Is anyone gardening vegetables to cut the cost of grocery bills down?
By fury2525
@fury2525 (139)
United States
May 19, 2008 9:18am CST
In my family both sets of my grandparents always had a garden going. One of mine also had fruit trees. She would make her own fried fruit pies or regular pies, cobblers, etc.
They both grew almost any vegetable you could think of and still had plenty to give away to others to help them out.
Both my grandmothers canned and froze their produce.
Back then they knew how to save and stock up more than most generations of today. I know my son is clueless or was when he was at home maybe now he is on his own, not sure if he has learned anything. But when he was at home he took everything for granted like it was due him. And always had a hand out. If i didnt provide, or have the money he found otherways to get it. I dont condone what he has done or approve it. But thats another story.
Anyways. Right now space where i live is keeping me from doing more. And i need a new canner. I already have a large frostfree freezer. My finacee who lives with me now is helping me with things i have trouble doing now.
Everytime i go to the grocery and doesnt seem to matter which one you pick all the prices are going up, even the generic.
If people dont do what they can im not sure whats going to happen to this nation the way things are going now.
I wish i already had my own home, where i had more freedom to do what i wanted as far as gardening, etc.
Plus i want to do a small business at home too, due to me needing a sit down job and my finacee has seizures.
Lish
6 people like this
18 responses
@WebMann (4731)
• Canada
19 May 08
We are not at the point where we can cut down too much on the grocery bills but we are starting to learn and in a few years we should be able to cut back a fair bit.
We just had friends over who are going big this year more than previous years. They want to be self-sustaining from now on.
They have much more area to grow in but we are learning from them so we know where it is best to grow as much as we can.
I was raised on a farm from age 8 to 15 and my foster mother did a huge amount of canning in the summer and fall. Enough that we always had more than was required and we ate a lot.
2 people like this
@fury2525 (139)
• United States
20 May 08
Where i live there is little space to grow, but in the past here i have grown 7 tomato plants, rows of green beans, a fluke cantelope, and herbs.
But now due to my health I am growing out of containers, til we get a place of our own, i'll be growing one container of beefmasters and grape tomatoes. We wanted to do green beans but if i cant find a place to buy a canner we cant. Most have gone up 20 more dollars since i last got one.
ill also be growing some herbs and not sure what else i do have a large metal shelf unit outside with plenty of space on it.
Lish
1 person likes this
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
19 May 08
At my last house I had a huge veggie garden. We had everything including three kinds of potatoes. Good thing I love potatoes! It was a lot of work, but it saved sooo much money during the winter when all I had to do was go the freezer or cold cellar to get what I needed for fruit or veggies. Now though, I don't have a garden and won't ever have another veggie garden, so it's a good thing the kids are all gone and I only have to buy for myself! LOL
2 people like this
@laglen (19759)
• United States
20 May 08
Lish,
I am very sorry to hear of your troubles. We too are being hit hard with the rise in prices. Yes we plant a garden. I are already harvesting a little, we pla to have three harvests. if only the weather would cooperate. I am starting to ride my bike to save on gas. And we stock up whenever we can
1 person likes this
@recycledgoth (9894)
•
19 May 08
My partner and I like to grow our own vegetables and salad stuff where we can. At least if we grow our own food, it tastes so much better and we can always freeze surplus vegetables and save a little money too.
2 people like this
@mummymo (23706)
•
20 May 08
I was adopted and raised by my Grandparent Lish and my Granddad had lots of allotments - gardening plots you rented! We always had lots of veg and it was frozen, saved for seed etc as well as being given away and sold locally. We never ever did canning although we had a large chest freezer! I have a good sized garden but only a very small part of it can be used for growing veg - we have lots of potatoes coming this year I think! I am unable to do any gardening work these days at all - but I wish we could do more as well as saving money I always think that home grown veg tastes much better! xxxx
1 person likes this
@newtondak (3946)
• United States
20 May 08
After several years of not putting in a garden, I have this year resorted back to growing my own vegetables. For a while, it was possible to buy canned and frozen vegetables for less than you could grow them if you counted your investment into them - now that prices are going up, I once again believe that growing them is the way to go.
I als like the idea of having a pantry full and not having to go to the store all the time. It's too expensive to make too many trips with the price of gas!
@rmuxagirl (7548)
• United States
28 May 08
My family always plant a garden every year. We also live on a farm, so we butcher our own cows and chickens as well, but sometimes we do have to get some meats and veggies from the market.
@alienstar (5142)
• India
29 May 08
One good way of reducing our daily expenditures is by growing vegetables in gardens and let me tell that one should be really interested also in doing this or else, maintaining garden will be difficult and also profit making also will be good only when you are interested in doing that particular thing isnt it?
@jsitko (1169)
• United States
29 May 08
My husband and I just put on the finishing touches or our vegetable garden this past weekend. We planted early, 4weeks ago, and we had 2 frosts since then. We had to lay plastic down to protect them. Things are good and strong. I don't canned, but would like to learn, I may try that this year. However, I do blanch and freeze most of the veggies and it can usually get us through the winter. It does get hard however, since we share our garden with our friends and family when they come here. Some love to plant but don't get the opportunity, so we let them help us.(Yeah for us. In return we ask them over to help us harvest it as well and they get to take some home. It is a great way to have them all here for a cookout and share what we have.
It all does help save a little money at the store for all of us. I also know when the time comes that we HAVE to plant for survival, we will.
@snowy22315 (179715)
• United States
29 May 08
I may have answered this already but yes. I hope to plant enough tomatoes to make my own spaghetti sauce or at least salsa. I will also hopefully have fresh herbs that I can use and not have to buy at the store.
