by Carol Smock

Created on: July 27, 2010

It is possible to save money on groceries by growing your own vegetables, keeping a couple of laying hens, and carefully planning how you will go about it. Roger Doirin of kitchengardeners.org writes that his family was able to grow about half of their produce and save $2,200 in their second year of gardening.

You have to take into account the expenses. Investing in a lot of gardening equipment and plants will probably not result in a net savings. The pleasures of growing and consuming your own produce and the health benefits are more often cited as reasons for gardening.

A very useful free website for gardeners is http://kitchengarders.org. This is a community of over 20,000 like-minded folks in 100 countries who tend their own plots and share information, and sometimes seeds. Their goal is to help people anywhere grow their own organic food.

Some foods are almost always cheaper to grow yourself than to buy. These include:

Fruit trees cost about $20 and can produce year after year, making them a good investment for the backyard gardener who wants to save money. It will take 2 to 3 years to realize a harvest, and the first will probably be small. keep in mind that the tree will also shade part of your yard, so you will want to plant it where it will not interfere with the garden plot.

Lettuce is very cheap to grow from seed, and can be produced in successive plantings. It grows well during cool weather. Very hot temperatures will turn lettuce bitter, but spring and fall harvests are excellent.

Herbs are much less expensive to grow than to buy. Parsley, basil, chives, dill, thyme, rosemary, sage, and many other herbs grow easily in ordinary garden soil. Most herbs can be harvested and dried in bunches, quite an easy process.

Many vegetables. Vegetables that are cheaper to grow include zucchini, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Tomatoes may be reasonably cheap to grow, but will also be cheap to purchase in bulk when they are in season.

Strawberries and blueberries. Blueberries are easy to grow and have few natural pests, so pesticides will not be needed for them.

In order to save money while growing your own food, keep these things in mind.

Plan according to your location.

Plants require certain climate conditions and a certain growing season in order to produce food. Check your area’s climate zone and plan your gardening year with that in mind. The following information is provided as a general guide, but check with the seller of seed or plants for complete

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