Saving Money by Growing a Garden

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Out of Gas Newsletter - Issue 75 March 6, 2010

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We Continue our series on Will Gardening Save you Money or Not

Last time we talk about should you grow a garden. Today we’ll talk about thinking about what plants to grow, next time we’ll get into the actual work of growing your garden.

There are two seasons of vegetables.

Cool season vegetables (carrots, beets, lettuce, cauliflower, etc.) are planted in early spring and harvested by mid-summer. Warm season vegetables (tomatoes, pepper, eggplant, squash, etc.) are planted after the risk offrost has passed and harvested by early fall.

With cool season vegetables it is possible to grow two or three crops - planting and harvesting of those vegetables.

Below are several other important factors to consider when growing a vegetable garden to save you money.

When you’re thinking about the vegetables you plant you want to select vegetables that can be stored or preserved. Potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, and winter squash can be stored for several months when stored at the appropriate temperature. Other vegetables, like beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and sweet corn, can be preserved by canning or freezing.

You can find an excellent resource for preserving your crops at the following url http://www.pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm

You also want to select vegetables that you eat regularly and are expensive to buy at the grocery.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.