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What You should Grow in your Garden to save Money

Most people grow a garden to hopefully save them some money on groceries. But how do you get the best bang for your buck? How do you save the most money you can with a garden? Find out what you should grow in your garden to save money.

It’s a bit funny writing this post today. We’ve seen one of the heaviest snowfalls all season, and that’s saying a lot because we’ve had CONSTANT snowfalls this winter. Even those of us who *love* the white stuff are praying the snow stops falling for a little while.

But you know what this time of year is best for? Garden planning. Because before you know it the growing season will be here. And you want to be prepared to jump right in when it’s time.

Whenever I leaf through a seed catalogue I get super excited. Almost too excited though. What do I mean by that? Well, suddenly I need to buy every kind of seed and want to grow absolutely everything I can.

Because, it’s all so pretty! Those rainbow peppers? The heirloom tomatoes? the purple potatoes and yellow carrots? I must have them all.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with growing all those pretty things. They can bring a smile to your face AND feed you. I’ve grown many fun varieties.

However, if you are looking to save as much money as possible, you’ll want to be very strategic in what you grow.

I’m going to share with you a list of vegetables that would be wise to grow in your garden if you are looking to save money. However, you may need to tweak this list depending on your family’s needs because you’ll only save money if you grow vegetables you actually eat. So keep that in mind.

10 Vegetables to Grow to save Money

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the number one vegetable I like to grow to save money. Why? Because they are extremely versatile. Many people eat tomato-based products. If you grow enough of these you can make all your own tomato sauce, salsa, canned tomatoes, and tomato soup. You literally could can enough to get you through the year. On top of that you can enjoy tomato sandwiches for a lot of the summer!

Potatoes

Potatoes are another one I think is a great vegetable to grow to save money. You can grow A LOT of potatoes easily and potatoes are a side for so many meals. The only caveat with this one is that you have to have a place to store them, like a root cellar or cold room. You can preserve potatoes by canning them, but I did NOT enjoy our canned potatoes. The texture doesn’t hold up well. So make sure you have a place to store all those taters.

Lettuce

Lettuce won’t last you all year long since you can’t very well preserve it, but if you practice succession planting it can grow all late spring, summer, and even early fall.

Lettuce isn’t the cheapest anymore, and you can enjoy an abundance of salads with this vegetable. Salad for lunch, salad for dinner…so many options! Make sure whatever variety you grow is the kind your family will eat.

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are a more expensive vegetable in the grocery store. If you plan to make salsa with your tomatoes you will want to plant bell peppers as well to add to it. I like to dice up peppers and freeze them. Whenever I need a handful of peppers for sauces, chilis, or soups, I can just get it from the freezer.

Carrots

Carrots are another one you’ll want a root cellar or cold room to store if you want to store them without preserving, but if you have that option it’s another great side to a lot of meals.

Not to mention if you have kids you can cut up carrot sticks ALL YEAR LONG. You can also preserve carrots by either flash freezing them or canning them. Canned carrots work well for adding to soups or stews.

Peas

I buy a lot of bags of frozen peas during the year. But, if I grow them I can freeze them and I don’t have to buy them from the grocery store. Plus, they are a great snack straight out of the garden. There’s nothing like fresh peas.

Green or Yellow Beans

Beans are another great vegetable that you can freeze, or you can preserve them by canning. They do require a pressure canner, but if you don’t have one you can water bath can them if you pickle the beans. Pickled beans are my kids’ favorite way to eat them.

I pickled them for years before I took the leap and bought the pressure canner (which, by the way was the best idea ever. It’s not as scary as you think to pressure can.)

Butternut Squash

Squash is another vegetable that is easy to store. You can flash freeze cut up squash, or you can store them in a cold room or root cellar. I enjoy squash not only in soup, but on salad, or roasted as a side.

Pie pumpkins

I LOVE to grow pumpkins, cook them up, and then freeze in individual freezer bags for baking. Pumpkin muffins, waffles, pie, and even smoothies are a hit around here. I even make pumpkin lattes, saving me money at the coffee shop. My garden isn’t complete without pumpkins.

Blueberries

This is something I won’t grow in my garden because I live in bear country (and boy, do they love blueberries!) but I also have access to wild blueberry picking.

However, if you don’t live in bear country, or you live in an area where there isn’t wild blueberries, purchasing some blueberry bushes can save you a ton of money. You can freeze them to enjoy all year in smoothies, oatmeal, pancakes, and more.

You can also make things like jam from them. Also, blueberry bushes will produce fruit year after year.

Finding Big Savings in your Garden

Growing a garden can save you a good chunk of money. Starting your garden, however, doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor either.

There are many ways you can build your garden on a budget, such as renting a rototiller instead of buying one, using an inground garden method instead of raised beds, or building your own trellises for your vine vegetables to climb.

If you are new to gardening and worried you don’t know what you are doing, just pick a few vegetables to grow the first year and learn what you can.

Gardening really is a learn-as-you-go type activity, and I truly believe anyone can learn how to grow their own food. There may be some trial and error, but over time you will learn from your mistakes and if you keep at it you will most likely have a prolific garden.

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