Anyone doing a vegetable garden?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Anyone doing a vegetable garden?
19
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 2:48am
Hi, everyone. This may be a dumb question, but actually, I got to thinking about it. Several years back, you could rent a small piece of land near university and grow own vegetables, corn, etc. One friend back home actually grows a lot of vegetables in the summer months and shares her cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, whatever, with neighbors. Does anyone still do this to save money? I have been thinking about trying to garden a little--nothing fancy, but things like cherry tomatoes, beans, squash, etc. Does it really pay off? Whiz.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 8:11am

My parents always had a huge garden growing up. It probably had something to do with my father working for the Department of Agriculture. My husband and I have started a small little one (5 x 5) the past few years with the boys. We've had lots of luck with tomatos..and some squash/peppers. Every year I plant cucumbers and a rabbit or deer gets to them within a few days.

This is a great way to save money if you like fresh vegetables. It's also a great learning experience for kids. My boys love it so much that most of the tomatos never make it into the house!

It also depends on what part of the country you live in. We're in Maryland. You can even grow some vegetables....especially tomatos as potted plants if you don't have property of your own.

Good luck. Stacey

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 9:05am

That's a great question! It's debated endlessly in the gardening community--am I actually saving money by doing this?? Because it can get quite expensive to garden.

I think whether it saves you money depends on a variety of factors. It may not save you money in the first year, for instance, because you'll be busy building your soil and obtaining important equipment (like stakes for tomatoes, shovels, etc.). It also depends greatly on how you approach your gardening. If you spend a lot of money on gadgets and amendments, again, you may not save money.

But, if you scrounge around and find ways to do things inexpensively, yes, it can save you a lot of money. It also depends on what you are comparing your savings to. When we were buying only loss-leader sales foods, and frozen cheapo veggies, we were probably getting by cheaper than the garden. But from my garden I get fresh, delicious, local, organic foods better than anything I can buy. And fresh organic foods are EXPENSIVE to buy.

We switched to primarily organic after I read a study that was done on about 300 kindergartners. The study discovered measurable pesticide residues in the urine of every single kindergartner--except one. The only child out of the 300 that did *not* have pesticide in his urine was the one child whose parents fed him a careful diet of all-organic foods. That was argument enough for me to switch.

So our vegetable bill can get quite high. Frankly, our entire bill is high--have you seen the price of organic hot dogs?? LOL We don't eat much meat now, mostly because it's incredibly expensive to buy organic.

And I suspect my garden will save us some serious money this year. It also helps if you learn to preserve some of your excess, or if by giving it away you gain some benefit (through building goodwill with neighbors for instance, or through informal barter, although I'm a firm believer that when we let things go into the universe, the benefits rebound back on us, so I actually avoid barter systems on a personal level, relying instead on the bonds of community that are built and strengthened when you give things away).

If you preserve some of your bounty, you can later use it as gifts at Christmas (jars of salsa, anyone? Pickled peppers or cucumbers, dried bean soup from your garden... packets of saved seeds for gardener friends--etc.).

When we lived in an apartment, I grew two cherry tomato plants in pots, and they were awesome. My son and I would go out every day and pick a handful apiece of the delicious, sweet bursts of flavor. They were a great addition of nutrition to our diets, enjoyable, and he learned early about homegrown food. The neighbor kids would walk by and pick some as well, and I loved to watch them enjoy what might have been their only truly healthy snack of the day.

Where do you live (roughly)? This will have an impact, too, on how cheaply you can do this and what you can grow. If you're in a warm enough area to work outdoors right now (i.e., you can see the ground through the snow), even if it's cold, you can start your garden for next year right away very cheaply. You'll need:

Newspaper or cardboard (no glossy inserts, no tape)
Leaves (can you still collect these from roadside?) or straw
Kitchen scraps (as you get them--start a container in your kitchen to throw all vegetable scraps--no meat or dairy except empty eggshells and dry milk), grass clippings, and/or manure (can usually be had for the hauling from horse owners, etc.--try your local freecycle group for sources)

Lay the newspaper (6-8 sheets thick) or cardboard (one layer thick) directly on the ground (not over snow, though), even if the ground is grass or weed-choked. Overlap the material by several inches at each seam. Moisten.

Lay whatever kitchen scraps/grass clippings/manure you have available over that.

Put down leaves or straw six to eight inches thick over that. You will have a mounded area where next year's garden will be. As you get more manure/grass clippings/scraps (called "green" matter), you can pull back the leaves/straw (called "brown" matter) and bury the greens under the browns (but on top of the newspaper/cardboard layer).

By Spring, this will have killed most of the weeds below the newspaper layer, and lured lots of earthworms into the area. The decomposing matter in the greens/browns layer will have seeped into the soil below as well as creating a useful layer above. You can plant directly through the newspaper (cutting holes for it), or in a layer of compost on top (then add additional leaves/straw for mulch).

This is called sheet mulching, composting in place, or lasagna gardening, depending on your source. It works great, and is very cheap to do. You can add additional green organic matter under the browns at any time. You can also add additional brown matter at any time to squelch weeds and retain moisture. Chances are, you won't need fertilizer or pest control, because your plants will be so healthy. And it reduces weeding too.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you do. If you have to rent a plot, remember to work that cost into your savings equation.

