how to start a cheap vegetable garden for students

You may be a student with a small income, and after paying rent and expenses there’s not much left to spend on food. Also, with food prices on the rise and increasing costs of living, you may be tempted to skip out on fresh veggies in your weekly shop. It’s easy to want to live on canned beans, spaghetti and two-minute noodles because they’re cheap; however, you miss out on the essential nutrients that vegetables provide.

A good way to increase the nutritional value of the food you eat is to include a range of vegetables in your diet. With minimal expense, you can create a vegetable garden. You don’t need a quarter-acre section; a small bit of dirt or a few pots can be enough to plant a few vegetables to supplement your meals. This month is an ideal time to think about planting your own vegetable patch.

HOW TO GET STARTED

The seeds and/or cuttings

While you can purchase cuttings (pre-grown sprouts), it’s much cheaper to buy seeds. It’s only a few dollars for a pack of seeds. Scatter the seeds over the soil and spread them out so they don’t grow too close together. Lightly water them every few days but judge based on how damp the soil is. If they're growing outside and there’s been a rainy patch, hold off from watering until it dries up a bit.

The pots and/or raised Beds

The easiest, cheapest way to plant your seeds is to dig up some of your lawn (if you have one). It’s free and only requires a shovel which you can always borrow or purchase through your local Salvation Army Family Store or garden suppliers. If you live in an apartment or just don’t have any grass, you can get creative and use ice cream containers or yoghurt pots. When your plants get too big to fit, you can use things like feeding troughs, crates and barrels as raised beds. Get creative with what you have!

The soil and/or fertiliser

If you have a backyard (or frontyard), you can use the soil under the grass if you dig it up. So, no need to purchase any soil. However, if you don’t have a yard, you can purchase soil at some supermarkets or ask people you know if they have any soil in their backyard that you could have. A good, cheap way to create a fertiliser (organic too) is to simply save food scraps such as food peelings and even coffee grounds and put this in your garden.

TOP TIPS

• Think about where you plant your seeds if you put them in your yard; for example, if you’re planting summer vegetables, make sure it’s somewhere that gets a lot of sun. If you’re planting in containers, it’s a lot easier to move them around depending on the weather.

• Make sure to keep an eye out for weeds and catch them early. Pull them out before they grow. Using mulch in the soil, such as straw or shredded leaves, can help reduce weed growth. But the key is to have a look out for them as much as you can before they grow too big. You can pull them out by hand.

• Make sure to regularly water the garden every other day, depending on the weather. Don’t overwater, and water on the base and the roots so your veggies will grow well.

• You can judge if a vegetable is ready to pick depending on the type. For example, root veggies (beetroots, carrots and potatoes) depend on size. Cabbage family plants (broccoli and cauliflower) are ready to be picked when the buds are still closed. Do some research online about when

certain vegetables can be harvested. The general rule of thumb is if it looks like it does in the supermarket, it’s ripe and ready to be harvested!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The key to starting a vegetable garden on a budget is to keep it simple and use what you have where possible. You may feel tempted to want to buy plenty of extra things, but in reality, these are just nice additives. Your garden doesn’t need to be pretty when starting out; the important thing is that it’s functional. Especially as a beginner, it can feel overwhelming to learn everything it takes to grow veggies. But so long as you have seeds, soil and water, you can get started.

Not only is it cheaper to grow your own vegetables, but it can also be rewarding. If you live with flatmates, you can always make it a joint project and take turns watering. It may take a lot of trial and error (and some dud veggies and sprouts that don’t grow), but that comes with trying something new. After a few months, you will have your own vegetables to cook with. So, give it a go!

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Planting Guide

Bare essentials:

• Seeds

• Pots or raised bed (if you don’t have a yard)

• Fertiliser/compost

Easiest vegetables to start growing (and best seasons to plant). This may differ in our Pacific Island nations:

• Spinach (grow all year)

• Lettuce (grow all year)

• Radish (grow all year, but best in spring and autumn)

• Rocket (grow all year, but best in spring and autumn)

• Leeks (grow all year, but best in spring and autumn)

• Broccoli (grow in autumn, early winter and early spring)

• Cabbage (grow in autumn, early winter and spring)

• Cauliflower (grow in autumn, early winter and early spring)

• Silverbeet (grow all year)

• Celery (grow all year, but best in spring and autumn)

• Onions (grow in autumn, winter and early spring)

• Beetroot (grow all year)

• Potatoes (grow in spring and early summer)

• Beans (grow in spring and summer)

• Tomatoes (grow in late winter and spring)