Building garden beds can be incredibly inexpensive…or cost as much as a car!
Gardening is one of the greatest juxtapositions of our time. People want to garden to save money on groceries. And it absolutely IS something that can save you on groceries. You could buy one pack of cabbage seeds for around a dollar, and come out with 30 heads of cabbage on the other end of summer. (Assuming you are on well water and not paying the insane amounts for water that we are here in San Diego!) But that simple pack of garden seeds can grow into the worst “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” scenario if it’s not reigned in.
Thankfully, I’ve got me some SOLID reigns!
Charlie Campbell. Whew! This guy does NOT get caught up in the sensationalism of ideas. His mind ALWAYS goes to
- How can I do this for the least amount of money/effort?
- What is the most efficient way to go about this?
- What is the “norm” that people do that I don’t have to do?
- How long will this last : How much effort will I put in.
I don’t think he asks himself those questions necessarily. He just has precision radar to cut through everything and come up with his own way of doing things. His way is almost always better. We’ve for sure had to grow in this area, because for years it felt like he rained on every lofty idea I had. But I can tell you, we have had WAY nicer things because of the “Charlie Campbell Way” than if I followed every tutorial out there!
Okinawa to San Diego Transition
I was SO homesick when we lived in Okinawa. We had left a hard season in Maryland, but we also left one of our biggest dreams behind: homesteading. It was on a small scale, for sure, but it was a dream come true for us. So much of my time in Okinawa was spent pining for starting up another homestead when we got back to America. When we got here, I cried! There was nothing available, and we ended up in a crowded duplex with a cement patio for a backyard.
Charlie had mercy on my broken heart and got things squared away to at least give me a garden here. Of course my mind went to the most beautiful raised gardens with rock walls and curved borders. Oh, no. Our garden was going to be of the “free wood on Craigslist” variety! However, 16 years in with Charlie by now, I knew to trust that it could still be beautiful.
Someday, when we’re not moving every three years, we will put the money and effort in to things that last. But for now, having something is better than nothing. And I’m happy to not have to throw money and too much effort away when our time here comes to a close.
How To Build Garden Beds That Cost Almost Nothing:
Do it how Gramps did!
Charlie grew up very close to his grandpa who became a naval aviator just after WWII. He was always saving things, from 100s of rubber bands to endless jars of screws, nails, and things from old projects. Charlie picked up on saving used nails, and straightens them how his carpenter dad showed him when he was a kid. If you do this, they can be used over and over again. Using all those fasteners saved us at least $20 from the hardware store.
Look for free wood online.
The wood we found was a mix of old furniture and random pieces of wood on Craigslist. Charlie and my oldest son puzzled them together. They are all different and eclectic, but once the plants are spilling out of them, no one even sees the boxes! (Charlie says that if you’re after exact dimensions and how-to’s, you’re on the wrong blog!)
Charlie made a simple but pretty little arbor for our passion vine to grow on.
Look for free dirt.
Free dirt is always posted online! It’s a hard pill to swallow, not knowing what was potentially put into that dirt. I just pray and trust that God led me to the free pile of dirt that had just been neglected for years at the very worst!
We did this project before I knew if I would be sharing it here, so I didn’t document very well. All we have is a Suburban, so we covered the back with a tarp and shoveled it all in annd unloaded it in this empty space between the houses. (Rural folk: could you imagine having a neighbor this close!?!) As the garden beds were built, we hauled it to them with our wagon. We poured the dirt directly on the concrete. I honestly expected them to stain the cement, but once we left here, our basic hose sprayer rinsed it all away!
Top off with quality soil.
This is pretty much the only part where the money comes in, aside from a few seed packs! We spent about $100 on organic soil from Home Depot and topped off the boxes so there would be some decent nutrition in the soil.
That’s it!
We ended up moving across town about 6 months after we did all this work. We grabbed a few packs of sand bags and loaded all the dirt up into those so that they were light enough for the kids to help move. Plants that were doing well/not ready to harvest were put in pots and transplanted. Once the boxes were empty, Charlie and Gabe unscrewed all the beds and we moved that stack of wood once again! Since they already had a plan, they were able to build the garden beds at our new place within our first week of moving in!
This year, I have opted for a few herbs, but have filled these boxes with endless flowers! Hollyhocks, dahlias, begonias, ranunculus, poppies, echinacea, daisies, cosmos. They are all seeds or bulbs, so I’m so hopeful! I picked up some seeds for the most beautiful poppy, that will take a few years to bloom, but had to get it started! Here are a few shots of what we have at this point in the season. Soon, I hope to show you full views of our boxes spilling over with glorious life! Our new backyard is very sunny, so if anything, we might need a sun shade.
I hope this encourages you that, no matter what your situation is, you CAN grow a garden! The practice you gain from even the smallest of gardens will give you immeasurable ROI. Just grow something! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram or leave a comment below if you are inspired to garden “Campbell Style!”
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