Growing your own vegetables is a trend sweeping the nation. With
all the GMO's pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in food, who
wouldn't want an awesome vegetable garden? Unfortunately, gardening
isn't as cheap as it once was. How can you grow a vegetable garden that
feeds your whole family and then some?
Start small.
Awesome gardens don't happen overnight. When you see the huge gardens
of friends and neighbors, rest assured, those gardens didn't just spring
up in a single year. Chances are, these people have been gardening for
many years. Allow yourself to start small. Experiment and learn until
your garden rivals the best.
Plant from seed.
Growing your own plants from seed is miles cheaper than buying plants. A
vegetable plant can cost up to $10. Of course, the cost depends on
where you buy it, the quality of the plant and so on. By comparison, you
can get a whole package of GMO free, organic seeds for far less than
the cost of that one plant.
Choose seeds wisely.
Don't waste your money buying seeds for veggies nobody eats. Gardening
isn't about impressing your friends with the craziest varieties. It's
about providing food for your family. Don't grow it unless you have a
use for it or know someone who does. Waste not, want not.
Be a borrower.
Rather than buying seeds, why not ask fellow gardeners for their
surplus? Between rootstock and saved seeds, you could save quite a bit
of money. If it's a concern to you, and it should be, make sure the
gardeners you borrow from use organic methods.
Grow more seedlings than you need.
It's much less expensive to start a lot of tomatoes, then weed out the
slow growers, than it is to start all over when those 3 seeds you
planted don't come up. Popular vegetables like tomatoes can also be
shared with friends and neighbors. So, even though you don't want to
plant what you won't use, remember, some veggies are worth sharing.
Invest in your soil and take care.
What you save by growing your own should be spent on enriching your
soil. You can cut corners by starting from seed or nixing the raised
beds. Just be sure your soil is nutrient rich and your garden is well
maintained. Otherwise, all the other money you spent will be wasted.