If you live in an apartment or townhome, perhaps there is a piece of sunny property owned by the landlord that could be put to this use? Our homeowner's association owns an empty lot that we are converting to a community garden. It might be as simple as asking--it could add to the value of the land and offer the renting agency an extra perk to show prospective renters.

Oh, and when selecting varieties, you can save the most money by growing things that are highly productive, expensive to buy, easy to grow, and *things you actually eat.* Our family eats tons of tomatoes, and tomato vines are highly productive, so this is a no-brainer for us. We also eat a lot of potatoes, but they are a pain to grow and inexpensive to buy--so we don't waste garden space on them. We love watermelons, but they take up way too much space for the amount of melons they produce so, again, we usually buy them. Here is what we grow: LOTS of tomatoes, basil (very expensive to buy fresh, and very useful for pesto and our favorite Thai dishes), corn (mostly because I do a three sisters garden, which requires corn, and it doesn't actually take up extra space in this arrangement--because it becomes the trellis for my beans), beans, and summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash). The corn, beans and squash grow in a bed together (google "three sisters" to see what I'm talking about) and provide the basis of our diet. My son will actually be growing watermelons this year because he specifically requested it and I have some extra space, thanks to our new community garden. I also tend to interplant carrots, radishes, and greens among the tomatoes and basil while they're young so, again, they don't take extra space. I also have garlic planted in the bed around our patio (you plant in fall and harvest the following summer).

Anyway, good luck with whatever you do. Oh, and start small so you don't get overwhelmed--just grow one or two crops the first year. I think gardening is a great way to get in touch with the earth and get to know and understand the food we eat. It wouldn't matter to me whether it saved us money or not. But I think it does. Although, this year I'm drooling over about $60 worth of seeds--if you blow your budget on seeds, you *don't* save money! LOL

Let me know if I can help you in any way. If you're interested in organic gardening, try the online communities at www.organicgardening.com. It's a really helpful group of people (you'll recognize my screen name there! LOL).

Blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2005
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 9:15am

Hello Whiz, I'm new to the board. We own 3 acres. and we do a large garden each summer. I would say that it defiently pays off. Typically I spend about $10 on seeds.
I made 40 jars of pickles last summer. Canned about 100 jars of green beans. Froze about 100 bags of corn. We age fresh tomatoes, salads. cucumbers, rhubarb, melons, corn, etc... for several months. We also can our own salsas, chili sauces, pizza sauces etc..

Most people don't have space for the size that we do, but even a small plot, like my mother does, really helps out. Hers is only like 20x20 and she grows more than she can eat.

HTH
stacy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 10:07am

My goal is just to do a little bit more and save a little bit more with my garden each year. The first year I was pregnant and I planted some basil and a few pumpkin seeds and that was it. Fun having our own jack o lanterns though!

The next year DS was 6 months and we hired someone to dig it up ($40) was comparable to price of renting a tiller. I had grand plans but quickly found I couldn't keep up with the garden and DS, my husband is gone much of the summer and we live on property with an extra lot so between kids, mowing and some other frugal activities (line drying laundry, no dishwasher, etc.) I didn't have huge yields but some great tomatoes and green beans.

Last year DS was 18 months and I did much better on the tomatoes, had a few peas and some great green peppers. Gardening came to a screeching halt when DS discovered a yellow jacket's nest in the garden by stepping into it.

This year DS will be 2 1/2 and I WILL DO BETTER!

Taleyna

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 11:51am
Hi, Heather. WOW, I really appreciate all of your gardening tips. It DOES sound like a lot of work, but if you see the yard we have now...When DH and I rented a house when we were first married, the yard had all kinds of things---lemon tree, pom.tree, etc. We planted tomatoes, green bell peppers, beans, etc. First, we would have to get a rototiller--Mantis, etc. because of the rocky soil, weeds, thatch, etc. One friend at work has a drip irrigation system (????) and all kinds of fancy growing stuff, but I am not that sophisticated. I think I will take your suggestions and print them out when I go to the local seed store. I got the Burpee catalogue and am thumbing thru it. Q---what can you grow in a little space besides cherry tomatoes, etc.? We have no backyard, so would need to plant things either in the front or along side of house. Whiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 11:59am
HI, Taylena. I look forward to your posts, and appreciate input on garden. Yellow jackets? Oh my! I thought if you just sprayed soapy water on things, or pour beer on snails, that there would be less critters to contend with. Am busy working extra and saving so that the gardening guys can fix the mess we have----tree roots growing under sidewalk and bricks, lots of asparagus grass (a pesky weed), and severe erosion (i.e, no grass in the front yard.). Even if I have to have some potted cherry tomatoes, I will start somewhere. :) Whiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 12:03pm

We did a little deck garden last year behind our house where we grew sweet potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers and spices. This year, we want to have a bigger garden for planting, but we really do not want to deal with the hard Georgia clay that we have here. A few years ago, we literally broke two shovels trying to plant flowers in our front flowerbed! So we have decided to get railroad ties or 2x4's and build a garden area in our backyard. The wood would be used for the sides/supports around the garden, to hold the soil in. And then we'd just fill it with proper soil and grow our plants on top of our yard. LOL! It will look like a normal garden, but we just won't have to mess with the clay. :-D

It really does help the budget, and it's a fun project for kids to help out with (we homeschool, so we sometimes use our plants for science lessons), but it does take a lot of time to maintain. In the hottest and most humid days of summer, it takes a lot of work to make sure the plants don't burn up in the heat. I guess it's also a feeling of pride that you get from eating something that you grew yourself. :-D

You could try doing it on a smaller scale, using large pots, if you're not sure you want a large garden yet.

