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[Kat]

Plant a garden, harvest savings

Some "green thumbs" are taking an old-fashioned approach to soaring grocery bills by growing their own food.
Like people who planted "victory gardens" in response to World War II rationing, these frugal foodies are tending backyard plots of vegetables, fruits and herbs.

But can a tomato plant really save you more than $50?
It can, says Thomas Bewick, national program leader for horticulture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.
The key to sowing a money-saving harvest is to select vegetables, fruits and herbs that you truly enjoy eating, that grow easily without much work and that ripen before frost.

"If you harvest 30 pounds at $2 per pound, that plant is worth $60," he says. "But it only cost $2.90 to buy the plant, a few cents for water and 15 cents for the fertilizer."

A productive patch can really cut food costs, even after you account for the investment in gardening tools, seeds, water and time.

However, you have to choose the right crops and avoid foolish overspending to truly harvest savings.
Choose wisely, some foods are so inexpensive to buy at the store that planting them isn't worth your garden space.
Onions and potatoes are good examples of crops you usually can buy for a great price at a supermarket.

On the other hand, the cost of some foods quickly adds up at the checkout stand. Lettuce mixes, cherry tomatoes, peas and frequently used herbs all can be expensive. These plentiful producers are recommended for new gardeners.

Of course, regional growing conditions and market forces can change prices from year to year. For example, as ethanol production increases demand for corn, many analysts expect corn costs to spike this summer.

Gardening for groceries
Not all vegetables and fruits take the same bite out of your wallet. Following is a list of the most expensive fresh produce to buy, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Vegetables                       Fruits
• Mushrooms.                   • Blackberries.
• Collard greens.               • Raspberries.
• Cherry tomatoes.            • Cherries.
• Green peas.                   • Blueberries.
• Okra.                            • Apricots.
• Turnip greens.                • Strawberries.
• Asparagus.                     • Pineapple.
• Mustard greens.              • Grapes.
• Kale.                             • Plums.
• Cauliflower.                    • Avocados.
 

Dollars and sense
To make gardening worthwhile, you need to keep costs low.

Seeds are the least expensive option for your plot. Seed packets stay fresh for two to three years: Just keep them in a cool and dry place for next year.

But pay a fair price for seeds. With bargain seeds and off-brand seeds, the viability is questionable.  In other words, the seeds may be stale or low-quality, and won't sprout.
Always check the seed packet to see when veggies will be ripe and ready. Some foods -- such as radishes -- make for a quick harvest. In 28 short days, you can pluck a bunch of radishes straight from the soil.  They're basically just cultivated weeds.

The region of the country in which you live in may dictate how much water and fertilizer you need to use. Some foods also grow better in one region than another. Plant the wrong food for your location, and you could end up babying your plants until your savings disappear.

Also, don't spend a fortune on fancy gardening tools.  Tools can be scrounged at garage sales and thrift shops.

To reduce your water bill, purchase a soaker hose (typically only around $10) and run it through the vegetable garden. Soaker hoses are perforated with tiny holes that allow water to seep out slowly and directly to the plant roots. This prevents you from wasting water through evaporation or runoff.
If you live in a high-humidity location, early morning watering is best. If humidity isn't a problem, water in the early evening. In either case, avoid the hottest part of the day, or the water will evaporate -- along with your savings.

Compost and mulching materials are also essential to a thriving, cost-efficient garden. Weaving compost into the soil is essential to healthy plant growth. It can be bought from commercial outlets and farmers, but you can also start your own compost bin to reduce waste and provide a low-cost source of nutrition for your vegetables and fruits.

Cutting waste
American families throw out about 14 percent of their food -- around $590 worth per year -- according to a study from the University of Arizona. Gardening allows families to pick only what they need straight from the vine. 
 
Flexible farmers
People with small backyards often think gardening is not a viable option. But you don't need much dirt to put a dent in your food budget. A sunny 100-square-foot zone will provide a "salad bar" throughout summer, while a plot of land 8 feet by 24 feet can feed a family of four.

