Growing Vegetables to Save Money
By Raven1
@Raven1 (577)
Australia
April 28, 2009 9:34pm CST
Does anyone else grow vegetables and fruit in their gardens? I have almost all the fruit and vegetables I need to feed my daughter and I all year round. My grocery bill is so low that I only need to buy the basics (like rice, pasta, sugar and coffee).
My brother has chickens in his yard, so I barter for eggs and give him vegetables in return.
Vegetables are SO easy to grow and once they're planted they take up almost no time to maintain them. (so if your excuse is that you 'don't have time' - then that doesn't work here. It takes me only a few minutes a week to be sure they're all growing nicely).
For vegetables I grow corn, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumber, lettuce, carrots, celery, peas and beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, spinach, zucchini, bok choy, guy lan (chinese broccoli) and sweet potatoes.
For fruit I grow strawberries, watermelon, honeydew melon, apricots, apples and pears.
For herbs I grow parsley, chives, coriander, lemon grass, basil, rosemary and thyme.
7 people like this
22 responses
@creationsbyrobin (3071)
• United States
29 Apr 09
No, we don't. We live in a condo where all the outside property is considered "common property", so there is no place to grow veggies. I'm considering growing some herbs in a planter on my deck, if I was sure the birds wouldn't attack it.
I'd love to grow some organic veggies and I really wish I lived closer to my in-laws, so I could go to their house every few days to take care of them. So instead, I'm hoping to find a somewhat local organic farm where I can purchase some organically grown veggies and fruit this summer.
3 people like this
@mikeysmom (2088)
• United States
29 Apr 09
if i were good with plants i would have a vegetable garden. the fact is that i am just not good with such things and i hate digging in the dirt and i hate being out in the hot sun to water and care for the plants. it is a great way to save money on produce though.
2 people like this
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
29 Apr 09
We grow veggies every yr not just to save money but because both my hubby and I enjoy gardening and I just love being able to pick fresh veggies out of the garden to make salads etc...We also grow strawberries and this yr I'm going to try a small patio blueberry plant as well as some blackberries but many of the fruits we like can't be grown here like citrus fruits, bananas etc...we might try grapes next yr...And yes of course I also grow my herbs as well..
2 people like this
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
29 Apr 09
We're doing this this year -- we used to farm all the time, but we're back to doing it again this year. We hope to have chickens at least next year, and maybe goats.
It's very time consuming, for us, but it's well-worth it...and I actually like being consistantly busy.
2 people like this
@lena_mae1983 (383)
• United States
29 Apr 09
This year is the first year we have attempted to grow anything but flowers at our house. We have tomatos, carrots, peas, watermelon, squash, onions, lettuce and some various herbs all sprouting at the moment indoors. We plan to get everything transplanted outside over the weekend.
We also have all kinds of flowers to plant this year to liven the place up around here. I can't wait until everything is in full bloom!
2 people like this
@krajibg (11923)
• Guwahati, India
29 Apr 09
Hi, rightly said, it takes some fertile plot and you have all the necessary vegetables and fruits. I have in my garden papaya, guava, jack fruit, coriander, pears, lemon, apricot tomatoes, green chilly, pumpkin, bottle gourd, etc. It really save a lot of money on grocery.
Whenever I have time to spare I myself engage there and if not put some man on wage to take care of them.
2 people like this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
30 Apr 09
I grow quite a bit, although my back yard garden isn't very big. There's just me, so it doesn't take that much. Right now I have onions, beets, lettuce, radishes, broccoli, potatoes, strawberries, Jerusalem artichokes and rhubarb going. In a week or so, I'll start squash and corn and put out tomato and pepper plants. I freeze and can quite a bit to do me through the winter. It's better food than I can buy, anyway!
1 person likes this
@silverglint (2000)
• Philippines
4 May 09
Hi, I would like to be able to grow some vegetables to save some money but we do not have any soil in the 7 door apartment that we are renting. My mom in law has green thumb and she really enjoys taking care of plants but we don't know how we will be able to grow them. are there any vegetables that we can grow on small milk cans? I would be great if we have a garden to plant in.
1 person likes this
@Raven1 (577)
• Australia
9 May 09
There are plenty of smaller vegetables that can be grown indoors or in apartments. Tomatoes and garlic are perhaps the easiest, and maybe strawberries. Some types of beans, like bush-beans or soy-beans, will also grow indoors. Herbs like coriander or chives or parsley are great inside plants.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
29 Apr 09
I have a dream to have a yard big enough to have a great garden like yours. I have a tiny yard but we do what we can with it. We are growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and zuchini. I hope to dig up some grass and plant more this week. I try to grow the things we eat the most and the things that cost more to buy. I also grow lettuce, and a variety of greens in the house but id love to learn to grow more out side as well.
Id love to find someone to barter with. I think that is such a great system. This has inspired me to do a little more. Thank you so much for this.
