When starting a vegetable garden for the first time, it's best to start off small. Pick two or three vegetables for the first year and see how you go. Then for the following years add an extra one or two as your confidence and knowledge improves. By doing it this way you're not shelling out a small fortune.
Many vegetables can be grown in pots as well as a garden bed. Growing vegetables in pots can be a great option for those who are renting or who are elderly. You can place the pots on a plant stand or an old table. When the Summer heat arrives, the plants can be moved out of the searing heat. Just make sure the pots are reasonably deep and you feed and water the plants regulary as they can dry out quickly
Growing your own vegetables is an easy way to reduce your grocery budget. For example, lettuce can be grown all year round for just a couple of dollars. The salad mix variety looks pretty with all it's different colors. It's good for you and you can pick as much or as little as you need for each meal. Lettuce prices in the supermarkets vary for $1 - $3 so growing you own could save you a small fortune.
For the last few years we've been able to grow enough tomatoes to pick for our Summer salads as well as cooking and freezing about 30 tins worth. All for about $4 for a punnet of seedlings.
Silverbeet can be grown all year round and makes a wonderful addition to chop suey, spag bol, lasagne and dishes that need a green. When broccoli and cauliflower are too expensive to buy, I just pick a few leaves from the veggie garden and lightly cook. This becomes our ' green ' on the dinner plate.
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| Cos lettuce |
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| Mixed lettuce |
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| From our backyard |
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| Silverbeet |
Good morning Wendy, Great post. I work out my annual savings on veggies and fruit the following way. As we always always have some home grown foods every day I "average "it out. e.g...if the veggies are worth $2 @ day then I have saved $730 a year, if it is $3 @ day it is $1095 .. and so on. I just wanted a rough idea of savings. Some seasons we produce and freeze lots more than that. I guess it could be done each week or month if you wanted to. Amazing how having some lettuce, herbs, spinach, peas, beans, lemon, oranges etc adds up. AND it is fresh and tastes so much better. Great to be able to share too. Cheers
ReplyDeleteThis year it will be just soil prep as our new place has very tired soil from 40 years of neglect - next year however will be much more exciting.
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy and you are so right that growing your own vegetables saves so much money in your budget and your produce you have picked looks wonderful :).
ReplyDeleteFor spring so far we have started our cherry tomatoes and money maker tomatoes by squeezing seeds into the ground. Yesterday we planted starts of potatoes from about 6 potatoes we didn't use from the supermarket that I left sprout and I got 17 starts off them by dividing them where each sprouts were. We are about to order some heirloom corn seed and when that arrives we will plant those. I have planted a couple of 2 metre rows of turnip seeds and they are now sprouting too :).
In pots we have started cucumber, carrots, capsicum and onions and are waiting for them to sprout. We have frosts here so it was too cool to plant in the ground but we thought starting them in pots under cover would give us a head start.
In the front yard a while ago we replanted our sweet potatoes so that crop will be under way and sprouting shortly.
We still have thyme, rosemary and lavender growing in the gardens over winter and lots of silver beet that is large and growing in a garden under a tree canopy to protect it from the frosts.
Yesterday we were thinking how blessed we were as we harvested 29 bunches of silver beet and around 2 kg of broccoli from the gardens which we blanched and froze for 25 more double meals for the 2 of us. This would have cost us $122.75 if we had to purchase them in the local shops here :o .
Have a great week one and all and I hope all of your gardens are providing lots of fresh food for your families.
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).
You're so right, Wendy! Growing your own food is economical and very convenient to pick when you need it. I've grown my own tomatoes since I left home because they taste completely different from most bought tomatoes. I've grown them in pots and garden beds, harvested seed each year and swapped them with my mother and a friend and enjoyed delicious tomatoes as a result.
ReplyDeleteI have a good sized vege garden that has been on holidays whilst we were away over winter. I have the seedlings about to be planted and more seeds to be sown. My herbs are all doing well and are regualarly added to our cooking for flavour and colour. They also taste so much better than anything that is purchased in a super market.
ReplyDeleteI have never managed to be much of a gardener. However, I try to have my own herbs as I use so many. Over winter I planted a lemon, mandarin and lime trees. I have pruned the passionfruit and it seems to be sprouting new growth. I need to replenish my herbs and maybe I could get some tomatoes to grow. We send our food scraps to a neighbour and sometimes she gives us lovely fresh eggs.
ReplyDeleteGetting ready to dig it over tomorrow and plant some seeds in egg cartons to grow my own seedlings to plant in the garden. Can’t wait
ReplyDeleteMy veggies always die and or get eaten by bugs. I have wasted so much money trying to be a veggie gardener. I wish I had better skills
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