Everyone is trying to save a few dollars these days.  Swan River Gardens saw an explosion of interest in the do it yourself type of gardening in 2009 and we expect 2010 to be the same.  Here are some of our ideas on how to make gardening both less expensive and have a better pay off for your time and money.

Concentrate! Concentrate!  When buying pesticides or herbicides, buy concentrate instead of Ready to Use (RTU) products.  Concentrate is always cheaper because they contain little or no water.   In fact concentrate is on average 20-60% cheaper than RTU's.  That is just like getting what you need on sale for at least 20% off retail! 

Invest in a two good hand sprayers, one for pesticides to treat plants, one for herbicides to kill plants. Pick up a couple of cheap plastic measuring cups that show ounces and you are ready to go.  Just add water!    Be sure to keep sprayers labeled and rinse everything out thoroughly when you are done.  The experts at Swan River Gardens can help you select products that will give you the most for your dollar.

An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.  Take the time to use preventive products like pre-emergent herbicides and dormant oils to solve or lessen problems before they start.    Weed killing pre-emergent's like Weed Impede® will take care of a large area more economically than three or four times the amount of a product like Roundup® applied to full grown weeds later. 

Plucking off a few diseased leaves is free and can stop bugs in their tracks.  Just be sure to dispose of the leaves in the garbage, don't drop them on the ground to continue spreading their germs.

Dormant oil is a necessity for growing good fruit and can prevent pests from getting started on their dirty work before the blossoms even unfurl.   Keeping the grass under fruit trees mowed short and picking up fallen fruit also goes a long way to keep fruit unblemished.  

Grow the 'easy edibles'.  Have you seen the price of fresh basil lately?  Or rosemary?  Herbs can be a great introduction to growing your own produce.  Nearly all the common favorites do well in pots and can take less than perfect care.   Some like rosemary even make good houseplants and can spend the winter inside on a windowsill. 

Tomatoes are another expensive supermarket choice that you can grow for yourself in a pot on the deck.  On average one tomato plant can produce up to 20 pounds of fresh tasty fruit!  The only warning is that you may never settle for plain old supermarket hothouse tomatoes again!

Be sure to check with the experts at Swan River Gardens whenever you have questions about your gardening needs.  We understand belt tightening and want you to succeed in your garden and save your wallet!