A true story!
Posted on 04/05/2010 11:30:57 AM PDT by Graybeard58
With today’s tight economy, everyone is looking for ways to cut expenses. Growing a garden has the potential to reduce the amount of money spent on groceries. But this “potential” depends on the costs involved in growing the crops, types and amounts of vegetables grown, yields that are derived from the garden, and other factors. So, the answer to the above question is “yes” – if done correctly.
It’s possible to spend a small fortune on a garden. The humorous book, "The $64 Tomato" by William Alexander, discusses one man’s quest for the perfect garden and how it ended up costing him $64 per tomato (among other things). This astonishing figure is the result of all of the input costs (tools and equipment, fertilizers, pesticides, water, etc.) associated with gardening. These costs can add up quickly, even for a small vegetable garden. The trick to saving money with a vegetable garden is limiting the costs while maximizing yield.
While saving money may be one of the benefits to growing a vegetable garden – let’s not forget that there are others as well. Gardens are a potential means to increase our confidence in food safety and security. We know where the food is coming from and all the history of plants grown in our own gardens. We know what chemicals were used, we know what pests were problems and we essentially eliminated the whole resource-gobbling transportation chain to get the food to your plate. And all that gardening is good for you. It is a great form of physical exercise, and I haven’t met a nutritionist yet who didn’t think that fresh produce was “good for you” too!
So, growing your own vegetables can be rewarding, regardless of the potential savings. But with a few tips, it can save you some money on a grocery bill or two. First – you have to know a couple of basics of growing vegetables.
Vegetable Growing Basics
There are a wide variety of vegetables that can be successfully grown in Iowa. As I walk through the produce section of my grocery store, there are only a few things I see that are difficult to grow in Iowa. The location of the vegetable garden is crucial. Nearly all vegetables need full-sun and a well-drained soil. The vegetable garden also should be located near a source of water. Iowa’s climate allows production of both cool and warm season 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 danger of frost has passed and harvested by early fall. With proper planning, it’s possible to grow two or three crops in a given area during the growing season. Using the same space for two or more crops is called succession planting. Other techniques, such as interplanting and companion planting, are other ways to make efficient use of garden space. The more efficiently you use garden space and resources the larger the potential savings.
Below are several other important factors to consider when growing a vegetable garden to save you money.
Select vegetables that you like. This is simple – you’re not likely to take care of …or eat things you don’t like. So don’t waste your time or money planting them in the garden.
Select vegetables that can be easily stored or preserved. Selecting vegetables that have a long storage life or that can easily be canned or frozen is a great way to stretch your grocery dollar. 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. Preserving vegetables is a great way to enjoy the “extra” produce later in the year.
Select vegetables that are expensive to buy in the grocery store. To save money, grow more expensive items, like tomatoes and melons, or large quantities of vegetables that you purchase regularly. Consider vegetables like beans, beets, onions, spinach, broccoli, peppers, carrots, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, peas, and Swiss chard. These vegetables provide the biggest returns on your investment of space and time in the garden.
Do some research and start with a plan. Decide what you want to grow and determine what will be necessary to be successful. Plan the garden on paper first. Establish a network of family members, neighbors, or friends that can help you answer your questions. Don’t forget about your local county extension office. There are more than 20 vegetable gardening publications from Iowa State University Extension that can help you (see table below). Each of these can be picked up at your county extension office. They can also be ordered or downloaded online at www.extension.iastate.edu/store. County extension offices are also the meeting centers for Master Gardeners – many of whom have the knowledge and experience to keep your garden growing successfully.
Research and consider ways to reduce your inputs. Collect rainwater for irrigation. Add compost and well-rotted manure to the garden to improve the soil and reduce the use of fertilizers. Practice the principles of Integrated Pest Management to control insects and diseases, reducing your reliance on pesticides. Start with high quality seeds – most are relatively inexpensive, and most can be stored for at least one or two years. Find ways to reuse containers, flats, stakes, ties, etc. Remember that saving money with vegetables usually means keeping the costs as low as possible while still growing productive plants.
