of just one. Most likely you will find that each has its own pros and cons, and there’s nothing wrong with switching your order every year or two to make sure you get the best price for that year’s wishlist.
   8. Read Reviews: If purchasing from a local nursery, you get to see what you are purchasing before you plunk down your money. With online companies, you usually don’t – so I spend ridiculous amounts of time reading other gardeners’ online reviews of the quality of plants they received. One place I recommend (although as always, take online reviews with a grain of salt) is Dave’s Garden. It can be hard to determine which reviews are legit, as opposed to which “fails” are indeed the fault of the consumer… I certainly have been guilty of my share of plant fails, so I try to keep in mind that the customer isn’t always right – but you can generally get a good sense of the overall reputation of a company by skimming through some of the recent comments. Do also keep in mind that more people are likely to share a negative experience than a positive one, which might skew reviews a bit… but be prepared to deal with any of the more common issues mentioned in the reviews if you do decide to go ahead and purchase. 
   9. Plan Ahead (no “whim” purchases!): Make a list, check it twice. Nothing breaks my budget like an unexpected “NEW!” sign over a plant I hadn’t expected to see. Choose your priorities before shopping – and then do some “pre-shopping” with no wallet in your pocket to make sure your list priorities don’t change before your cart fills up. If you plan out your purchases well in advance, you can hit all your priorities during peak sale season and drop any unexpected newcomers on next year’s priority list.
   10. Buy a Zone-Hardy Plant: It’s critically important that you purchase a tree, shrub, or other plant that is likely to survive your climate. If it dies a year or two down the road, you’re out the time, the money, and – let’s face it – the motivation to try again. (Not sure what fruit trees will work in your zone? Check out my article on how to find cold-hardy fruit trees for zone 4 and colder.)
   11. Plan Ahead for Propagation: I usually lean towards purchasing plants that will self-replicate. Raspberries? I don’t have to do a thing; they renew (and spread!) like crazy, so one purchase can eventually be nurtured into a full, thriving bed. This is also true for strawberries and other small fruit, but others – like grapes and shrubs – take some extra time and effort. Teach yourself how to propagate a variety of fruit plants, and you will be able to stretch your dollars each year.
   12. Set a Reserve Budget: One of my recent strategies has been to save out some of my “spring” plant budget in case of season-end sales. This has worked fantastically well; as local greenhouses switch out their inventory, they often drop prices on leftover spring items (and the same is true for online storefronts). What is leftover tends to be of the potluck variety; a little of this, a little of that, but if you end up not spending those funds, they can roll back into your “next-year” budget.
   13. Avoid Risky Gambles: This is a direct tie-in to the previous bullet point. If it looks dead, it often is. A free dead plant is great. Ya never know if those roots might send up a surprise. However, a 75%-off dead plant is still a dead plant, but now you’re out 25% of the cost of a perfectly healthy version of the same plant. Don’t do it. I am VERY selective about what plants I will purchase from my local farm store after the first peak planting season passes. You know the type; those very affordably-priced plants sold with their roots bagged up and encased in a colorful light cardboard sleeve. If I don’t see active, healthy growth emerging from the bag, I won’t buy it; there’s no guarantee that a “dormant” stem is actually dormant, and not actually dead.
       
   14. Shop County Sales: Depending on where you live, your county or county extension office might host native plant sales. These tend to offer very low-priced plants (some fruit-bearing, some not), so long as you get in line early! Selection is usually very limited, and often is a mixture of fruit-bearing and non-fruit-bearing, so you may not find what you are looking for. However, if you do see something you want, order immediately; waiting too long will usually mean that the entire stock is sold out, so find out well before the spring planting season whether your area is hosting one of these sales.
   15. Plant from Seed: This doesn’t always work – many fruit trees and plants won’t breed true from seed – but for some small and soft fruits in particular, it’s a great option! One of my favorite seed-starting “win” moments was planting black goji berries. After buying a packet of seeds that I only used a small fraction of. I ended up with a half-dozen healthy plants for less than the price of a single nursery-grown shrub. Hard to argue with that kind of return on investment.

Gardening on a budget isn’t always easy, and everyone has their own system. This list is how I work to stretch my money and build a bigger home garden without breaking the bank.

Happy gardening!