@snowy22315 (179715)
• United States
27 May 08
I hope too. I have doubled the size of my garden so I can plant more things. I wan to have enough tomatoes to be able to make spaghetti sauce. I'm going to grow some peppers too so maybe i can make salsa.
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
19 May 08
I would love to be able to grow my own veggies. I grew up on a farm with a 1 acre kitchen garden. Nearly everything we ate, our farm produced. Unfortunately the soil where I live now isn't conducive to growing veggies. I need to get some topsoil in here and build some raised beds.
I've been saying I was going to do that for several years, but working all the time just didn't leave much time even for square foot gardening. Now I'm not able to do the hard work of getting it started by my self, but I'm still scheming and planning to figure out a way to at least grow a few things.
1 person likes this
@bastet2329 (47)
• United States
26 May 08
I would love to have a garden but we rent a house and we never know if the landlord will want to renew the lease. I am afraid to plant and spend the time and energy on something that could be taken away.
@fury2525 (139)
• United States
26 May 08
Hi,
This is one thing you can do I was in a similiar situation with renting an apt. They wouldn't let me plant anything in the ground. At that time I didn't plant vegetables but same theory works. I used large plastic containers, filled with soil and miracle grow. I had 4 large planters of roses going.
Where I am right now its a large tri-plex and i am renting the largest and trust me, hardly no grass unless its slooped and the ground is clay, but in the past in spite of it i did grow 7ft tall tomato plants and on another side i grew green beans.
Now my finacee is living with me and we have a lot going on, and we are wanting to move, he wanted to help me with my love of gardening but he knew my limitations due to arthritis and fibromyalgia. I already had two large heavy plastic containers we bought soil, and i bought 2 tomato plants, because you will get alot if its only the two of you or if you have kids you might plant one more. But for us i planted a grape tomato plant and a beefmaster one.
And that should be plenty for us.
You might try the same thing hon or if it sounds too much plant smaller things in containers. The long ones i have that look kinda like a pigs feeding box, lol, i will plant my herbs and divide them up.
If your landlord pulls anything, you grab your stuff and move it with you, and do the same thing again.
And you can still enjoy the gardening til you have a home of your own, hon.
If you want to plant flowers you could do the same thing but in smaller pots if you don't have a lot of time to spend on them. Or use shepards hooks and hang them up. All of these things can be moved with you.
I have been renting since I was 19 and i'm 50 now, so trust me I have had to deal with plenty of landlords that wouldnt want to let me enjoy anything so i found ways around it, but so i wouldnt be in trouble either, lo.
Good luck and keep in touch,
Lish
@fury2525 (139)
• United States
30 May 08
well not all of us are fortunate to be able to grow plants just for the eating of good foods. Many of us are just trying to make ends meet month by month, and everytime i go to the store all of the foods are going up in prices even the store brands.
If you have plenty of money to not worry bout how much you spend at the grocery, well good for you. But many in the USA do not.
Lish
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
20 May 08
When I was growing up, we always had a small garden, but never did any canning. It was just fresh food for the summer. Over the past several years, I haven't done any growing, but this year, I did get several tomato plants and put them in. I always shop at farmers markets during the nice weather. Luckily we just got a new market in town that specializes in produce and what a difference that makes...and they are cheaper than the regular stores, too. That makes me wonder...how can they have fresher and better tasting produce?
I think a lot of folks will be planting in their own backyards this year, especially with the economy in shambles. It is going to be hard for a lot of folks, if it isn't already.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
21 May 08
I'm in somewhat the same position as you are. I had started to learn some canning a few years ago and canned watermelon pickles, bread and butter pickles, and made my own salsa, froze green beans and bell peppers. Then I got divorced and moved away from the house with the garden, and all the canning supplies got left behind too.
I'm renting a very small place now and have a few vegetables in containers, but it won't yield much. At best, I'll probably get a few meals of green beans, my husband will get enough tomatoes for the tomato and tuna lunches that he loves, and maybe I'll be able to put up a few cucumbers at the most, if the plants every start growing (they seem to have stopped).
I'm hoping to get my own place again so I can put in a 'real' garden and invest in more canning supplies. I do have one of those sealer machines so I could freeze a few things, but I don't have any of the other equipment for actual water processing of jars.
I'd love to a lot more self sufficient and not have to worry about making it to the grocery store. There's a lot of satisfaction in knowing that most everything on the dinner table is something you grew yourself, not to mention the economic factor, and of course the taste!
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
27 May 08
i grow a garden. I highly enjoy the taking care of it...some might call it work but to me its really really stress releiving to sit and weed or work the garden. I enjoy the benefits of not having to buy as many potatoes/carrots or as much corn/peas or even some of the things i dont buy in a store like radishes.
I love freshly grown & picked raspberries and strawberries. They are so expensive in a store!
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
20 May 08
I once had only a very small patch to grow anything in. I'd say it was maybe 8' x 6'. I managed to squeeze in a peach tree, 3 tomato plants, onions, broccoli, radishes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, strawberries and a couple of giant sunflowers (I love the seeds, roasted). I also did some container gardening. I had a cherry tomato on my back porch as well as some citrus fruit trees that I took inside in the winter.
I grow veggies to save money, yes. The main reason is that I love the taste of freshly picked vegetables. But with the rising prices of food, it's good to have something you don't have to pay for.
Offhand, I can't think of many sit-down home businesses, other than some companies that use home typists. The openings for them are hard to come by, but they are there. Do a search for companies hiring home typists. You might just find something.
If you do have a little space, you can root seedlings of any kind of bush or tree. The smaller nurseries would be inclined to buy them from you rather than the larger seedling companies. They don't take a lot of time, energy or knowledge. A great place to learn is from this website: www.freeplants.com. They give you, free, all of the information you need to take cuttings and root them.
If you need any more information, let me know. Good luck and take care!