Start small. Like many things, gardening takes practice. Plants will require regular watering, maintenance and harvesting. Growing many different vegetables in a large garden can be overwhelming for new gardeners and can ultimately lead to failure. Limit yourself to just a few types of vegetables the first year. When you become more confident in your abilities and resources, you can increase the size of your vegetable garden and grow a wider variety of crops.
Finally, have fun growing your own vegetables. Encourage your neighbors to grow a few vegetables as well. Visit each other’s gardens and trade “extra produce” regularly. It’s surprising how something as simple as a vegetable garden can impact your life...and hopefully your pocketbook as well!
#109 was for you, too. For some reason the ‘paste’ into the “To:” box didn’t register.
My tomatoes also have their second set of leaves. I planted them under lights 2-3 weeks ago. My calendar is at home, and I’ve forgotten the exact date. My peppers are small and were planted at the same time, but were slow to germinate.
I have a seed starting bench in the basement with grow lights and a heater to keep the room at about 71 F. When they come upstairs in the south facing window, the day time temp gets alsmost to 80F with nightime holding at 71F. The little greenhouse is a lightweight affair that is as tall as I am with 4 shelves in it. THey seem to love it in the window.
There is a zipper door that I can open and fold back when it gets too hot. My window is large and extends almost to the floor, and it is boxed out about a foot.
So, I have set the back legs of the greenhouse on the broad windowsill and the front legs on stacks of books to make it level. When I am within 2 weeks of the last frost date, these babies will go out on the front porch for day time, or into a cold frame. The wind caught my cold frame and smashed it last Friday, so it needs repair.
Can I have that recipe? I never have much luck with canning pickles.
#10- That sounds great
It has to be a very sturdy shepherd’s hook, or it will fall over. That is one of the reasons I’ve never tried those upside down tomatoes. My sunny porch is 2 stories high with no place to hang the apparatus.
One of my questions has always been how to water the darn thing. Once you hang it high enough to keep the tomatoes off the ground, how do you reach and pour? You must need a special water wand.
This year I saw a special rig for the topsy-turvey tomatoes. It is similar to a 4 arm hanging basket holder that I have. That way the weight of the tomatoes is balanced in 4 directions. THere is a similar one on the cover of Gardener’s Supply, but it’s pricey.
Didn’t know that, mine are dwarfs 2 died last year in a matter of days. I had 2 kinds, that much I knew about. Still learning about some things. I did that with my black berries, stuck pots under them and put some canes in them and kept them watered well. We’ve got sprinklers on timers for that area. Makes life easier.
Nut grass is my biggest problem, bought the nut grass killer, even put it on full strength and it didn’t kill the suckers, didn’t even wilt them! Dug a ton of them up, they just keep coming back.
Nope; doesn't work like that.
Just like when we raised and showed dogs, it is a "hobby", because a "prudent person" doesn't not make any, let alone an "adequate" profit 3 years out of 5 to qualify for deduction of business expenses.
That meant ALL of the income from sales of puppies and stud fees had to be reported, but NO expenses were allowed to be deducted!
This would be the same: Retail value (based upon the average of the 3 highest priced sellers in the area, no doubt!) of all produce counted as income; no deductions for any expenses, including the state and local taxes paid on that same produce.
I know how governments work.
OTOH, they may just choose to file a "cease and desist" order, confiscate your "illegal" produce, and fine you several times the value of your crops, for violating state &/or U.S. Ag Dept 'commodity board' orders, under the Interstate Commerce Clause...like they did to a guy during the Depression, for growing his own personal-use wheat that never left his farm; SCOTUS upheld.
The rationale was that by growing his own wheat, he was "interfering" with agricultural Interstate Commerce by reducing the national demand for commercial wheat by the amount he wasn't buying!
Use for old nylons: Slip it over the melon, and fasten the top to the trellis.
The melon still slips freely, but the nylon stocking keeps it from hitting the ground.
Recycle to less ripe melons after each use, until too worn out to use.
