Is budget a bad word?
Once you've looked at how much money and time you have to spend in and around your garden, there are things to know about how to set a garden budget.
A garden coach can help you with this if it's too intimidating. These are questions they ask before building gardens.
How do I know how many plants I need? That's where you look at your design, whether you drew it on the back of a napkin or you had a designer print you CAD blueprints. Group plants in odd numbers like 3, 5 or 7. Leave at least 6" between each plant.
What size plants to get? Grow from seed, buy baby plants or buy established plants? Each choice can affect your budget amount. Seedlings are like newborn humans and take a lot of care and may cause a lot of worry. Baby plants are like children who still needs supervision and attention. Large established plants are more like an adult in their 30s. These plants have made it through the tender years and can't wait to get into the ground in your garden!
What equipment or tools would I need for each type? Seeds need containers, soil, water, light, heat and protection from ground and air critters who want to eat them. Many people use electric heat mats and electric grow lights and special soil just for starting seeds. Seeds can be grown nearly anywhere, including indoors. As seedlings grow they may need to be moved to larger containers two or three times. Baby plants need the right area of a garden or container, a small hand shovel, a watering can, scissors and possibly staking material like a trellis. Large established plants need a garden shovel, scissors, a watering can, staking material and possibly a soil additive like microrhizomes.
How do I protect my delicious plants from the ground and air critters who want to eat them? Replacing plants gets costly. All three types need protection. Physical barriers like fences are the best beginning points. Hardware cloth laid on the ground is good to keep the ground critters from digging tunnels into your garden. Fabric that you drape over your garden protects you from air critters like birds and from the beautiful cabbage moths and butterflies that desperately want to lay their eggs on plants you want to eat.
How much do baby and large established plants cost? You can go to your local nursery and compare prices just like you would when grocery shopping. Many offer 3-4 inch pots and 12 inch pots of the same plant. Jot down prices and take a little bit of time to crunch numbers before you buy these living things and bring them home. A garden coach can help you with this if it's too intimidating.
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