I can't comment on the vegetable side of gardening and the money wise aspect.
BUT .. I can say that my garden gives back something to me that money can NOT buy .. inner peace and happiness .. I know it sounds rather passe, but when stress has taken so much of my life away .. something that gives back happiness is priceless.

Thanks for this interesting post. Thought you'd enjoy reading how much money Roger Doiron of Kitchen Gardeners International saved by growing his own food.

http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2009/03/whats_a_home_garden_worth.html

Exchange rocks for clay, and their story mine also. But after my promising-looking summer squash died, I read more about soil, and dug furrows, filled them with leaves, a little compost I managed to make, and the dug up soil. My next season finally grew summer squash.

That second season I also had a lot of yard long green beans (aka asparagus beans, but I think they taste more like green beans than asparagus). But those two crops were the only successes. Everything else died, or was very puny, what little they produced.

Hubby said he wasn't going to till it because he thought it was a waste of time. So I'm going to try container gardening this year. But I'll put the beans and squash in the ground again.

Hey everyone,

I saw the article about money saving tips and think they are all great. I love that fact that lots of people are sharing their ideas like this, it means we can all learn something and hopefully save some money. I think with all the financial worries going around at the moment, we all need to be more aware of our spending. I thought I would share my new tip with you, I have now recently become a bit of a fan of electronic greetings cards. I have spent ages on the internet and found a really cool website that allows you to send e-Cards for free. I think this is such a great idea as a money saving technique! I dread to link how money I have spent over the years on papers cards, and postage! I like this particular site because it always seems to have new designs to choose from, so I have never become bored. They also have a great application called 'Face It' where you can upload your own photos to add that extra personal touch, which is a great idea. I hope this piece of information helps, let me know!

There main problem was a problem that most new gardeners run into. They set their sights too high and start too large for just starting. What I would suggest to trying a 4x4 square foot garden that is close to the house yet in a spot that gets 6-8 hours of sun. That way they could plant all those crops they wanted (cabbage. carrots, lettuce, tomates, eggplants and peppers). Since they have 4 people a single 4x4 garden wouldn't replace all their groceries however it would reduce their grocery bill and allow them to see if they want to add more boxes the next time around.

I love this! It is so true! I've been very blessed in that the crazy economics hasn't hit my area, but I decided over a year ago that if something were to happen, I wanted to be ready. I didn't know much about gardening or raising animals and so I started to learn before I had to!

Thanks for the great post!

As a new gardener this is a very interesting read. I wonder how the Thrifts would have done with container gardening, which is how I am starting.

I think it is really only cheaper to grow your own DIY fruit and veg when you have a large family and/or big garden to grow enough.

If you are living on your own or with just a partner, growing your own, is in my eyes, far more costly than buying fruit and veg from a large superstore.

I live in the Caribbean and has built a new porch just outside my kitchen with a trough running around the perimeter. This was done deliberately since I wanted to grow all those herbs we use in the kitchen and have it close to be able to reap and care for.Well it has gone great. Since setting it up, I have been able to reap.bok choy, tomatoes, chives,celery,parsely,
cilantro,basil,rosemary,sweet peppers,hot peppers,
pimento peppers,cucumbers,pumpkin,
string beans, green beans and dill.
I first filled the trough with soil and then put in a mixture of sand and manure which I mixed into the soil.I wet this and let it settle for two weeks before I plant. I top up with the mixture before planting.I buy all the plants as seedlings.
I have saved quite a lot from this little venture and have been able to give quite a few friends some of my produce. I have also received produce from them that I did not have.It took some work but is quite
rewarding and is a stress reliever when I come from work.

I'd recommend loads of free community compost, plant lettuce seedlings from the nursery (tomatoes too) and only start your zucchini, peas, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots from seed.

The first time you plant anything, only do a couple of plants. Somethings just won't get along with you or your soil. Up to you whether you are stubborn enough to keep trying year after year (me and eggplants)

Read Square foot gardening, stay organic (why buy all those sprays?) and spend a lot of time in the garden.

I don't grow veggies but my neighbor does, and she always has enough to give a whole lot away. So, it can be done, but, as with many things, you have to put some energy in to get something out.

Over the years I've developed a short list of veggies that do well in the space that I have for them and with the kind of (in)attention I tend to lavish on them. If we all develop our own short lists, it still would help defray the expenses and also provide fresher, better-tasting food.