@goldenapple951 (455)
• United States
26 May 09
Sounds awesome....I plan to try it ( the prices at the supermarket are a joke)
The bartering eggs for veggies is such a great idea..really
Thats a great about of savings
@lumenmom (1986)
• United States
29 Apr 09
Wow, I would love to grow my own fruits and vegetables. It does save a lot of money and now since I am eating more raw foods, this would work out great for me. The main problem is I live with family and there is no room for any real garden. The other problem is that none of us have gardening skills. I use to help my grandmother years ago in her garden which consisted of only tomatoes, bell peppers and a several flowers but I have never done any gardening on my own.
1 person likes this
@Toofancy (548)
• United States
29 Apr 09
Previously I have never had a vegetable garden. But this year my husband has started one for us. I am so excited about it! I am not sure what all he has already planted, but I hope it does well. My parents always had a garden, and I always enjoyed their vegetables. We want tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes for sure. And I would like to have watermelon, too. Good luck with your garden. Sounds like you are very successful in your planting. Wish me luck, too!
@froggieslover (3069)
• United States
29 Apr 09
Wow that sure is a lot of stuff you are growing there...I don't grow anything..I would really love to but even thought we have a bigger yard now it isn't big enough to have a garden. My mom has a garden, she has around thirteen acres of land so she can have a garden and still have enough yard for other things. She just started growing hers about two years back..they usually grow corn, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peas. I usually just end up getting more veggies from her in the summer especially the corn and the tomatoes. I would love to do my own garden but I am sure it wouldn't last...
1 person likes this
@Raven1 (577)
• Australia
9 May 09
My land is 1/8 acre - so it's tiny when you consider it's almost all house. I nailed some trellis to the fence and I grow peas and beans up the trellis. They take up less than 1/2 foot of space against the fence line. Zucchini can also be trained to grow up a pole or trellis.
Many of my vegetables are flowering, so it looks as though I have a pretty flower garden in front (purple garlic flowers and delicate little pink pea flowers) but it's all vegetables.
@lawana_f (326)
• United States
30 Apr 09
Sounds like you have a full time job with a garden with all of that in it. This year I am sharing a garden with my daughter and her husband. We will grow all of our favorites including tomatoes and squash. In the past I have sold my extras to local resturants. As I grow organic for the most part it makes it easy and living in south Texas we have at least two growing seasons not counting winter crops like brocilli, and garlic. If the economy does not improve we all need to teach others how to grow a veggie garden and how to put up the extras for the winter. I noticed that the Salt Lake City Zoo has garden plots and many citys have community gardens. I hope everyone can get involved. I am not able to do a garden alone anymore, but together the kids and I have more than we can eat and can or freeze.
1 person likes this
@Raven1 (577)
• Australia
9 May 09
Actually I spend less than 5 minutes a day on my garden. I set up an automated drip-watering system that waters everything for me. I work full time on my writing business and I have a daughter to care for as well, so I don't have time to work in a garden all day.
I only planted vegetables that don't need much care.
@Mitraa (3184)
• India
29 Apr 09
Nice posting! I also grow vegetables in my kitchen garden. It saves some money also! I have forgot purchasing papaya for the last five years or more! It gives me exercise, pleasure and satisfication to work in my kitchen garden.
Thanks and have good kitchen gardening!
1 person likes this
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
29 Apr 09
We have a very small garden. It consists of cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. Then we also have strawberries. We planted grapes last year and nothing grew yet. We also planted a pear tree. Hopefully we will get some pairs this year.
1 person likes this
@aidenofthetower (1814)
• United States
29 Apr 09
I would love to grow a garden, and you have quite a wide variety of foods there. However, we live in an apartment. I also have some concern since I have a hard time growing house plants. :-P I will give it a try some day though....as soon as we have our own house.
1 person likes this
@rebelmel (1386)
• United States
29 Apr 09
I don't have a yard! But I try to grow vegetables. i have basil, parsley and chives. Strawberries (that look like they are dying) jalapenos, cucumbers and flowers. It isn't enough to live off of, but if everthing grows I will save a bit!
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215837)
• Chile
30 Apr 09
I grow some veggies but neve half as much as you do. You seem to have enough to eat only home produce. Winter is coming in my country and I´ll make the experiment of growing veggies that usually are planted in spring. We have mild winters so I planted potatoes. I´m hoping for the best. I have herbs all year around in pots and I have an apricot tree that gives me apricots near Christmas, just in time to make jam to give as presents.
@jayrene (2708)
• Philippines
29 Apr 09
i do... but i dont have that much spare of land/soil here. i have planted malunggay, and have used the leaves now for soups. i have tomatoes here, have harvested some already, and i added bell peppers, still growing. i would love to plant more, but i cant. i envy you.
i would love to have a small poultry too, ten chickens will do, but we dont have that much space for that.
1 person likes this
