Gardening can get expensive, especially when you buy everything that you “need” to garden. And when you like to extend the growing season in a cooler climate, or grow vertically instead of on the ground, or some other variant gardening style, the tools required grow and grow. And with that growing list of tools, the price tag at the garden center climbs right along with it.

Well, in my three years of vegetable gardening in Ohio I have learned a few ways to garden like a tight-wad. Many of these I learned from my dear and elderly neighbor, Tom, who gave me my first successful tomato plant and told me to grow it up a trellis instead of in a cage. Some I just picked up from random places, I wish I could give credit to them but the sources are long gone from my memory.

First, I’d like the share my method for keeping my warm weather plants, like tomatoes and peppers, from getting chilly when they’re been planted before the first frost-free date (late May in Ohio! You’re kidding, right?). I have two “cold frames” that I use to keep the soil temperature above 60 degrees when the temperature dips. One is to prop an old window up on some stones above the plant I’m babying. And the other, which is pictured here, is to make a green house out of a pop bottle. Just cut off the top and set it over the plant. This is something that has to be watched, because just as tender seedlings can freeze, they can also cook. I have lost plants this way before.

And here are two methods for growing vining, or climbing plant up a structure without spending a lot of money on the “proper” equipment. For my snap peas I stick a few garden stakes into the ground and wrap a ladder of leftover wool yarn around them. This wool is on its second summer. I know we crafters always have the end of a ball of wool lying around!

And finally, for growing tomatoes and cucmbers vertically I use my garage as the main support. I’ve hung some wire mesh that I found in the rafters of my garage to the wall of the garage which the cucumbers just climb right up. I secure the tomato vine to it with snips of worn out pantyhose or tights. These are the free version of tomato ties, which can run from $3 to $6 in stores. The pantyhose stretch well, they’re sturdy, but are very gentle on the vines and never damage them.

If you have any money saving tricks for gardening, please share them in the comments. I know I’ve always got so much to learn and would love to have a few new tools in my gardening tool-box!