Apartment and condominium dwellers also can grow their own food by turning to container gardening.

Extend the harvest
Smart gardening doesn't stop in summer. Many home gardeners preserve their crop for autumn and winter dining through one of two options: canning or freezing.

Canning is a lost art best learned from another expert, according to Doiron. Poorly canned food can lead to botulism poisoning. However, when done right, canned tomatoes, jarred jams and preserved peaches last for years.
While canning requires an upfront investment in jars and lids, everything can be reused for decades.

Freezing is the easiest and quickest method for preserving the modern family's garden.
Blueberries (do not rinse), strawberries, cherries and other fruits can be frozen after rinsing, while most vegetables require a quick blanch in boiling water before heading to the freezer.  Cooks can prep tomato sauce and pesto in August, then freeze both for pasta night in November.  Be sure to stick some of your vegetables into the deep freeze, including green beans, broccoli florets, sweet potatoes and sweet corn.

For more on how to freeze and how long frozen foods retain their freshness, see the USDA-funded National Center for Home Food Preservation Web site.

Learning curve
Many successful gardeners agree that your first year might not produce a bumper crop. After all, there's a lot to learn about your soil and how it interacts with rain, sun and insects.
But by consulting with gardening sages and asking neighbors for advice, you won't need to bet the farm on a failing crop.

One type of local gardening expert -- known as a master gardener -- especially can boost your odds of success. These gardeners typically provide their help by e-mail or phone, rather than coming to your house.
For example, master gardeners can help identify the type of dirt in your garden (sand, clay or loam-based soil). Knowing this information helps them to treat the soil in a way that can increase your yield.  To find a master gardener in your community, check out the American Horticultural Society Web site.
 
By Lora Shinn • Bankrate.com, contributions from Pat Munts of Spokane, Wash., a master gardener.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/pf/20080519_gardening_savings_a4.asp

[Samson]

Hello Kat,

               Thankyou for that information, I love vegetable gardens, we have limited space at our residence, but we planted pepper plants, tomatoe plants and a cherry tomatoe plant in a big pot on our side porch, that cherry tomatoe plant is doing very well. Also, the cucumber seeds, I planted are doing better than the pepper plants and most of the tomatoe plants. I planted the cucumber seeds without any expectations, as an experiment and didn't expect anything, whereas the other plants I expected more and they haven't done very good. We planed this small Rose bush in a large pot on the porch, but I think it's going to croak, it's close to it, but the Freckle Girl wants to give it more time, someone suggested burying some fish heads near the roots, perhaps the nitrogen will salvage this Rose Bush. The Freckle Girl likes to fish, but hasn't caught any yet, I don't fish, too boring for my tastes.

                                             Samson.

[Stevernator]

Thanks Kat,
I am thinking of maybe doing this over the weekend so I can at least get some practice. I'm sure it is a rewarding experience to enjoy the fruits and vegetables of your labor.  If anyone else has some info please share as well.
Thanks again!
Steve

[winner08]

Yes, I wanted to say this is true. You can save a pretty penny if you grow your own vegges. Also I wanted to say you can save a good bit of money if you cook from scratch. Like baking your own bread. The bread I buy at the store is 2.98$ If you buy a bag of flour and some yeast a little oil I think you can bake fresh bread. there's probaly some other things you can make from scratch I just can't think of them right now. It's safer to grow your own vegges too. With the tomato scare and all you never know what your buying. What kind of posions is in our fruit and vegges. Plus having your own garden and cooking or baking from scratch will keep you busy and I bet it will tast better than store bought.

