Many people also ask, “does gardening save money”? The answer is yes, it does save money on your grocery budget.
Gardening is a great hobby that has many benefits. In addition to being fun, it can be therapeutic and healthy for you as well. It can also be quite a money-saver.
The average garden plot provides 300 pounds of fresh produce worth $600. You won’t spend anywhere NEAR that amount to plant your garden. And don’t worry if you don’t have a huge garden. You can grow food on your patio, porch, or inside your house.
In this post, we’ll talk about the 7 best vegetables to grow to save money, which includes tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, lettuce, bunching onions, potatoes, and beans.
But first, here are a few tips to consider no matter what fruits and vegetables you decide to grow.
Grow Only What You Need and Like to Eat
When planting a garden and growing your own food, it is important to consider what vegetables you actually eat. If there is no one in your family who likes zucchini then they will just end up being wasted food. Wasting food adds additional food costs on top of your need to maintain an even larger space than necessary. Consider starting small with only some of your favorite vegetables, then scale up once you have a feel for how much you’ll need.
Give Square Foot Gardening a Try
Square foot gardening is a type of gardening that is becoming more and more popular. With this method, you only grow what fits in a square foot. This is great for small spaces and for people who don’t have a lot of time to spend on their garden.
There are many advantages to square foot gardening. First, it is a very efficient way to garden. You can grow a lot of food in a small space. Second, since you are only growing what fits in a square foot, there is less work involved in weeding and watering your plants. Finally, it is easy to get started with square foot gardening. You can purchase a kit that has everything you need or build your own using simple supplies.
Start Early with Seeds
One of the best ways to ensure that you have a successful garden is to start your seeds early. If you wait until the last minute to start your seeds, you may not have enough time to get them germinated and planted in the ground.
In addition, if you wait too late to start your seeds, the weather may not be conducive to growing outdoor plants. Late planting can also lead to less produce because the plants will not have enough time to mature.
One way to make sure you are able to start your seeds early is to begin by planting them indoors. You can do this by using starter pots or trays. Start by filling the pots or trays with soil and then planting the seeds according to the instructions on the seed packet. Keep in mind that you will need to transplant the plants outdoors when they are big enough to handle.
I’ve written an in-depth blog post about the seed starting containers that I recommend, so be sure to check that out.
Organic Is Better
When trying to save money with your garden, using organic methods makes a lot of sense. Not only do organically-grown vegetables taste better and have more nutrients, but they also cost less in the long term. By using compost to fertilize your plants and spacing them closely so that fewer weeds can grow, you’ll realize cost savings while growing healthy food for your family.
Why is this? It’s because many people who use conventional growing methods have to use a lot of fertilizers and pesticides to keep their plants healthy. This cost gets passed on to the customers at the grocery store, or would require you to buy fertilizers and pesticides.
So now that we’ve covered the general tips for growing fruits and vegetables at home, let’s cover the best vegetables to grow to actually save money with your garden!
Tomatoes
One of the best money-saving vegetables to grow is tomatoes. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to growing your own produce at home, growing tomato plants is a good idea, because they produce so much fruit per plant.
Tomatoes are a great vegetable to grow at home to save money because they are relatively easy to care for and they are versatile.
Tomatoes are the base for so many grocery staples and many types of food can be made from them. Whether it’s tomato sauces for spaghetti or salsa for Mexican food, canned tomatoes can save a ton of money on your grocery bill. Tomatoes can also be frozen until you are ready to use them.
The average price of a pound of organic tomatoes at the grocery store is about $2-$4 per pound. If you purchase them at the store every week, this adds up. Each tomato plant will easily produce 10 pounds of tomatoes, so you can save hundreds of dollars by growing your own!
Zucchini
Another one of the most cost-effective vegetables to grow is zucchini.
Zucchini are delicious sautéed or grilled, but they can also be used in just about any other recipe that calls for squash.
This vegetable is also a great option because you can use it as a replacement for pasta if you’re trying to cut carbs out of your diet!
Zucchini are easy to grow and they are incredibly cost-effective. Once you purchase the initial plant or plant the seeds, they are relatively inexpensive to care for. Since each plant can produce more than 20 pounds of fruit, growing this vegetable is a great way to save money on your grocery budget!
Peppers
Another easy veggie that will bring flavor and variety to any meal is peppers! This is another great garden plant for beginners that is also easy to grow.
