How To Start Building A Garden With A Small Budget
The Pandemic Garden
March 2020 will forever be known as the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown left everyone isolated inside their homes with limited resources for self-entertainment. To make matters worse, going to the grocery store for fresh produce was more stressful than ever!
Suddenly, backyard gardens become all the rage. Any excuse to get out of the house, spend time outside, and grow your own food- Sign me up!
However, one big hold-up for many starting to build their own garden is the budget. But regardless of the desired garden size, you don’t need to break the bank to make it happen.
Here are some useful tips to help you start your own backyard garden with a small budget.
Finishing What We Started
Flashback to the summer of 2019, when my husband and I fully transformed our dysfunctional, overgrown backyard into a relaxing space we could finally enjoy!
After finishing our backyard makeover, we decided to press pause on all future projects so we could enjoy the fruits of our labor for what was left of the summer and fall. This meant putting The Garden on hold until the spring of 2020.
At first, I was disappointed that we didn’t get around to finishing the garden along with the rest of our backyard in 2019. (I’m very impatient!) But as life would have it, it was one of the best decisions we have ever made.
Dreams Of A Secret Garden
One of my favorite books, when I was a kid, was The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. For years, I dreamed I would have my own secret garden one day!
With lockdown in full swing, the garden became our main priority. It was the perfect “quarantine project” to keep us busy and sane!
Although the rest of our backyard was now clean and beautiful, there was still one remaining rock patch that needed some serious TLC before it would start resembling a garden!
But there was also one HUGE problem.
In October of 2019, I left the architectural firm where I worked to focus on writing about design and starting my own small business. (HA! What timing!)
With our wedding on the horizon and only one of us on a regular salary, my (now) husband and I were seriously strapped for cash.
This DIY Garden project needed to happen on a tight budget! But how?
Designing a Garden on a Tight Budget
As always, I started by drawing a few concept and idea sketches.
The space we had to work with was approximately 22’ deep and 16’ wide. I wanted to make this garden as functional as possible, but also create a comfortable space to spend all our new free time.
Similar to our backyard design, I programmed each space in the garden to have a unique function.
Our Garden Tour!
Entrance
Feeding off the secret garden theme, I wanted our garden entrance to be fun, whimsical, and unexpected.
A beautiful Elberta peach tree “mini orchard” would greet you after walking through a classic white picket fence gate. (To match the look of our 1940’s home)
(Since we have two very nosy dogs, the entire garden needed to be enclosed and separated from the rest of the yard. Plus, white picket fences always look soo darling!)
Wooden Raised Garden Planters
A large raised wood planter bed against the fence would be the main focal point of our garden.
There would be two large back planters (2′ wide, 8’ long, and 36” high) for growing raspberries and adding some extra privacy and sound blocking from the street. (Plus they’re tasty! yum!)
Off of the large back planter, there would be three smaller raised garden planters (2′ wide, 4′ long, and 2′ high) with built-in storage benches in between them to provide additional seating and structural support.
(If you don’t feel like building your own wooden raised beds like we did, here are some affordable options)
Garden Cold Frame
To add a unique touch to our garden space, the farthest back planter would be a miniature greenhouse, or cold frame (also sometimes referred to as a cloche).
This special raised garden bed is perfect for growing hearty plants in the fall, and sprouting seedlings in early spring! (As a Colorado person, this is exciting stuff!)
Corrugated Garden Steel Planters
To the right of the large raised garden planters, would be two “smaller” (1′ T x 6’ L x 3’ W) corrugated steel metal planters to use as tester beds.
Gravel Walkways
All the garden beds would be separated by large pea gravel walkways for easy garden access and water drainage.
Garden Budget
Time for the hard part, sitting down to figure a realistic budget for our garden makeover.
As you can see, my wish list was pretty extreme for such a tight budget! I was determined to find a way to make it happen.
We decided $2,000 was the absolute MAX we were willing to spend. (talk about a tall order!)
I started by breaking down the budget into an itemized list.
Here’s the full budget breakdown. Buckle up! Here we go…
Lumber
We decided to use heat-treated Douglass Fir lumber because Douglass Fir is a durable yet budget-friendly planter lumber.
Is it the best lumber for garden planters? No. Is it pretty good? Yes.
Also, it’s worth noting that heat-treated lumber lasts longer than standard lumber, but it doesn’t release toxins into the soil like pressure-treated wood does.
After doing some square footage calculations the lumber needed for our project came down to this:
- (24) 2’x12”x8’ boards
- (6) 4”x4”x8’ boards
- (7) 2”x4”x12’ boards
Total lumber cost: $599.86
Galvanized Steel Planters
Using two large corrugated steel planters for our tester beds as an easy choice.
Corrugated steel garden planters are the most durable and long-lasting planter material compared to any raised bed, (except maybe concrete) and it’s also the most budget-friendly planter material!