                                           Thanks Darren

[Kat]

Hi Samson,

Good for you, whatever you can grow will give you that much more than you had.  I have a few roses, but don't do well with them, they are such high maintenance  

But I started a garden this year and have really gotten carry away with the whole thing.  Right now I've got 3 spots I'm growing in; one mainly for herbs with some lettuce and carrots, one with different beans, and the other is my main veg. garden with corn, okra, tom., southern peas, onion, garlic, beets and peppers.  I'm just trying a lot of things this year and planning to narrow it down next year.  I'm finding out what grows best and how much I need to plant of different things.  
It's been going pretty good so far, we are having a dry spell right now, but I've been watering reg. to keep it going till it rains.  And one of the dogs got into one of the beds and did some damage, but I know there are always (and expected) some set backs.  Bugs haven't been much of a problem so far.  I think it is well worth the effort, as there are so many more varieties available to plant than you can get in stores.  Another thing is the really good feeling you get from eating what you have grown, it's better for you, fresher and really good tasting.  Good exercise too  

I've been reading a good bit about wild herbs too.  It's amazing all the 'weeds' you can eat and so many health benefits they have, I really had no idea.  

Darren, I have a bread machine that does all the work for you 

Steve good idea, just get started, you will learn as you go.  I've been collecting a lot of info from the internet, so if you have a question just let me know.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[joyful1]

what time is supper, Kat?

[musicman]

Do Dovermans eat vegetables out of gardens?  Because I would have to have one right in the middle of it to keep the undesirables (thieves) from harvesting my produce daily.  Kids constantly steal my avocados.  Nothing a ravenous Doverman with rabbies can't fix though (OK, the rabies aren't necessary).


Maybe there's something symbolic about avoiding a garden.

Afterall,


We don't need another Bush!!!

[Patrick]

I'd love to have a garden, however, the area I live in seems to be ground squirrel central and my neighbors won't help me to move them to another location cuz "their so cute."  There is actually a law in AZ that the critters must be moved to a "designted" area.
And, there's that 120 degree "dry heat" during the summer months that burns up just about everything.

[gmik]

Then there are all these tomatoes w/ e coli or salmonella spreading around.  Best to grow your own.  But then what if you go out to eat?

I am glad I believe God knows the exact nano second of my death and I can't change that, organic food or not!!

I know gardening is a good hobby and fresh is best, it is just not something I am good at!

[Kat]

Hi Gena,

To each his own.  There is so much good food available in the gro. stores now that it might not be practical for some to garden.  But I do enjoy working the ground and watching things grow.  I have been flower gardening for many years and just thought to turn my efforts into something more useful... like something to eat

Oh my Patrich, squirrels are a big problem.  We have a lab and a basset hound in our back yard, that keep the squirrels away (there are many in near by trees).  But then I have to cover my garden with fence wire to keep the dogs from digging in it 
And the heat... the sun is pretty intense here to in the summer too.  Some plants just can't take that kind of heat.  I have one garden spot close to the house, so that the sun goes behind the house in the afternoon and blocks it that late afternoon heat.  Those plants are doing quite well. 
What you have to do is learn how other people deal with the problems that you have in your area.  People can get very innovative when they want to figure out something. 

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[Beloved]

Great post Kat......I love it. Everyone should try it. I bought 3 large shallow plastic pots (about the size of large wok) I bought a bag of potting soil. These were very cheap at dollar general $1.00 @ and 3.00. I bought my seeds at large garden depot store.

I plant lettuce in one pot and then a week later start the next one. When the little leaves come out and I want a salad I cut off what I need and then wash and eat. New leaves come up and by the time one is done I am starting on the next one. I add worm castings for fertilizer so the soil doesnt get depleted of nutirents.  Sometimes I do different varieties, red leaf, purslane etc that is why extra pots may be needed. I water them before work and come home and look what is there.

You can do container gardens on a porch or small patio  , I only have a small court yard right now and a Koi pond that is taking up a lot of my time so I do not plant much. When things are plentiful in the stores or from other gardners I make things like lemon summer squash soups and freeze them and eat them all winter. I am looking into canning I think this sounds like a good thing to learn.

I also have a small library on 'edible plants, that are out there to eat....it is what our ancestors ate  .  Puslane is a weed (very invasive) here where I live. It is high in omega 3, it has a peppery taste. These were the greens that grandma went out to get in spring to help her family get nutrition after eating mouldy salted and pickled foods over the winter. Gourmet shops sell it as mache, it is very expensive. There are other ways to cook this too.

