A guide to starting your own little garden patch (Frugal edition)
A recent post from a fellow Redditor prompted me to make a post here myself. About me, a 24M college student who is pretty frugal about almost everything except plants (yeah, I've really indulged a fair bit on exotic houseplants). Happy New Year everyone, and I hope my post helps you start your new year in a green fashion! :D
Gardening, and houseplants, all of it started in December 2023, when I woke up one day and decided I wanted to have a hobby that involved taking care of something, like plants. In Winter 2023, the season had almost passed, but I began collecting boxes and binged every gardening video I could. Despite the little time I had, my winter garden gave me a bountiful crop of methi, dhaniya, laai (a herb), and chillies.
Fast forward to the end of 2024, I've amassed more than 120-140 houseplants, and better yet, quite a thriving vegetable garden. While personal problems did hold me back, some of which included a renovation, exams, job pressure and whatnot, I did my best to at least get my garden running. I'm happy with what I've managed to cultivate this time around, all of which include tomatoes, brinjals, lettuce, cauliflowers, spinach, coriander, bitter gourds, capsicums, chillies, and some local herbs.
Well, with my history aside, let's start with what you should collect, and how you should start a small garden setup. For the purposes of this writeup, I am assuming you have a balcony where you get a few hours of sunlight.
1. Where to plant?
Get fruit boxes from the seller. You get a big box, and a shorter one. Use the bigger one for veggies,and the shorter one for herbs. You can use cardboard to cover the holes, which will prevent both the soil from leaking out, while simultaneously allowing water drainage. This should be your first priority, get the boxes so that you have something to plant things in. If you can source thermocol boxes, nothing like it. They are fantastic and should be your first priority. You will get them in fish markets. They are an investment, and last for years. Haggle with the shopkeepers and get multiple for a few hundred rupees.
However, if you are okay with spending a bit more money for a setup, I urge you to try out growbags. Anandi Greens has some good one, I can vouch for their quality.
2. Soil and compost.
Nurseries are your best friend when it comes to potting soil. Go grab the BIGGEST bag you can. It is an investment. Search around locally for the best deal. As for compost, you can of course start your very own compost bin, but I'll not dive into that. Nurseries will have vermicompost bags alongside soil, and I urge you to get it from there. They should be priced similar to soil, and well, get the biggest bag once again lol.
3. Mulch, sticks, logs
If you find dead rotten wooden logs, small or big. Get them. Any sticks, dry leaves in your apartment complex, or in and around you, proceed to collect them. They come really handy as you read below. I
4. Plants, seeds, saplings
Again, when it comes to vegetables, you can either directly sow them from seeds that you get from the market (provided you like what you're eating), or you can source it from local sellers. Nurseries will have seeds, and a packet of any vegetable seed would generally cost you 10-30 Rs.
In my opinion, if you're going for a small setup, just get seeds for herbs, not for veggies. If you can, then buy the saplings/seedlings/smaller veggie plants directly from the nursery. Unless you're planning something exotic, I think you'll pretty much find sellers locally who have saplings of the veggies i mentioned above.
Now, with the items ready, let's start the process of setting this all up.
1. Fixing up the boxes
Whether it's thermocol, or the fruit boxes you've layered with cardboard, I urge you to fill the bottom layer with organic matter. First and foremost, dump logs and sticks. These will decay over time and provide nutrients. On top of that, put a layer of soil. I think 6 inches from below should at least be logs/sticks. After layering with soil, dump a ton of organic matter into it. This includes veggie wastes, and hay (get from fruit seller/goshala nearby). Basically anything leafy goes there. Proceed to fill it 6-8 inches. (search on YT for the hugelkultur bed/method)
waste
2. Soil mix
This experience varies from person to person, but for whatever I've grown in the span of a year, I've had success with 50% compost and 50% soil. You should experiment with varying amounts, but this seems like a good benchmark to start from. After filling with mulch, mix your soil, and add it to the box and fill it. Leave 2-3 inches from the top.
3. Planting
Well, that's it. Everything is ready, and all you need to do now is plant a few veggies. If you've gotten saplings, proceed to plant them in the boxes. A plastic fruit box will hold two mature plants at a time, this is for things like Brinjals, tomatoes. You can plant three at a time if it is something like capsicum, chillies, or something that's a dwarf variety. Same for the thermocol box as well. Dont overcrowd it by putting in four (unless again, they are something dwarf, in that case its fine).
As for herbs, remember the short wide boxes i told you about? Just soak herb seeds in water overnight and spread them around in these boxes the next day. Cover with newspaper, keep it moist.
4. Watering and sunlight
Watering and sunlight go hand-in-hand. If your area gets a ton of light, plants will need a LOT of water. I have to water my veggies everyday because they get 6-7 hours of sunlight directly. And again, vegetables do need a lot of sunlight, so priortise planting them in areas where direct sunlight hits. Morning light is best.
Now, we've also summed up our gardening process for the most part. I've not used any fertilizer on my plants till date, and compost and vermicompost has yielded me very good results.
Lastly, get these items, since you will need them eventually anyway:
Toolkit: https://amzn.in/d/1crynht
Neem oil: https://amzn.in/d/epZVULl
Grow bag: https://amzn.in/d/fOqR75j
Seaweed fertilizer: https://amzn.in/d/aHQEK5g
Resources that you can use (which have massively helped me):
1) Urban Gardening
https://www.youtube.com/@urbangardeningofficial/playlists
He has helped me understand the things I can grow, and how I can do it. He gives detailed soil mixes, proper updates, and care guidelines. Besides my post, please refer to this channel. It has hands down taught me whatever I know.
2) Gardenup
https://www.youtube.com/@GardenUp/playlists
I began my herb journey in Dec '23 by looking at Gardenup's videos. It's a good kickstarter for beginners, and I urge you to try her out. But, you can skip her if you binge through Urban Gardening's videos
All in all, any purchases that you encounter here are investments for a long duration, and not a short period spend. I wish you luck on your gardening journey and hope my little beginner's guide can help you get a yield of delicious veggies and herbs.
