5 Bargains for Your Square Foot Garden: Spring 2024

Everyone loves a bargain, right? Here are 5 of our favorite affordable ideas to help your Square Foot Garden grow this spring that you, your garden, and your wallet will love.

Tomatoes and cucumbers grow vertically on a fence trellis.

Idea #1: Reclaim a Trellis.

Spy an old bed frame, wire fencing, or wooden ladder at your neighbor’s yard sale? Say hello to your new trellis. When you plant cucumbers, beans, peas, squash, or other vining plants in your Square Foot Garden, you likely need to add a trellis to the garden’s north side so they can climb, if you’re in the northern hemisphere, or the south side if you’re in the southern hemisphere. 

Tip #2: “Buy Nothing” Groups Garden Too.

Does your community have a local Buy Nothing Project group? You can find out on Facebook by searching for your community followed by the term “buy nothing” and you may want to download the app, too. BTW, these groups are also a great way to connect with your neighbors. Buy Nothing groups are exactly what they sound like: ways to help community members meet their needs without spending money to buy anything new. You may luck into gardening equipment or hoses, planters, tomato cages, and who knows what else. 

Seeds catalog in a Huntington Public Library.

Idea #3: Local Libraries May Have Seeds.

Did you know that local libraries are great gardening resources and that some even retain a seed catalog? Stop by to find the resources available at yours. You could tap into special presentations, books, and more. Be sure to ask if there’s a seed catalog. If so, make a mental note to donate some of your spares in the future, too. 

Tip #4: Ask a Friend, Ask a Follower.

New to Square Foot Gardening? Or just wanting to learn more? Join the Square Foot Gardening Facebook group. In this very non-commercial and non-political group, you can ask questions, find answers, and see what’s growing in other gardens around the globe. Note that this is a closed group so you’ll need to be approved for membership. BTW, while you’re on Facebook or Instagram, be sure to follow us! The Square Foot Gardening Foundation posts new Frugal Friday tips each month and would love to share YOUR favorite frugal tips, photos, and questions too. Just DM us or drop a comment on any of our posts. 

Tip #5: Keep That Fork!

Square Foot Gardener, @azzengarden, is taking the idea of “sticking a fork in it” to the garden. When you’re looking for ways to keep birds and squirrels out of your garden beds, turn to plastic forks. Just put them in your Square Foot Garden with handles pointed down and the tines poking up. Spaced just right, they create the kind of garden certain pests would prefer to avoid. While it may seem odd at first, those leftover forks can be the perfect, repurposed solution to this universal gardening frustration. 

Hey newbies, we haven’t forgotten you! If you’re hoping to start your  Square Foot Garden on a budget, read this article for even more ideas.  ​​