Our culture eats  such "santitized and nutrionally empty foods' now that have many  chemicals added so they please your tongues and gullets. I watched a show where they made crackers totally out of chemicals and depended on how they molded them or 'named' them people who ate them thought they were eating a real cracker.


beloved

[Patrick]

Oh my Patrich, squirrels are a big problem.  We have a lab and a basset hound in our back yard, that keep the squirrels away (there are many in near by trees).  But then I have to cover my garden with fence wire to keep the dogs from digging in it 
 
And the heat... the sun is pretty intense here to in the summer too.  Some plants just can't take that kind of heat.  I have one garden spot close to the house, so that the sun goes behind the house in the afternoon and blocks it that late afternoon heat.  Those plants are doing quite well. 
What you have to do is learn how other people deal with the problems that you have in your area.  People can get very innovative when they want to figure out something. 

mercy, peace and love
Kat

I've learned what others (that have experienced problems) in my area are doing about the squirrels; traps, poisons, guns.
And then there are those (homes the squirrels have not caused structural damage to) that are not doing anything because they are so cute.
I would prefer tree squirrels to ground squirrels. My house, built in the early 70's, is a peer & beam (meaning it does not have a concrete foundation, it has a block footer and the builder did not leave a crawl space entrance, so I can't get under the house) and I've had to take extreme measures because those critters are tunneling under the house and chewing their way into the wall space where all the plumbing is and took up residence in the comforts of the area under my bathtub.
One decided to find it's way under my gas stove and have babies; won't go into details of that horrible experience.
Tore the wall apart, installed redwood at the base (critters won't chew on redwood is what I was told) and once I found their main entrance, which was under my front deck, I poured concrete in the hole.
Some of you may remember the movie Caddyshack. 
Thank God I'm not allowed to handle C4.
After getting the house taken care of, I started taking care of the other holes on the property. Got shut down on doing that because 4 Burrowing Owls decided to show themselves the first evening after my mission started. I don't think I covered up any owl holes, but it was bizarre that in 10 yrs I've never seen one, and in one evening I see 4.
I spoke to a Game Biologist the next day and she told me don't cover up any more holes.

Just need to do some more research. Regardless of how I plant anything outside, there must be a fortress built around it.


 

[rjsurfs]

Great post Kat...

We have an approximate 500 sq. ft. garden we do each year but I've never tried to calculate the savings... it started as a hobby and something fun for the kids.  This year we have three types of tomatoes, a couple of rows of green beans, a row of broccoli (this was the row the kid's picked something new to try), a couple of rows of sweet potatoes (we eat a lot of these and they are kind of expensive at the store), we have cucumber and acorn squash as well.  When the cucumber is harvested we will plant some pumpkin seed for a late fall harvest.  Across the front that faces the house we planted a row of sunflowers hoping to keep the birds distracted.

I believe my wife has some herbs out back somewhere but I am not really allowed in some of her landscape areas.      She does make all of our bread as well... always whole wheat (sometime I really miss some good ol' bleached white bread tho). 

We have been wanting to learn to either can or the best ways to freeze. 

I think it is good that people try to find ways to take care of themselves where they can like in Kat's post... and become less dependent on the marketplace.

Bobby

[Kat]

Hi Patrick,

Those little critters have been a mess for you.  What I have read is that you would need to sink a 1/2" mesh fence at least 6 inches in the ground, so they can't dig under.  And then you would need a 24 inch wide piece of sheet metal to run around the top of your fence to keep them from climbing over.  That would be a job, like you said "a fortress."  Well maybe the owls are the answer to the ground squirrels   


Hi Beloved, container gardening can be as big or small as you like.  I've read where people have a whole array of veg. in big pots on the roof. 

