FOOD PART II

FOOD PART II

GARDENING ON A BUDGET

Planting and growing your own produce is a great way to save some money.  There are few materials required to maintain a garden, and depending on which plants you grow, the yield can be huge!  Even if you have a small area, or even an apartment balcony, with some careful organization you can grow a variety of plants. 

SOME TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

• Check yard sales or secondhand shops for gardening tools.  I've seen rakes, shovels, tomato cages, and ceramic pots at Goodwill for under $5 each. You will probably want to own your own gloves and have a hand rake for weeding, but many tools you will only need to use once to set up your garden. Check with neighbors and friends to see if you can borrow!

• Use old soda bottles to make hanging soda bottle planters. If you aren't a soda drinker, and don’t know anyone who is, you can always check in a local recycling bin.  These can be hung over a balcony, from the ceiling, or anywhere out of the way. Great for upside down tomato plants! Check in with your local grocery store to see if you can get empty crates or shipping containers to use for your plants.

• Use an egg carton instead of buying peat containers to sprout seedlings.  Fill each space with a little soil and plant one seed in each.  You can bury each carton section to make transferring seedlings outside to your garden bed a snap. You can also help your seedlings grow quicker by putting a small plastic box cover (like the kind bakeries put cupcakes in) over the egg cartons. Just place it in sunlight and this will create a mini greenhouse!

• Check Craigslist under the “free” or “farm and garden” category for mulch, compost, seeds, or seedlings.  Many farmers will consider themselves lucky for someone to take mulch and manure off of their property.

• There are many “garden club” websites that will send you packets of seeds each month for an annual fee.  If you receive gifts for birthdays or Christmas, make sure you friends and family know that this is on your list! Some of these sites also have forums where people are willing to trade plants or seeds.

• If you grow plants that will require a stake or cage, you can find a lot of material curbside to use.  You can build a simple trellis with scrap wood and a few nails.

  

 DESIGNING YOUR GARDEN: 

To make the most of your garden, it is important to plan ahead. 

Decide which plants you would like to grow. Some plants that have produced the best for me are: Summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and herbs.   These plants offer multiple harvests per year and you can pluck the produce without killing the plant.

This summer squash currently has 7 veggies growing on it!

You'll know your produce is fresh and pesticide free.

Decide on a layout for your garden.  If you have an apartment or limited space, a container garden will work well.  The internet is a great resource for ideas and blue prints.  I've seen vertical gardens made out of canvas shoe holders, DIY hanging tomato gardens designed for apartment balconies, and instructions on how to re-purpose old furniture into a garden rack. Even just a windowsill is sufficient for a potted herb garden. 

Example of an Urban garden

Home made hanging garden

If you don't live in an area where you can garden year round, collect your seeds at the end of the season for use next year. You can use a dehydrator to dry your herbs to fill a spice rack. Dried squash and zucchini can be used in soups. The freezer will become your friend. Try freezing zucchini bread or batches of tomato sauce.  You can use an ice cube tray to freeze individual servings of sauces like pesto for easy use.  If you can't use everything you grow, you can probably sell your excess at a yard sale or farmer's market. 

HAPPY GARDENING!