Fall Bargains: Deal Or No Deal For The Garden?

by Dawn Oldfield, CCMGA Public Relations Chairperson

Frugal gardeners know this is the time of year to keep their eyes open for outstanding end-of-season bargains. When garden centers start battening down the hatches in preparation for winter, you can find some serious deals and plant steals – if you know what is worth buying and avoiding this time of year. Here are a few budget-stretching tips to have a beautiful, healthy garden on the cheap.

By fall, a lot of nursery stock looks pitiful, but these tired-looking plants offer some of the best bargains for your landscape. Trust your instincts. Steer clear of diseased plants with leaf spots or disfigured leaves. Remember to look under the leaves and avoid plants with obvious infestations of insects, spider mites, or worms.

Snap up perennials! They come back year after year with proper care and grow large and lush with minimal care. Garden centers slash prices in the fall because they don't want to keep them over the winter. You can even buy one larger pot and gently divide the root ball to yield two, three, or four individual plants. Don't worry…you won't hurt the plant, and you'll get more bang for your buck.

Be a savvy shopper for trees and shrubs. Discounts of 50%-75% aren't uncommon during autumn sales. Don't be discouraged if you see a deal on trees or shrubs missing some leaves. They're probably slightly distressed from being in the container for so long. Once planted in the ground, they will happily stretch their roots during the winter and thrive next spring. And, the best news is fall and early winter is a great time for planting.

Need a new lawnmower? How about a cozy new sitting area for your patio? Big retailers offer savings on plants and often have the best discounts on tools, accessories, and outdoor furniture because they have limited space for garden items. They have to make room for winter-season merchandise.

Fresh vegetables are among the most expensive items at the grocery store. A good way to combat rising produce costs is to grow your own! Stretch your budget and grow from seeds. One packet of seeds will yield many more plants for about the same price as one nursery transplant. Now is the time to sow seeds for many cool-weather vegetables and herbs that thrive in a relatively mild north Texas winter. Try cool-season crops like carrots, leaf lettuce, broccoli, beets, mustard greens, and garlic.

Dig into bulbs! While many nurseries start stocking bulbs as early as August, the optimum time to plant them in our area is later in the fall when our soil cools (tried and true "heritage" or "heirloom" varieties do best in southern gardens.). Watch for garden centers to lower bulb prices as the perfect planting time passes. Make sure bargain bulbs are firm, free of mildew or mold, and are still covered in most of their papery skin.

Go wild for wildflowers! Texas is lucky to have over 1,000 species of wildflowers. Many grow well in our area, and a packet or two seeds is a cost-effective way to add months of beauty to your landscape and provides a much-needed pollinator for honey bees. September and October are the best times for planting wildflowers in Collin County. Consider bluebonnet, black-eyed Susan, coneflower, fire-wheel, Indian paintbrush, evening primrose, and many others. Plant seeds in an open, sunny space and be sure the soil is lightly cultivated before planting.

Don't toss out the soil when it's time to freshen container gardens with fall flowers like pansies, mums, violas, snapdragons, dianthus, and ornamental cabbage or kale. It's okay to use the planting medium from summer containers (as long as the plants you are replacing are healthy during the growing season). For best results you might need to enrich the soil by adding some additional potting soil and some compost. Also, filling large containers with potting soil can be costly. To reduce the cost (and weight) of a large container, add a "filler" to the bottom of the pot to take up space. Items like crushed aluminum cans or water bottles are readily available and won't break down. Fill the bottom one-quarter to one-third of the container with your filler. Lay a piece of landscape fabric over the top of the filler material, then fill the rest of the pot with potting soil. Plant away!

Don't bag those fallen autumn leaves! According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, 20 percent of solid waste generated by Texans comes from tree leaves, grass, and other landscape waste. Bagging these materials and setting them out for trash pick-up uses valuable landfill space and costs residents more in taxes and service fees. Besides, leaves are a valuable natural resource that can provide organic matter and nutrients to your landscape. Shred fallen leaves using a leaf shredder or lawn mower, and your garden will benefit in a big way. When added to the garden, leaves feed earthworms and beneficial microbes. They also make good, natural, free mulch. A 4-6 inch layer of shredded leaves insulates plants, inhibits weed growth, and moderates moisture. (For more information about the "Don't Bag It – Leaf Management Plan").

Lastly, cultivate friendships! Share extra plants or take cuttings for rootings with friends and neighbors. It's a fun and inexpensive way to establish a garden or try something new. Remember the staff at your favorite garden center. They not only know which plants are in the best shape, they know when the sales are coming.

Happy bargain gardening!