Pat :-D

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 12:21pm

Glad to be of help. You can plant all kinds of things in a small space. Check out (from the library) a book called "The Square Foot Gardener" and another one called "Lasagna Gardening."

Cherry tomatoes are a great choice, but actually any kind of tomato can be quite productive in a small space--you can even grow them in pots or hanging upside down (no need for a trellis!). Also check out varieties especially selected for small spaces--bush beans, bush zucchini, etc.

And don't rent the Mantis! Just do the layering, directly on top of the soil you already have, as I described. This is the "lasagna" method you can read about in more detail in that book. It will improve the soil below without your having to turn it over or remove the rocks first.

Other things to consider are fast-growing perennials, like strawberries. Provided you have full sun, you can grow strawberries just about anywhere--in a flower bed, in a pot, in a border, under shrubs. They produce in their first year, and continue to produce for two more years. Meanwhile, they'll make lots of babies you can use to continue to produce strawberries indefinitely. If your family eats strawberries, this is an incredible money saver. I just mulch mine as described already, and I add coffee grounds (obtained for free from Starbucks) for nitrogen and acid (they like acid). After the initial purchase and bed prep, they are practically free and maintenance-free. And you can usually buy a bundle of 25 starts for less than $10. No small garden should be without strawberries (unless, of course, your family won't eat them).

When working in small spaces, it's especially important to ask the key questions:

What does my family eat?
What will provide the greatest yield per square foot?
What is expensive to buy?

And, as a beginner, it's also important to ask what is easy to grow.

Some things you probably won't bother with: corn (takes too much space for an effective yield), potatoes (pain in the bum, and cheap to buy), large berry plants (too much space), melons (too much space)

Beyond that, it's a matter of what appeals to you. If your family eats a lot of salads, lettuce, radishes, carrots, and greens are good choices for small spaces. They can be interplanted among the flowers and in borders because each plant takes so little space, and they are relatively attractive as well.

You can grow many things "vertically," thus conserving space. For instance, cucumbers do particularly well on a trellis, thus freeing up soil space for other plants. Peas and beans, of course, do well on trellises as well (except bush beans, which are still good choices for the small garden because of their high productivity, and they eliminate the need for a trellis which can be labor-intensive and/or expensive at first).

I just ordered my seeds for the year, so all this is fresh in my mind. Let me know if I can help you further.

Oh, and check out Baker Creek Heirloom seeds. They have great old-timey varieties that you can save seeds from (free seeds for next year--as opposed to hybrid seeds which will not grow "true to type"--i.e., hybrid seeds planted next year will grow something that looks--and tastes--different from the parent plant), and at good prices. They also are mostly organic, which I feel good about supporting. http://www.rareseeds.com/ I got all my seeds for next year for under $20 there.

Good luck and blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-10-2003
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 1:26pm

I have had a vegetable garden for the last few years, and I agree with Heather, it is all about what you like, and how complicated you want to make it.

I grow tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes every year, and usually some cucumbers. We have also grown pumpkins a few years. I plant these in the garden around my home, I find a big vegetable garden to difficult to maintain, but we have a few rasberry bushes (yummy) and some strawberries as well. I mix the vegtable and herbs in with my flowers.

Gardening doesn't have to be expensive, I usually buy bedding plant at the local store for 0.79- 0.99 for four plant. This works better for me where I live than trying to start from seed.

It is awesome to eat things you have grown, and it can quite quickly become addictive. Hope you have fun

Avatar for aerandel
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 01-10-2006 - 4:10pm
I don't do this because I don't have my own place yet, still living with my parents, however my grandparents who spend most of their lives without two nickels to rub together have a HUGE garden. We refer to it as the garden of eden. They have lived out of the garden for many many years and credit it to being able to feed their 4 children when they had NO money and were counting pennies to get by. They plant everything, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, yada yada yada, and do more than just pick the veggies from the garden--I mean of course they have salad with just about every meal as a way to keep the grocery budget down, with all fresh stuff from the garden--but also my grandmother makes her own pickels, using cucumbers from the garden. Another example is She makes her own fresh vegetable soup and spends a whole weekend canning soup and stores it in the basement for the winter, with most of the vegetables she uses being from the garden. She spends a lot of time in the garden, but it saves a lot of money in groceries for them. So basically, if you use a lot of veggies in your diet or can change your diet to implement them, you can save a lot of money in the garden but you need to be able to devote the necessary time to do it. Good luck!

                          

             

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