The price of water is going up all the time but, in case you hadn’t noticed, nature provides it for free every time it rains.  Install a water butt on every downpipe and give those thirsty plants a chlorine-free treat. When a drought is looming waste not, want not. Pump out your bath water with a cheap Water Green garden siphon. The same goes for used water from the kitchen much of which is perfectly ok for pouring onto your plants.

Next time you are peeling potatoes or about to chuck out the carrot tops …STOP! Worms love that stuff and so will your garden soil once you have created your own compost heap or installed a wormery or Bokashi  bin. Site the heap in a sunny spot, aim for a 50:50 mix of ‘greens’ (spent stems, veggie peelings, grass clippings) to ‘browns’ (pet bedding, newspaper, egg cartons) and turn it regularly to get the heap really hot.

You can spend a small fortune on pesticides in the hope of wiping out those garden baddies but sometimes, doing what comes naturally is just as good. Knock greenfly off with a strong jet of water. Pick young caterpillars off brassicas by hand – or better still cover plants with garden fleece or fine Environmesh netting (from garden centres). Our ancestors used garlic, elder and rhubarb leaf sprays to control unwanted visitors. Try to encourage Mother Nature’s own pest control, too. Leave messy corners untouched for slug eating hedgehogs and slow worms. Erect boxes to attract nesting birds which will help with caterpillar control. Or better still build a small wildlife pond – you’ll attract all sorts! Companion planting works for organic gardeners. Onions and chives grown around roses combat black spot. Carrots and leeks together repel each other’s pests. Pungent French marigolds keep aphids off tomatoes. Grow dill and fennel to entice green-fly munching hover-flies. Regular mulching stops waterlogging, feeds the soil, helps wage war on weeds and means you can cut back on costly chemicals. Spread a 2” mulch of home-made compost, shredded bark, even grass clippings around plants after watering.

You may not find sticky back plastic much use but yoghurt pots along with loo rolls and juice cartons make good seedling pots. Bedding trays, compost sacks and plastic plant pots can all be used again and fruit punnets are ideal for cuttings. Cola bottles with the bottoms chopped off make perfect mini greenhouses for young salad crops. Even old tights are useful; cut them into thin strips for soft plant ties. For hardscape, recycled materials not only look better but they’re often cheaper. Reclamation yards can be pricey especially those in cities, so trawl junk yards and charity shops. Check on ebay.co.uk, freecycle.co.uk and supermarket classifieds too. And don’t forget to look closely around your own garden– who knows what gems you might unearth!

However much the fashion is to grow your own, realistically, you’ll probably find that certain crops are cheaper at your local greengrocer, in the farm shop or at the supermarket

But pricey crops that taste better picked fresh like asparagus, broad beans, runner beans, salad potatoes, lettuce, rocket, spinach, courgettes and – if you have a greenhouse – tomatoes and chillies are well worth the effort.

Sow your own! Instead of buying plants in pots from your local garden centre have a go at sowing seeds or taking your own cuttings, there’s nothing to lose and it’s very rewarding! If you fancy doing more than the odd tray get a simple heated propagator– it’ll pay for itself in no time!

Swapping and sharing are great ways to increase a sense of fun in gardening.

Check out Freecycle (ukfreecycle.org) for free plastic tubs, greenhouse glass, old planks for raised beds or unwanted plants and seedlings as well as local gardening clubs and charities. And it makes great financial sense to share costs of gardening kit with friends and neighbours while it’s worth hiring equipment you might only use once a year. Cut back on gadgets too; a spade, fork, trowel, garden rake, pair of secateurs, bucket or wheelbarrow, and perhaps a Dutch hoe, are all you ever really need.

Why not find your local freecycle group here