frugal food

**forestdale** · 01-22-2006, 05:22 PM

Hi kim, it's great that you're gardening this year.

I'd suggest that you have symmetrical garden beds that you edge with recycled bricks or timber. When you plant your vegies, mulch them thickly with straw mulch. It always looks nice and will have the added benefit of conserving water around the plant roots and keeping the roots an even temperature. Mulched plants generally do much better than those that are unmulched.

You can buy or make compost bins to make your compost in.
http://www.mastercomposter.com/equip/buildbin.html I have open compost bins but I also have an enclosed plastic UV bin that makes great compost.

Also, check out this photo gallery of one beautiful and very productive garden. These people are self sufficient on a small house block in california. Their gardens are lovely to look at, productive and tidy. http://pathtofreedom.com/photogallery/Yard/index.html

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more assistance.

**brainyblonde** · 01-22-2006, 08:01 PM

Things I will be growing this year:
early spring:
spinach
leaf lettuce mix
peas (regular and sugar snaps)
summer:
Tomatoes (Roma-style, fresh eating and cherry/grape)
Green Peppers (probably more than 1 variety)
Jalapeno peppers
purple podded green beans
yellow wax beans
cukes (for pickles)
zucchini and yellow summer squash
basil, parsley, cilantro, chives

I didn't have good luck last year with potatoes, onions or garlic. I still might try a few if I have space.

**KimSecret** · 01-23-2006, 10:52 AM

Originally posted by forestdale
Hi kim, it's great that you're gardening this year.

I'd suggest that you have symmetrical garden beds that you edge with recycled bricks or timber. When you plant your vegies, mulch them thickly with straw mulch. It always looks nice and will have the added benefit of conserving water around the plant roots and keeping the roots an even temperature. Mulched plants generally do much better than those that are unmulched.

You can buy or make compost bins to make your compost in.
http://www.mastercomposter.com/equip/buildbin.html I have open compost bins but I also have an enclosed plastic UV bin that makes great compost.

Also, check out this photo gallery of one beautiful and very productive garden. These people are self sufficient on a small house block in california. Their gardens are lovely to look at, productive and tidy. http://pathtofreedom.com/photogallery/Yard/index.html

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more assistance.

Thanks,Rhonda! You have been a great help with this!
The links were awesome and the photos are very inspiring.
Thanks again!

**ShawnaRae** · 05-02-2008, 12:33 PM

I started gardening before I was frugal minded, because I love it! We have a medium sized garden plot, and we added 2 raised beds this year. We have worked on the soil a bit. Adding compost. We grow tomatoes, peppers, cukes, winter and summer sqash, melons, potatoes, carrots, corn, beans, peas, flowers, herbs. I am hoping to can a lot of tomatoes and beans this year. Pickles. Freeze corn. Actually, I don't have enough room to grow any extra corn! We eat it right up! It is so delish freshly picked and eaten! Half the time we don't even cook it! Well, to the point, gardening is very frugal. My grocery bill is pretty low in the summer, and I don't have to drive to the store as often.

**dortrust** · 05-23-2008, 08:36 PM

I do not have time for vegetable gardening. I tried long ago and found the money you put in it wasn't worth it.

**flowergirl** · 05-24-2008, 12:05 AM

I love to garden and It thrills me to pieces to know where our food is coming from. I have already cooked with some of the herbs and I can not tell you how much pleasure it is for me. yes it is work and I work full time walk for exercise cook most nights and go see my parents for an hour at the nursing home they are at (it is close) my kids are grown so I have more time then I use too but have had a garden off and on for years. We keep track of how much we spend and will put up for winter so it does pay for us but its not just cheap food I am after I am interested in our food being without pesticides as much as I can. It is not important to some but it feels good to know where and how the food we eat came from. growing things from seeds saves a great deal of money. And if you mulch well it saves tons of time in weeding .
we have tomatoes white and red onions cucumbers squash Zucinni broccoli califlower peppers carrots and strawberries and herbs in pots on the back deck.

**dortrust** · 05-24-2008, 06:52 AM

You are so right I don't know what I was thinking. Knowing where your food comes from is a BIG PLUS. I grew up on a farm and love the fresh taste of home grown vegetables. It is like no other. I think I will rethink what I want to do this year. You have time for what you really want to do.

**Odilia** · 05-24-2008, 02:23 PM

Gardening can be spendy, but it can be very cost-effective. I have not quite $50 invested in this year's garden. Each year I put up anywhere from 300-800 quarts of food depending on how good of a growing year we have. It would be impossible for me to buy that amount of quality produce for $50. And this is a spendy year for me as I bought most of my plant starts instead of starting them myself.