Gardening Tips That Save You Money

This spring, create a gorgeous garden on the cheap with these five tips:

See also: Science of composting.

One tip to save money: Join a garden club and get free advice. — AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

• For free advice, join a garden club, ask questions at a local nursery or call your state's cooperative extension service.
  
  

• Take photos of your flowering bulbs, so that in the fall you don't buy what you already have.
  
  

• Sprinkle crushed eggshells on your soil. They're a good organic fertilizer, plus they'll keep snails, slugs and cutworms away.
  
  

• Don't buy that costly once-a-year tool like a garden tiller or leaf shredder. Rent it.
  
  

• Don't forget the dump. Frugal gardeners have found bags of potting soil, pots, trellises and even hoses there.
  
  

Cathie Gandel is a freelance writer based in Bridgehampton, N.Y.