Grow Your Own? Healthy AND Cost Effective!

kurenaikumo

Not only is gardening great low-impact exercise, but it provides healthy produces for pennies on the dollar

I had a large garden til last summer when I moved out of state and into an apartment. It was a lot of work, but well worth it- I miss it. Between canning and freezing, I even had produce for several months into winter!

That said, even a sunny apartment balcony can be used to grow herbs (essential for flavorful, but healthy meals) and compact plants like cherry tomatoes, bush cukes, bush beans, and salad greens by utilizing large pots or 5 gallon buckets. It's also a good way to get the kids involved, too!

If anyone's interested in giving it a try, I'm willing to share knowledge. I use organic methods and non-GMO seed/plant sources. It's really quite fun and challenging!

russeljames

yea man i grow all my own...oh wait you mean food

steadk

I'm starting my herb garden this year and I have a few plants for tomatoes, green peppers and jalapeno peppers. I'm hoping to expand next year.

Grimmerick

I grow my own too. We actually grew corn in our townhouse backyard last year haha. But I definitely grow bell peppers they are sooooo expensive!. I also grow all kinds of herbs, green beans, tomatoes, chives, cucumbers. All in our tiny little backyard beds.

grumpy2day

I also had a nice size garden and a blackberry bush that I made delicious jam from. Just moved into an apt. also. I plan on doing the 5 gal. this year (done them in the past) as well. I also have my dwarf blueberry bush in a pot for the last 5 years and it still does very well. My lemon bush (grown from a seed) should finally be big enough to allow it to fruit this year, yaay!

hollyg123

I've got a garden planned this year, it's our first year in a house! I'm waiting for my husband to bring home the tiller and till it up so I can plant.

CherylAnne1988

I've got a garden planned this year, it's our first year in a house! I'm waiting for my husband to bring home the tiller and till it up so I can plant.

we plan on having a garden too, im waiting on a tiller myself LOL

rml_16

I can keep children and animals alive. However, my home is a plant Holocaust. I try, but I fail.

melissa7662

I am so blessed that my Father In Law is a Master Gardner and grows a huge garden every year.. We can almost go shopping in their basement for our veggies... My (age 9) has learned to grow his own garden!! It sure does save us a lot of money during the summer and most of the winter...

Heaven71

yea man i grow all my own...oh wait you mean food

DOHHH!!!!!!

kurenaikumo

yea man i grow all my own...oh wait you mean food

AAAAAAhahaha I KNEW that was coming as soon as I typed that thread title LOL

Good to see all the positive responses Some of my friends thought I was crazy when I dug up part of my yard LOL

Athijade

I am working on my garden. So far I have planted strawberries, carrots, potatoes, onions, radishes, beets, spinach, romaine, head lettuce, and giant caesar. I also have 4 raspberry plants that will produce this year.

It's still getting a bit too cold at night to do the transplants though. It will be at the end of the month when I can get the rest done. At that point I will also have:
Slicing Tomatoes
Roma Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Banana Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Bush Beans
Cucumbers
Squash
Eggplant
Rosemary
Basil
Parsley
Cilantro
Thyme
Oregano
Sage
And a few other herbs but I have not decided what yet.

I do square food gardening in raised garden beds.

woopidydoo

I plant tons of things in my garden every year and nothing ever grows but weeds and tomatoes... so this year I'm just planting tomatoes.

jj3120

I grow my own veg have done for a few years . We have a hose pipe ban where I am in the uk this year so don't know how I'll fair this year.

icemaiden17_uk

We try and grow our own fruit and veg as well!! This year we have a small field and we will be putting a small polytunnel in our back garden!! Yay! It is very exposed and windy where we are so we need the cover for our plants! All our pepper and chilli plants died over the winter because we didn't manage to get the polytunnel last year so we now have to start from scratch!!

That being said the red onions and potatoes are already in and we are attempting to grow a mango tree as well!! Woo hoo!!

Plans for the hose pipe ban we also haveinvolve using dish and bath water to water our veg!! Along with some rainwater collection!! Bring on the dry! We are so ready!!

Forgot to say we also have rubarb and strawberries!!