By Anthony Reardon

May and June bring reliable warmer temperatures, and the season for planting your warm-season crops has arrived. Many apprentice gardeners crave fresh tomatoes, peppers and other delicious fresh vegetables and might be interested in beginning a vegetable garden this year.

However, one of the often-overlooked factors in gardening is the investment required to get a return on harvest. After all, a regular gardening operation will, at some point in the season, likely require compost, mulch, fertilizer, seeds, transplants, hand tools, larger tools, equipment, irrigation supplies, pest controls and consistent access to water.

Factoring all the components required for a successful vegetable garden and then factoring all their associated costs, some may be left wondering whether the expense is worth the outcome. Luckily, creative workarounds exist that can mitigate just this issue.

Gardeners should begin by setting realistic goals. The vegetable gardens featured on TV and in magazines are gorgeous and lucrative havens to strive for, but they also likely cost a pretty penny.

Gardeners should also ask, “What can I realistically achieve in my garden with labor availability, upfront costs, and long-term expenses in mind?” and “How would I do this project if I didn’t have unlimited money to spend?”

Framing a perspective of sparsity from the beginning will enable the creativity to flow.

One area where creativity can be particularly abundant is in hardscape components like containers and trellising. Consider whether the ultimate purpose of these items can be achieved using things you already have around the house.

Perhaps that old sink or that vertical spice rack can be repurposed as planters. Maybe that old mattress spring can be utilized as a trellis. Possibly, those old windows in the garage can be used to build a cold frame. While the ultimate aesthetic achieved in utilizing these alternates will achieve a more “eclectic” design, the purpose is still achieved, free of charge.

Likewise, with tools, household items can often achieve the same purpose with some creativity. If they can’t, discounted versions of many items can be found at thrift stores, pawn shops, yard sales, estate sales and even dollar stores, enabling you to save money and reduce, reuse and recycle. And don’t forget; you can also consider looking into local area trading, swap groups or even good old-fashioned borrowing from a friend! Many libraries, as well, may have tool rental programs.

The gardeners can often generate other common components such as mulch, compost and fertilizer. Grass clippings, rotted leaves and homemade compost can easily be used as mulch sources. Compost can also be utilized as a soil amendment and nutrient enhancer; elsewhere, composted livestock manures are easily used as a low-cost source of effective fertilization.

As for plants, look for any “seed libraries” in your area for borrowing, sharing or taking seeds. (with permission, of course!) Gardeners can also even consider looking at their kitchen scraps.

Green onions, lettuce and celery can be re-rooted in water to be replanted in the garden for successive growth flushes. Sprouted potatoes can be chopped up and replanted, sweet potato vines are typically utilized and planted to grow crops anyway, and tomato plant cuttings can be planted after rooting in water.

With creativity, a low-cost and high-output garden can be achieved.

Anthony Reardon is the horticulture small farms agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office.