I was lucky enough to find the book Joy of Gardening by Dick Raymond at a yard sale last fall. I think I paid about $.50 for it. (You can get it on Amazon used for around $6.00 or watch for it at yard sales or Re-Uzit Shoppes and Goodwills. The Ephrata Re-Uzit Shoppe along Route 272 always has a great selection of books.)
After hearing a number of talks this winter on gardening, and after reading this book, I am very excited to grow some yummy vegetables this summer!!
Lower Your Summer Grocery Budget
A couple of weeks ago I was talking to some friends who were guessing that many people will be growing gardens this summer in order to save on rising produce costs! If you are one of those people, or even if you just want to grow some food to eat for fun, I think you will be excited to follow these posts as I start my spring plants and summer garden, offering frugal tips and updates along the way.
With a medium to large area of land for a garden you can harvest tomatoes, radishes, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, squash, potatoes, onions, strawberries, peppers, and even corn — and can freeze many of them to use throughout the winter! Now that’s frugal!
Think how much your grocery budget will decrease when you don’t have to buy these vegetables every week!
You Don’t Need A Traditional Garden Plot
And don’t worry, if you don’t have enough land for a traditional garden, there are some frugal ways to grow vegetables in pots, containers, beds alongside your house, flower beds, or even in your driveway (if it is gravel and you are willing to rototill part of it like Dick Raymond did!).
If you live in the city, you may start out simple with tomato plants in one pot, red beets in another pot and strawberries in a hanging basket on your deck or front porch.
If you have a small 4×4 area you can venture into a simple salad garden with one of my favorite ideas from Dick, a multicrop. This is when you plant a combination of leaf lettuce, onions, radishes, carrots, spinach, or chard, all in the same area. By using his method of harvesting multiple times you can have a salad on the table for dinner all summer, and it will hardly cost you anything!
You can read all of my Gardening posts here, including tips on sales for gardening supplies and seeds.
