Have you ever thought about starting your own garden to get a better quality of food and save on your weekly grocery bills? I like growing everything edible. I have a small garden where I try to grow something in every corner that I have available. I also grow vegetables and herbs in containers on my veranda. For me quality is more important than anything else. I prefer the food that I have produced myself to supermarkets. And if I have some extra big crop, I put a basket near my front door and my neighbours can help themselves or even give something in return, whichever way they like.
Personally I think it is not a bad idea but considering the work involved, some people may shun from it. I have an aunt who grows her own vegetables, I must say it is easier just to buy them from the grocery store. Well if you have the time to invest in growing you can go for it.
I have thought about it.. seems kind of like a part time job (which wouldn't be a problem if I sell some of the produce. ) This all reminds me of the following Youtube video I saw a few years agoLog In That's a pretty big motivator for organizing one's own beautiful garden. The health benefits of growing and consuming all your own food seem astronomical! But it requires a lot of time, effort, space, and for me personally I'd kind of be starting from scratch since I have little gardening experience.
I would like to get into gardening again. My grandparents used to garden, and we would all help them with it growing up, along with the canning. Homemade tomato sauce with tomatoes and garlic and onions that you grew yourself is amazing, and I still think about it to this day. If I did start gardening again, I would probably just stick to a few basic things - herbs, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, and peppers I suppose. I love zucchini too, but that stuff gets out of hand towards the end of it's season. The other side of gardening though is you need to be able to secure your stuff from the local animals and critters roaming around - otherwise all your work is for nothing, if they are raiding your garden and eating everything.
I would love to have my own garden filled with variety of veggies where I can get my own food. It will not just lessen the expenses but it will also ensure that my veggies are free from chemicals that can be hazardous to my health. Sadly, I don't have enough space in my home because we're living in an urban area.
The problem is space, time, resources, and critters. In my case mostly the gosh forsaken critters. They are quite bright and have figured out how to work together to get past the chicken wire I was using to keep them away from my crops. So whatever then.
Yes, I understand, it takes a bit of doing to set up a decent fence. In my case I had to build a fortress to keep the wallabies (small kangaroos) out. They were eating absolutely everything and sticking their furry faces through the fence, trying to push it over. I have never seen kangaroos eating raw onions before. It was quite a sight. But after a couple of weeks of building the chicken wire structure, it really paid off big time and still does.
No. I would never consider growing my own vegetables to cut down on grocery cost. The time, and effort that it would take to grow my own vegetables would cost me more than any amount of money that i would save on in store purchases. Not to mention that i don't buy that many vegetables for this to effect my budget in anyway. This idea seems like more work than savings.
I have had a more extensive garden in the plans for a few months now. Our space is limited, so I'm doing a container garden. I have to be honest though, when you consider start up costs, time of care, and up-keep costs each year, I think you really have to have a garden for a few seasons before it starts saving you any money. The cost of seeds and even starter plants is certainly cheaper than the cost of the amount of produce these plants might produce, but as it is, I'm looking at investing close to $250 this year to get my garden in. Likely, I would not spend $250 in the same season on produce. I figure it will be worth it if I can maintain this for at least a couple of growing seasons. Another option, for those without the time or space to garden, of course, is to shop local farmer's markets. Very often, prices of in season produce are comparable to grocery store prices, and of course, the quality is usually much better. I agree, it is worth it to know where your food comes from, and definitely worth the better flavor.
I have been very interested in this as of late, actually. I hear that you can fill a garbage can up with topsoil and grow a bunch of potatoes and stuff indoors without much of a mess or money investment. I'm sick of forking over tons of money every time I want something fresh and tasty. I'm somewhat of a foodie, so the idea of preparing my own peppers or onions or tomatoes or whatever and then cooking them myself is too tantalizing to just pass up. Can you give me tips on where to keep a garden, on what sort of facilities I'd need, and what plants are best suited for a Midwestern climate? (Four seasons, cold winters, 73-90 degree summers).
There is a bit of an initial investment in tools and stuff, so you have to weigh up if you have the space to grow enough to that will end up at least paying for itself. I think with a few potatoes though they will easily pay for themselves even in a small urban garden. If not you can also buy garden produce from other gardeners as they are likely to sell for quite cheap.
No but mostly it's because we rent right now and we really aren't allowed to do to much in the yard. They hire landscapers to come in and mow and weed eat. The most I have really tried is basil in a pot in my kitchen, and I killed it. My green thumb is black and I am horrible with plants so I doubt my abilities to keep a plant alive long enough to harvest it. The one thing I have always wanted to grow was tomatoes. There is nothing as good as tomatoes right off the vine. You can't buy that in any store that's for sure. My dad grows them and he just loves them and talks about them like they are his babies. If I do get a chance to do that, it would be to get fresh off the vine tomatoes and not really to save on the grocery bill. They are cheap enough in the stores compared to all the work that goes into growing them.
That would be too much work for me. I'm always busy so I think some days they wouldn't get watered so eventually it would die, besides i hardly go out in my garden. I think ive been out there sometime last year lol I don't remember exactly.
If the land is available, why not? I'm lucky to be living in a place where land is not an issue. It's the norm here to grow some vegetables in your backyard. At first it just was the convenience of having fresh vegetables right outside your door that had me try my hand at farming but come to think of it, I suppose the garden has saved me a lot of cash I'd have spent buying vegetables.
I have a hard time keeping insects and worms off of my herbs, so I'd have even more work to do if I ventured into growing produce. It's easier and faster to just buy 2 cucumbers for $1 at the supermarket.
This is an interesting question. I would consider growing my own fruits and vegetables, and I do consider it regularly. I am not much of a gardener, so I don't have much experience. But that is neither here nor there. I'd grown my own fruit and vegetables just because you can't trust what is being sprayed onto the fruits that you grow at the supermarket. At least if I am growing my own stuff, I know everything about the process, and what is going into my body. It is not even about money.
Yeah, I would if I could. But the thing is I am currently living in the city, and there is no place for me here to build even a small garden.
I wouldn't grow a garden because it seems as if would attract some small animals, and I wouldn't really want them to eat the food in the garden. To me, it seems more simple to just buy the food lol.
No, I just wouldn't do it because for one, I don't have the time. Then there's the small matter of not having the interest. I think with gardening, you need to at least have the passion and patience for it, both of which I don't possess. It's a lot more convenient for me to just go into the supermarket or wherever and buy the fruit and veg.
I would absolutely love to! Not for the savings (though that would be awesome), but for the health and the taste. I can't where I am right now. I don't get enough sun where I could do it, but our next place for sure! I can't wait actually,.. I'll be growing as much fruit and veggies as possible.