Green, red, yellow and orange peppers are all delicious options that are very versatile in many recipes.
Although this vegetable can be expensive at the grocery store, each plant can produce dozens of peppers. This makes them a cost-effective addition to your garden that will help you save money on your grocery bill.
Peppers are easy to grow once the seeds have sprouted, but they take a bit of patience and some additional equipment to get them started.
If you are experienced in growing peppers from seed, check out this blog post on hot pepper varieties from seed and this blog post on the sweet pepper varieties I recommend.
Because peppers require a bit of time and equipment to grow from seed, I recommend that beginners buy pepper plants from your local garden center. A pepper plant will cost around $4, and you’ll harvest peppers until frost kills the plants. You could easily harvest 5 pounds of peppers from each plant, so you’ll definitely save money by growing peppers.
Another relatively easy vegetable that saves a ton of money is lettuce.
Lettuce
Lettuce like other leafy greens can be incredibly cost-effective when you grow it yourself. There are also many varieties of lettuce that offer their own unique flavors and textures. These taste different depending on the growing conditions.
Lettuce seeds are typically very cheap, which makes this a great vegetable to grow if you want to save money on your grocery budget. Many types of lettuce will produce until late fall, which means you can continue to harvest your crop to save money throughout the entire growing season.
Lettuce also grows fast, so you won’t have to wait long to harvest it, and you can sow lettuce every two weeks to get a constant stream of fresh lettuce for months.
Once your weather turns too warm for lettuce you can experiment with hot-weather greens that you can grow in the place of lettuce.
Bunching Onions
Another vegetable that will bring flavor to any meal is bunching onions. These are also relatively easy for beginners to grow.
Bunching onions can be used as a substitute for green onions and they are delicious in many dishes.
Although this is a more pricey vegetable at the grocery store, you can save a ton of money by growing these in your garden. A package of seeds will cost $2-$4, but will grow hundreds of green onions throughout the entire year.
Potatoes
Another type of vegetable that saves money when it’s homegrown is potatoes. These vegetables are perfect for growing in ground and in containers.
If you’re looking for a plant that will provide you with your own source of carbs, potatoes are a great option. They can also be used in many dishes and they take on the flavor of whatever seasoning or herbs you add to them when they are cooked. Since there are dozens of types of potatoes to choose from, you can also pick whichever type suits your tastes best!
One great thing about growing potatoes is that they require very little maintenance. You simply need to make sure they are planted deep enough and there’s not any sunlight hitting the potatoes as they grow. This veggie is another great addition to your garden that will help you save money on groceries.
Growing your own potatoes is a relatively easy process, and it’s much more cost-effective than buying them from the store.
The easiest way to start is to purchase a 5-pound bag of organic potatoes. Put them in a dark room for around 3 weeks so that eyes form on the potatoes. Each potato you plant will grow several pounds of potatoes!
Once you’ve planted your new crop of potatoes in the ground or in containers, you’ll want to make sure they have plenty of water and that there is no sunlight hitting the potatoes as they grow.
Another cost-effective vegetable that can be grown anywhere is beans.
Beans
Another fairly easy vegetable to grow is green beans! This is one of the few vegetables that you should sow directly into the soil, and they don’t require too much time or effort.
These vegetables, like tomatoes and zucchini, can be used in a variety of recipes.
The average price for one pound of green beans at the grocery store is about $2-$4, but the cost is negligible when you grow your own.
Let’s do the math: A pack of bush bean seeds will cost around $3-$4, and that pack will grow 70-100 plants. Each plant will grow a 1/2 pound of beans. So 35 pounds of fresh organically-grown green beans will cost you around 10 cents per pound.
This is another great vegetable to add to your garden because it is fairly easy to grow and doesn’t take much time or energy. These bean plants will produce beans for months in your garden, so they are the perfect money-saving vegetable plant.
Conclusion
Growing your own vegetables can save you a lot of money on grocery costs. You don’t have to be an expert gardener or master farmer; these 7 vegetables are perfect for beginners and will help you start saving right away!
From tomatoes, zucchini, peppers lettuce, bunching onions, potatoes and beans – all of which grow easily in containers or the ground- there’s something that’ll suit every taste bud. Drop a comment below and let me know which plants you plan to grow first!
