Garden planting tip can save you £100 a year but you'll need someone's help
Simple hacks can save hundreds of pounds a year by getting out in their green space
You can save hundreds of pounds a year by spending more time in the garden
(Image: Getty )
Garden enthusiasts are being urged to check if they can trim their household expenses by making full use of their green space. Simon Akeroyd, an author and gardening expert, has divulged several methods for cultivating your garden that could potentially save you a tidy sum, as part of Raisin UK's Grow Your Savings initiative.
One of his practical tips could save you £100 but you'll need a friend's help. He explained: "Love a plant in your friend's garden? Ask for a cutting instead of buying new. Propagating (creating new plants from existing ones) your own plants can build your garden for free, potentially saving £5–£20 per plant across dozens of additions."
He referred to RSPB statistics showing that if you can get a 50% success rate with 20 cuttings, resulting in 10 new plants, you could save £100 compared to buying the plants in store. Akeroyd also suggests that growing your own fruit and vegetables can help reduce your grocery bills.
Highlighting insights from the gardening blog Something About Plants, he noted that gardeners could save around £83 annually just by growing strawberries and blackberries at home. You can also try growing many other tasty edible plants like lettuce, tomatoes, peas, beetroot, carrots, and rhubarb.
You can also make big savings by creating your own compost instead of purchasing it throughout the year. You can use kitchen scraps and garden waste to form a compost heap, or invest in a wormery to transform your waste and cuttings into nutrient-rich compost.
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Composting at home could lead to an annual saving of around £115 due to reduced waste disposal costs and not having to buy compost from stores. The horticultural expert explained: "A 10-litre bag of compost can cost up to £4, but using a 330-litre compost bin at home can produce the equivalent of more than 33 bags a year, all for free, and with the added bonus of reducing household waste.
"Many local councils also offer compost bin schemes to help you get started."
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