Yes purslane is a common weed, but is great added to a salad.  In my research I've found that there are many common 'weeds' that are quite nutritious and good tasting.  We do need to get back some of the wisdom of healthy eating that our ancestors used.


Hi Bob,  sounds like a great garden.  I'm hoping to branch out next year in my planting to try other veggies.  I ordered sweet pot. sets, but they came in late, so I'm not sure how much I'll get.  But I did plant red potatoes, that I might dig up some soon.
I'm thinking that canning is a necessity if you get a good harvest, to tide you through the winter.  So I will start studying how to do this too.
And baking bread is something I've done a little bit, but would like to start making fresh bread as our primary source. Even read how people buy the wheat and grind their own flour, but I'm probably not going to that extreme, yet 

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[steve]

It's just about always time to start a garden.

It's best to plant a garden that is too small that you can care for, than a larger one that you can't.

Start small and plant what you will eat. Around here people will plant rows of yellow squash and zucchini, and they won't be able to give them away. The same goes for tomatoes. If you don't plan on freezing or canning them a couple of plants will give you about all the fresh tomatoes you can eat. I know people who spend all weekend planting 160' of potatoes. What is the cheapest thing you can buy in the store?

I have 20 tomato plants, 4 rows of limas, 4 rows of pole beans, 6 hills each of watermelons and pumpkins.
I plan on canning a lot. I just like to look at the pumpkins. In fall I will plant kale, collards, leeks and garlic.

My garden is about 12 x 40.

Get your shovels out and plant something.

Steve

[rjsurfs]

Steve,

Your garden sounds great...  we've always done the pumpkins... we did watermelons as well last year but didn't have a lot of success... they seemed so fragile on the vines... but that could of been because we had such a drought.

I had never considered the greens you mentioned in the fall... I would love to try the collards and maybe kale or some other leafy plant after some of the others are harvested.

We've decided to try and freeze this year... canning sounds a little complicated to the wife and I.

Bobby

[cherokee]

Here is a great link for those of you who may need a refresher course in canning and for those just getting started.

http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/home/1.php

Suzie

[steve]

Bobby, now you have all you need to start canning. It's intimidating until you do it. You do need a few things to start, but some stuff you can find in yard sales and junk stores.

Here in Virginia most of the brassica's, these are the cabbage families like broccoli, kale, collards, and brussels sprouts stuff grow real well in a fall garden. It doesn't hurry to flower like in a summer garden.
Kale will grow into spring.

The differences I see in pumpkins and watermelons are kind of like this from what I have seen in my own gardens. Pumpkins like warm days and cool nights. Watermelons like hot days and warm nights. I think pumpkins like heavier soil than watermelons too.

Can someone tell me how to attach a picture to a post?

Steve

[Kat]

Hi Steve,

This should help you upload a picture http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,4619.0.html

Your garden really sounds nice.  And your right it's better to start small and not get over whelmed.

I'm going to try to do a little canning this fall.  I've been reading up on it and I think it's like you say, "intimidating until you do it."  But I think I want to dry a few things too.  I just want o try all the different ways and learn what works best with what.  Maybe I can teach my girls how to do it one day 

Mercy, peace and love
Kat

[Stevernator]

Today I went to home depot and bought some soil for vegetable gardens and some potted plants that include 2 cucumbers, 1 bell pepper, 6 pack of sweet potatoes, 1 squash and 1 watermelon. Then I picked all of the pinestraw out of an area of my yard that was being used for landscaping and took out some of the plants. We live in GA so the dirt is hard red clay so I tried to soften it up and mixed it with the soil. Then I placed the biodegradable pots in the ground and spread the soil around them and tried to space them far enough apart. Lastly, I respread the pinestraw around to protect the moisture. The next step is to convince my mom to let me tear up the rest of the lawn haha.

It is kind of a crazy experiment but next Saturday I might go to the local farmers market for some advice. Also, I may fertilize it sometime this week. Even though I got bit like crazy (it looks like there is a golf ball protuding out of my arm!!) it was well worth it. Maybe I will post a pic later.