Cheapskate Gardening Tips, Tricks and Recipes (2026)

If cheapskate gardening tips tricks is on your radar, this short guide cuts through the noise. Here is what is worth knowing, and how to put it to work today.

Key Takeaways

• Is there anything more gratifying than a beautiful garden when you just happen to be the gardener?
• One trip to the garden center to pick up soil amendment, weed cloth, and weedkiller can pretty much zap all of the joy for the expense that...
• That’s why I love today’s tips, tricks.

Is there anything more gratifying than a beautiful garden when you just happen to be the gardener? One trip to the garden center to pick up soil amendment, weed cloth, and weedkiller can pretty much zap all of the joy for the expense that can represent. That’s why I love today’s tips, tricks. And, back by popular demand, homemade weed killer.

But first, check out my garden, spring flowers and a few weeds I treated only yesterday. Hopefully, spring is here to stay!

Garden vitamins

While you may have no use for spent coffee grounds, your garden will love them. Used coffee grounds are like mega-vitamins for the soil. They’re rich in phosphorus and magnesium, key nutrients that help plants grow. It’s simple to just sprinkle coffee grounds (still wet, or dry) around the plants and work them into the soil. They’re even the right color.

If you’re not much of a coffee drinker, don’t despair. Numerous coffee shops package up their used coffee grounds in the bags that the beans originally came in and offer them to local gardeners, for free. Check with your barista to see if used coffee grounds are available at your favorite coffeehouse.

• MORE: 13 Things You Need to Know About How to Reuse Coffee Grounds

Free calcium

Every day you throw away eggshells, and why not? They’re not good for anything, right? Wrong! Eggshells are delicious calcium for your garden. Be sure to crush them well and then work them into the soil right along with those coffee grounds. Calcium will help keep your garden soil and plants healthy.

• MORE: Secrets for How to Grow An Edible Garden Just About Anywhere!

Weed “cloth”

Newspaper makes the best weed cloth. Basically, it’s free, it allows water to drain through it and it is also biodegradable, very good for the soil. Newspaper will definitely last through the season, preventing unwanted vegetation from growing up through it.

First prepare your garden. Next, lay a thick layer of newspaper over the entire area, 8-10 sheets thick. Now cover with a thick layer of mulch. At each place that you wish to plant a seedling, cut an X through the mulch and paper and into the soil.

• MORE: How to Get Rid of Rabbits Ruining Your Lawn and Garden

Weedkiller for areas to be replanted

If you have weeds in areas you want to replant, do this: Fill an ordinary garden sprayer with white vinegar and add about one teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap like blue Dawn. Apply sprayer top and follow the instructions on the sprayer to get it ready to spray. That’s it. Seriously, it is that simple.

Pick a hot, dry day to spray weeds until saturated, and they will wilt and shrivel up within hours so be careful to not spray anything you want to live. However, do not worry about the vinegar killing anything below the soil. Because vinegar will not harm the soil, you can safely replant the area once the weeds have died.

Weedkiller for areas never to grow again

To kill all vegetation in walkways, driveways, and other areas where you don’t want any living thing to grow again, mix two cups of ordinary table salt with one gallon of white vinegar. Do this in a container that is larger than one-gallon capacity so you have room for the salt.

Apply the lid and shake to dissolve the salt. Salt dissolves more quickly in vinegar than in water, but it takes a bit of doing. It may not completely dissolve, but that’s okay. Add 1 teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Pour into any kind of garden sprayer or spray bottle. Apply to weeds or grass on a dry, sunny day to areas you don’t want to see vegetation of any kind in the future.

• MORE: Lessons from a Daffodil Garden

Notes

1. Ordinary distilled white vinegar with 5% acidity (the kind you find in the supermarket) is affordable and works excellent. If you can find a higher acidity even up to 30% (I find this at Home Depot for about $2 for one-half gallon also Walmart and Amazon) it is going to work faster, but the end results will be the same.
2. The presence of salt in the second recipe above will eventually bring permanence to your weed killing. The salt will penetrate and leach into the soil. It may take multiple applications, but in time the salt will “sterilize” the soil in this area so that nothing will grow there for the foreseeable future. Plan well before you go this permanent route.

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Final Thoughts

Before you check out, double-check cheapskate gardening tips tricks against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.

Originally published at everydaycheapskate.com.