People obviously THINK they can, because my sales are through the ROOF at the Garden Center. Seriously. We thought LAST year was busy, but we are having days already this spring where we’re TRIPLING sales from the previous year on the same day! Great Googly Moogly I’m tired at the end of the day! And here I thought it was just because I’m getting old, LOL!
We can’t keep enough seeds in stock. We can’t keep enough potatoes and onions in stock. We keep running out of cow manure, LOL! And seriously, we are increasing our orders from the warehouse just to stay ‘slightly behind’ demand. ;)
It’s insane!
I’ve read a lot of articles in recent publications that ‘say’ you can grow a few thousand dollars worth of food from an average-sized garden. I’ve done it when I ws home full time and the kids and the garden were my sole responsibility...but there IS a learning curve for new gardeners. The local media interviewed me 4x last year...I’ll bet they start calling me this week for more info/interviews. It’s FREE advertising; you bet I’ll do it!
And new gardeners will have SOME successes despite themselves...but really, how much kale and how many cucumbers and summer squash can you eat? LOL! (I hate kale...)
I’m very HAPPY to see people wanting to be more self-sufficient. We’ve gotten way too far away from that these past two decades, IMHO.
Here’s a terrific article. Yeah, yeah. It’s from that hippie wasteland ‘Mother Earth News’ but just take what you can from this article. The author is one of my favorites and one most trusted, no matter WHO publishes her:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Square-Foot-Gardening-Food.aspx
Enjoy!
Absolutely great method, but I had so much going on, I left them on their own. It was really an experiment anyway, I was told that I couldn't grow melons on a trellis like my cucumbers and winter squash, and telling me I can't do something is the quickest way to get me to try it. Additionally, being a tomboy country girl, I don't have that many old nylons. ;-)
Pieces of old pantyhose are also great for tying tomatoes, peppers or eggplants to a stake. The stretchiness gives as the vines/stems grow and the plant doesn't get damaged. I use this wonderful velcro tape in my garden because it is so fast to cut a piece and tie something up, but it doesn't "give" at all and I've had to go back and spend time re-adjusting or replacing the velcro ties.
“It’s really nice to be in the kitchen making dinner and pausing for a quick step outside to collect some ingredients.”
That does rock! We’ve already had new potatoes with fresh chives from the garden. Love it! :)
A true story!
You may, but please give me time enough to find a copy of it and put it back into my computer. My old computer died in February and I had no backups.
I try to type too much too fast sometimes. Sorry.
I’ve never gardened or canned for the money saving aspect, if I figured it that way, it would probably be a money loser for me as I give away so much of it.
I enjoy eating what I grow and enjoy other people eating what I grow.
My B&B pickles won’t get me to Heaven but they make me pretty popular with my fellow church members!
Hat tip to “JustaDumbBlonde”
That sounds awesome. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money or the space at home for such a setup. I pop the seeds and dirt in the soda bottles and put them out on the back porch until I see “green” leaves. They are my miniature (and super cheap) greenhouses.
I forgot to ask whether or not you had the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, because it is packed with recipes for pickles, jams, jellies and just about anything else you could put in a jar. It contains info on dehydrating and freezing as well. Every recipe I’ve tried was very good, and it is not an expensive book at all — I think I paid $7-8 at WalMart.
“My B&B pickles won’t get me to Heaven but they make me pretty popular with my fellow church members!”
Oh, yeah. B*B’s are the best!
‘Justa’ and I exchanged jellies this winter. What a treat! :)
People obviously THINK they can**
LOL We’re getting lots of “Walmart” shoppers. Good intentions, but they don’t have a clue. We maxed out our credit card machine Sat and today.
I’m tired at the end of the day!**
My daughter, SIL, and both grandkids live with us. One gbaby is 3 and he sits on my left at the supper table. The other is almost one and he sits on my right. The other night, I nodded off at the table—while holding a spoonful of food out to the one year old! Think my crowd didn’t laugh?
We can’t keep up either. The bookkeeper came in the other day and did the sales tax for me cause we’re so busy. She said, “I think these numbers are wrong.” I just looked at her and laughed. I told her, “Everything I entered in the computer is right. We have been BUSY!”
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