One of my latest gardening pursuits has been growing my own tea! I love a nice cup of herbal tea when I’m not feeling well, or just to relax in the evening. While teas can be purchased rather inexpensively using sales and coupons, I find it can also be pretty frugal to grow your own. Plus the flavor of tea when the ingredients are just-picked and grown organically can be really hard to beat!

Last year, I planted these German Chamomile seeds in a container in my garden. The cool thing about chamomile? It self seeds! That means this year, the flowers just came right on back up – without me having to do anything about it!

I’ve become a big fan of perennials and plants that are self sufficient like this because you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck as the plants won’t need to be replaced year after year.

Chamomile is ridiculously easy to grow. In fact, I think I hardly watered this container in spring and the plants thrived anyways. I also noticed that these flowers like being picked. I started harvesting them a couple weeks ago, and it would seem the more I picked, the more new buds would flower!

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After gardening for a few years, I have come to learn quickly which tools and products get the job done – and which are a bit of hype! Today I wanted to share some of my favorite go-to gardening products and tools. I am also pleased to share that most of the items on my list can be obtained for very few dollars, and some can even be found for free!

#1: Boogie Brew Plant Tea, 3 lbs for $35

I discovered this amazing compost tea last year and wouldn’t grow my garden without it! (In fact, I have some “brewing” right now.) It’s basically the only fertilizer I use for my plants. My plants experienced amazing growth and health when I started using this last year.

I bought mine on Amazon, and you can also buy it directly from BoogieBrew.net if you’re interested.

Here’s a description, from Amazon:

Boogie Brew Pro Compost Tea creates phenomenal growth rates while saving the farmer on fertilizer costs & water usage. Nutrients are broken down faster and made more bio-available. Salts & heavy metals found in soil & water supplies become far less hazardous to plants when the enzymes produced by Boogie’s biological army of organisms work to soften their impact and reduce toxicity. Prepare to witness explosive growth, shiny leaf structure, strong root development and awesome flower quality. Used regularly, Boogie Brew helps plants to achieve their fullest flavor & aroma potential.

If you end up purchasing this tea, there is a bit of equipment involved (it’s not terrible, but it is necessary). I recommend you visit BoogieBrew.net for more information on getting started.

#2: Garden Fork

I picked up a garden fork like the one pictured above this year when I started foraging for dandelions. Holy cow! Why on earth did I not pick up one of these YEARS ago? It is simply the BEST tool for breaking up big clods of weed and grass, aerates the soil nicely, and is nice for using in hay or other big piles of plant matter. Recommend, recommend.

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About a month ago, I was pining for some additional growing space in my backyard. Eventually, we’re planning to do away with more of our grass and perhaps put in a bit more landscaping, but it’s likely not happening for another year or two. One night I was reading Gaia’s Garden and had a eureka! moment. Outlined in the book was a way to create a layered growing space that wouldn’t involve ripping up sod, tilling, or constructing raised beds!

In fact, the method outlined in the book seemed super cost effective because it would involve using materials I already had on hand. So I asked my husband if I could use a weed/grass covered slope in our backyard for an experimental growing space this year (he said, “sure, go right ahead”).

I’m excited to share with you my project, but I must include this caveat – this is truly an experiment and my first time building a garden bed like this. So while I’m happy to show you step-by-step what I did, please know this is definitely an “experiment in progress.” If you are serious about replicating what I’m about to show you, I highly recommend you pick up the book Gaia’s Garden (I was able to locate it easily from my library, but it’s also available for ~$20 on Amazon).

So here’s the before. Don’t judge; I know it’s horrible. This is what happens when 1) you decide you don’t want to use chemicals on your yard and 2) you don’t actually end up doing anything with the area.

First, I considered the area I wanted to use for this project. It’s pretty much full sun, and a slope. It also faces the kids’ play area and attracts many birds, bees, and butterflies. There are a few mature plants around the edges: a couple rhododendrons, a hydrangea, a lavender, and a couple random shrubby plants that I don’t know what they are. I decided to leave these and just give them a haircut. While I’m not a fan of rhododendrons (except when they are flowering), the little chickadees in my area are!

Also worth mentioning, a rather grassy mess of a ground cover up near the lavender. I was prepared to take it out and managed to remove half when I noticed a few bees flying under there. So I decided to leave the rest of it alone! Hey – built in pollinators, right? (Plus, I didn’t care to get stung!)

Step one. Decide the area you wish to use for your grow space. I used spray paint to mark it, but you could use string or natural materials or whatever. Cut the weeds and/or mow the grass down. You do NOT need to dig that stuff up – just leave it there! Next, if your soil is a bit compacted, take a garden fork and aerate it up a bit. (That’s what I’m doing in the picture above.) This is also a great time to work in any amendments you may have. I had sea minerals and worm castings handy, so I added those. Gaia’s Garden also suggests rock dust, bone meal, and kelp meal. (You can always test your soil’s fertility first to determine what it may need.)

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For the last couple months, I’ve been sharing topics related to Frugal Gardening. During the course of this series, reader Feline chimed in and told me she was successfully growing vegetables in burlap sacks! When she offered to write a tutorial and share images of her garden, I jumped at the chance! 

With that…here’s Feline: 

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I get my burlap sacks for $1 at the Ace Hardware in Lake Forest Park Town Center. They have several locations. I’ve also seen burlap sacks at farm and feed supply stores or tack shops for just over $1 each. Look inside the bag and make sure the inside seam down the sides of the bag are clean (see photo in step 7). The top seam/opening doesn’t matter at all.  Be careful, this stuff will get all over your knits! I bring in my large IKEA shopping bag when I buy them.

Setting Up Your Burlap Sack Garden Bed

Step 1: Plan your arrangement!  Once the dirt is in, you won’t be able to play with it much, so it’s a good idea to lay out your sacks ahead of time so you know you’ll have good spacing.

Step 2: Reach into the sack with both hands and grab the side seams about halfway down the bag. Turn the top half over to create a double layer of burlap. Make sure the top half is slightly longer than the bottom seam.

Some bags have been cut along the top and this leaves a really yucky opening.  It doesn’t matter at all, so just go with it.  In the end, it’ll be tucked in.

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