Growing Vegetables is a Great Way to Save Money on Groceries

Growing vegetables is a good way to save money and get more variety on your table than you ever thought possible. With the price of produce being pushed ever higher each year, I am taking action to grow my own. You can too. Growing vegetables is something that almost anyone can do.

Get a few plants established and give them reasonable care, and you'll be taking a big step toward freeing yourself from the high price of groceries. A $100 investment in vegetable seeds will produce more vegetables than a person can eat during the normal growing season.

It is amazing what seeds, soil, water, warmth and sunlight can produce. If you want an enjoyable hobby that can help you save money, keep you fed and give you a real sense of accomplishment, then growing vegetables is right for you. Start small and expand as your comfort and success might suggest.

Even if you don't have a green thumb, you can still do reasonably well by following a few basics.

• Start seeds indoors where they will get good attention.
• Use potting soil to ensure a good start to your seedlings.
• Keep seed trays warm and well illuminated.
• Move seedlings out into the sun as soon as possible.
• Use homemade cold frames to get seedlings outside but sheltered from harsh elements.

If your climate isn't conducive to growing a garden, then build your own greenhouse for growing vegetables. A homemade greenhouse isn't difficult to build, and it can be done for less than half the cost of a comparable kit on the market. A greenhouse is good for protecting your vegetables against wind, hail, frost and driving rains, and it can extend the growing season considerably.

Whether you garden in the open sun or in a homemade greenhouse, there are techniques that you can employ to make your gardening experience more enjoyable, less work, and more rewarding in terms of production. Here are a few tips to consider:

• Use fabric mulch to retain moisture and control weeds.
• Water your plants with a dripper system and you won't waste any water.
• Select varieties that are productive and allow you to harvest over a long season.
• Use organic methods and you won't wonder what is in or on your food.
• Grow for fresh use, canning, freezing and drying.

And, if you think that growing vegetables is just a summer time adventure, then you are in for a surprise. There are gardeners growing vegetables year round using unheated greenhouses, cold frames and row covers. There are dozens of varieties of vegetables like kale, broccoli and lettuce that can be successfully grown in cooler weather and harvested throughout the winter.

So, what are we waiting for? Growing vegetables provides us with a year round hobby that can save money, keep us fed and make us less dependent on others. Best of all, we can grow varieties of vegetables that you just can't find in the grocery store. And, when you want fresh produce, just step outside and harvest.

Clair Schwan is an experienced vegetable gardener and provides year round produce for himself and his family from a raised bed garden in the sun, and homemade greenhouses. Instead of complaining about the price of food, he is doing something about it. See his advice on vegetable gardening, building greenhouses and other frugal living tips at http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com

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