Full Grown

 I'm an artist and I'm a gardener. Among other things... And those two passions often feed each other. Frankly, though, my green things often suffer from neglect while I'm busy with my creative work. 

This year, however, I've been able to add a bunch of affordable additions to my garden arsenal to help me be more efficient (and more successful) in the plant realm, without having to devote loads of additional time that I do not have.

gladiolus grown from
Dollar store bulbs 

I'm so happy about these ideas that I wanted to share them for anyone else who might also be looking for affordable ways to grow better. One thing all of these ideas have in common is that the items used came from my local dollar store (Dollar Tree). While I did not get all of my supplies from the dollar store, all of the items shared here were indeed picked up at Dollar Tree.

First up, a few basics. Every year my local Dollar stores offer a pretty extensive variety of non-gmo flower, herb, and vegetable seeds, plus bulbs

lilies grown from the bulbs

for more exotic flowers. I've grown tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, herbs, and more from the American Seed Company packets (currently 4 for $1.25) I've picked up there.

They also offer seed starting mix, sometimes in small bags, sometimes in expanding bricks. Both have proven a good buy for me at $1 (and more recently $1.25 after the price increases). And if you care to venture into the $5 department, you may find larger bags of soil mix.

Once you've planted seeds, you'll want to protect them from curious creatures and chomping critters. As someone who has attempted to maintain a home garden for many years, I can say pest control can be the most expensive and off-putting part of creating a home garden. It caused me to give it up for a few years, in fact. But I've been fortunate enough to pick up some tricks to help keep the pests at bay. And several of them can be found at the Dollar store.

seeds and starter mix

As for pots, though some of mine are just recycled containers, many came from the dollar store and have held up for two or more seasons before cracking and needing to be recycled. 

photo: dollartree.com

photo: dollartree.com

photo: dollartree.com

The first, most affordable one is seeds. That is, marigold seeds. Marigolds are a popular companion plant for many vegetables, since they act as a natural repellent. Apparently squirrels and other pests, including aphids do not like the smell/color of marigolds. If you have a Dollar Tree near you, you're in luck, because the stores in my area usually offer more than one variety of marigold seeds. Going by the package, they promise beautiful flowers. AND marigold flowers are edible when grown untreated with pesticides. While you're there, pick up a utility spray bottle, dish soap, and vegetable oil.
Mix a little of the dish soap and vegetable oil into the spray bottle (no more than a teaspoon each), fill it with water, and use it to spritz plants if you notice bugs getting cozy on the leaves. The other options for protecting your green abundance include these items, which I try to keep on hand: 

mesh trash cans and baskets, mesh roll, mesh bag

The mesh trash cans and baskets Dollar Tree offers make good plant cloches that keep rodents out. They stopped chipmunks from sampling (and then leaving half eaten!) my smaller strawberry plants. I used the basic mesh roll found in the craft section to cover my longer pots and stop animals from digging up the soil and destroying my delicate seedlings:

wrapping and covering pots with craft mesh

I used duct tape and packing cling wrap

cling from the office section

(also from the dollar store) to secure the mesh in place.

A bonus: pick up a bag of plain (non-scented) epson salts. Add a tablespoon to another spray bottle filled water to use as a foliar leaf spray ever few weeks that provides the plants with extra nutrients.

a simple solution

Next, mostly for my indoor plants, I will sometimes add the river stones available in the craft section on top on the soil around the base of the plant to discourage gnats. I then try to water from the bottom my setting my smaller pots into a pail from the dollar tree with water in it. Each plant absorbs the amount of water it needs, the water goes straight to the roots, and the top soil stays dry and less attractive to fungus gnats and other pests.

 A recent find I made was a unique acrylic vase. When I saw it, I knew I would use it for a propagation station. The clear sides make it easy to monitor when roots appear, and the six holes accommodate quite a few stems. Also, the top is removable so it can be cleaned. 

 

Lastly, new this year (to the stores near me), I found these cute hairpin leg plant stands. They are part of the five dollar section, but seem sturdy enough to hold one or two small plants. They offer several colors, but I chose classic black. 

I feel I haven't even scratched the surface, because I didn't even mention the items I've picked up previous years. like gardening gloves, hanging baskets, and tools, but you'll have to go see for yourself. Their seasonal garden section appears as early as January and has only expanded every year, with more selection to help gardeners on a budget like myself. I think home gardening is growing in popularity, and they want some of that business! If you go, don't limit yourself to just the garden section. I've found things that work in other departments as well. Give yourself time to browse and brainstorm solutions. 

While I do recommend these items, I will note that Dollar Tree is notorious for not keeping things stocked/restocked with any consistency. And the one time I did attempt to order from the website (which only offers case quantities on many items), I did not have a good experience. My order was shipped to a store that unpacked and placed my items out for sale, lol. And refund is not in their vocabulary. 

If you don't have a Dollar Tree in your area, try the Dollar or Pound shop near you. You never know what you'll find.