$1 Garden

[Amaranth]

This idea originally came about from someone asking about how we could get a lot of use and enjoyment out of $1. The only request was that we spend it for something rather than adding it to a bank account.

My suggestion was the $1 garden.

I'd get 10 packs of seeds at 10/$1 or if they do the
sales again I could get
20/$1. For 10 I'd choose:

Beans, Pole
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Cucumber
Onions
Peppers, Sweet
Tomatoes
Turnips/Greens
Mixed Perennial Flowers (26 kinds in the envelope)
(Though it might be better to substitute squash for
one of the above, or
collards for the cabbage.)

Starting seeds in flats and transplanting them into
good fertile soil using
close biointensive spacing and growing techniques,
based on standard
germination rates, I could expect harvest yields of:

Beans, Pole (30s), 4 lbs
Beets (200s), 26 lbs roots, 26 lbs greens
Cabbage (120s), 650 lbs
Carrots (200s), 18 lbs
Cucumber (30s), , 88 lbs
Onions, green bunching (100s), 15 lbs
Peppers, Sweet Bell (25s), 17 lbs
Tomatoes (40s), 482 lbs
Turnips/Greens (100s). 22 lbs roots, 22 lbs greens
Mixed Perennial Flowers (26 kinds, 150s) Several
bouquets of flowers each
week

And since some of the Flowers are edible, medicinal,
or have other uses
there would also be:
*Cosmetic/Toiletry: Centaurea-Cornflower, Dianthus-Pink

*Dye: Achillea-Yarrow, Coreopsis lanceolata-Coreopsis,Coreopsis
tinctora-Coreopsis, Papaver rhoeas-Corn Poppy, Rudbeckia-Black Eyed Susan or Coneflower

*Edible Flowers: Centaurea-Cornflower, Dianthus-Pink

*Fiber: Linum-Flax

*Flooring: Linum-Flax

*Food(seeds): Linum-Flax, Papaver rhoeas-Corn Poppy

*Insect Repellant: Liatris-Blazing Star

*Medicinal: Achillea Millefolium-Yarrow, Centaurea-Cornflower,
Dianthus-Pink, Digitalis-Foxglove(it's toxic though),
Echinacea-Purple Coneflower, Linum-Flax, Liatris-Blazing Star, Papaver rhoeas-Corn Poppy, Saponaria-Soapwort (can be toxic)

*Oil: Linum-Flax, Papaver rhoeas-Corn Poppy

*Paint: Linum-Flax

*Potpourris: Centaurea-Cornflower, Dianthus-Pink,
Liatris-Blazing Star, Papaver rhoeas-Corn Poppy

*Soap: Saponaria-Soapwort (keep out of eyes)

So that would be 1370 lbs of vegetables, flower
bouquets all through the
growing season, some dried bouquets, and a dozen
herbal uses. Not bad for
$1 :-).


What would you choose for your $1 garden? And though I used 10 cent seed packets in this example, it would also be possible to use a few cents worth of seeds from bulk garden seeds, bulk natural food bins, or bulk natural spice bins, etc.

Anyone want to try this for real this spring?

[razz]

Amaranth, you have posted about the great seed deals before but I have never succeeded in getting such good deals. If the seed was discounted it was several years old and the germination viability was way down so now I buy fresh seed or save my own. Of course, all the weed seeds that infested my garden in 2010 were free for me to struggle with.

[Gina]

In my part of SCal, they used to have the 10 cent deals, but not for several years. Now the best deals (that I've seen) are around 29cents and there is very little selection.

[Tiam]

That is the same here. No more 10 cent seed packs. Less variety. Also, I've noticed that with a few exceptions, I don't have a lot of luck with the seeds. Lots of them don't seem to do well, sprout or thrive. I finally have figured out that I do better with starts instead of seeds. I get more sooner. With the seeds I seem to lose a lot of what I do get. Even the flower seeds don't seem to do well.

[cozynana]

Last year I bought 10/$1.00 seeds in Kansas. I sure hope they have them again. It is soooo much fun for such little mooooola.

[Amaranth]

Started a new Fun with $1 thread in the frugal section of the forum. Thought I'd check in and see where people have been able to find 10/$1 seed packets this year.

[Zoebird]

best i've been able to find in NZ is $1 per packet. So, could be fun with $10.

What is nice, though, is that gardening is HUGE here, and if you ask gardeners whom you know to save seed for you, many of them will. so, free and community building. :)

[Amaranth]

See any .10 to .25 packets yet this year?

[frugal-one]

Today I bought 11 packets of seeds for 99 cents at Menards. They had a large variety to choose from.

[herbgeek]

Artistic Gardens in Vermont has 25 cent sample seed packs. Obviously there aren't many seeds in them, but for herbs where you want just a plant or two, they are fine. They also have larger/normal seed packages for 1.00.

[daisy]

I haven't seen those deals here yet, but a couple of the local stores usually have those seeds packs for 8 to 10 cents each sometime during the spring. I came across the clearance sale of them once, for 1 cent each and bought 50 packets of marigolds. I didn't realize how well they reseed themselves, so I've never had to use the other 48 packets!

[Tiam]

I haven't seen those deals here yet, but a couple of the local stores usually have those seeds packs for 8 to 10 cents each sometime during the spring. I came across the clearance sale of them once, for 1 cent each and bought 50 packets of marigolds. I didn't realize how well they reseed themselves, so I've never had to use the other 48 packets!


Unless I've bought an heirloom, the reseeding doesn't go well in terms of quality. Marigolds with half heads, low yield, woody squash....gotta be careful!