- (2) 6’x3’x12” corrugated steel planters – $84.99 each
Total steel planter cost: $169.98
Mulch, Planter Mix & Gravel
We had a lot of panters to fill, and a lot of ground to cover. So, rather than buying our materials from a hardware store or garden center, we decided to use a local landscape yard (Bedrock Landscaping) for our garden soil, mulch, and gravel.
Hardware stores, nurseries, and garden centers upcharge customers for bagged materials such as gravel, mulch, compost, and planter soil.
Landscape yards, on the other hand, provide discounted material that is sold in bulk. This reduces the overall price for materials significantly.
Contractors and landscapers often use landscape yards to purchase their materials for their jobs. However, most landscape yards also sell (and sometimes deliver) to individuals as well.
- 4 cubic yards mulch at $30/cubic yard – $221.20
- 4 cubic yards planter mix at $36/cubic yard – $221.20
- 3 tons black granite chips at $56$/ton – $220.00
Total material cost: $662.41
Vinyl Fence
We decided to go with a prefabricated vinyl fence because it’s durable, inexpensive, and easy to build.
- Zippity Vinyl fence gate – $127.99
- (2) Vinyl post caps – $5.95ea ($11.90)
- (2) 4”x4” vinyl posts – $30.28ea ($60.56)
- (2) 8’ pre-fabricated fence panels – $96.08ea ($192.16)
- (8) vinyl fence brackets – $4.87 for 2 ($19.48)
Total Fence Cost: $397.48
Total Cost
Grand Total: $1,829.73
Woo! Barely under budget!
Tips Before Building A Garden
After running the numbers, we realized that building a garden that stayed within our small budget was possible! (YES!)
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Before diving into a big garden project like this one (or any project for that matter), it’s important to gather your materials and prep ahead of time.
Step 1: Clean The Site
Start by clearing the site of any existing rock, mulch, grass, structures, etc.
Note: The City had done some work on our sidewalk a few weeks prior, and completely ripped up the front corner of our property in the process. Since we needed to fix this area anyways, we decided to repurpose the existing rock from the garden area at the front of our house.
Always recycle materials whenever possible!
Step 2: Grading
As we cleared the existing site rock, we began grading the earth before building our planters so their bases would be as level as possible.
Note: We had some extra dirt leftover from the front corner of our house, so we used that to help level the ground. Waste not!
Grading is simple. All you need is a rake, a hose with a mist setting, and a lot of patience.
Note: When grading, create a slight slope away from any structures. This will encourage rainwater to drain away from the foundation.
(This photo was taken before we did the final grading)
Once the area is completely raked and leveled, wet the dirt with the wide spray or mist setting on the hose to set it in place. This will prevent the ground from sagging or creating pockets after the first rainstorm of the season.
Note: After grading, we put up a temporary fence to keep our nosy dogs out of our workspace. They’re both big fans of anything dirt-related and wouldn’t hesitate to start digging as many holes as possible!
Step 3: Weed Tarp Base
To save ourselves the hassle of constantly weeding, we laid down a fresh base of weed tarp.
Weed tarp (also known as landscape fabric) is an inexpensive material and can be purchased online or at a local hardware store or garden center.
Roll out the weed barrier over a finely graded surface to fully cover the workspace.
Overlap the edges of the landscape fabric by several inches.
Tack down the tarp with weed tarp spikes (also known as landscape staples) to prevent the tarp from shifting or blowing away.
Note: You can use weed tarp for many other landscaping projects to help reduce weeds.
Step 4: Mark The Garden Layout
We mapped out the location of our garden planters using some twine and landscape staples. This layout will serve as an easy reference when constructing the wood garden planters.
Step 5: Calculate Building Materials For Your Garden
Before you start to build a garden, calculate how much lumber, mulch, compost, soil, gravel, etc. you need for your project.
To keep our project simple and cost-effective, we used standard lumber lengths for all our planters. (ex. 2′, 4′, and 8′ dimensions)
Garden Timeline
Another important aspect to consider when planning your garden is the timeline.
I always use my Complete Home Renovation Planning Guide to estimate project timelines, calculate budgets, create designs, and track all my renovation details. Download my Free Project Planner Here!
To get our plants in the ground by the end of May, (prime planting season in Colorado) we had approximately 2 months (mid-March – mid-May) to finish this garden project.
Once our workspace was prepped, our materials and budget were calculated, and our timeline was set, it was time for the fun part- building raised garden beds!
Want to Learn More?
Stay tuned for our next post, building raised garden beds! I will break down which lumbers are best, what materials to use to fill garden planters, and how to calculate lumber, gravel, soil, mulch, etc.
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If you have any questions, or a helpful tip or two of your own you would like to share about starting a garden with a small budget, leave a comment below or send me an email! (yes, I’m a real attainable person who cares about your success as much as my own!)
