Save Money by Planting a Garden

During the spring and summer months gardening is a part of life for those of us who don’t mind getting a little dirty in order to have fresh veggies and fruit. I grew up having a large garden and spending the late summer canning and freezing the fruits of our labor to get through the winter months.

Setting your garden up when planting time comes will make your freezing easier at harvest time. By this I mean planting veggies and fruits that will be ready for picking at different times allowing you time for the freezing or canning process, but also gives you time to replant and have another crop before season end.

All of our peppers get par boiled, cooled, and bagged in large freezer bags. We write the date on the bag and place them in the freezer. Using this same method on carrots and such as well as soon as they are ready. Picking the veggies at the right time is as important or your produce will not taste as it did when picked.

With a large family purchasing two fridge freezers was a must. We had one in the garage and the other one in the house giving us plenty of room. The chest freezer is used for meat only. The money you will save on growing your own veggies and fruit is worth the work put into this. Freezing what your not using now while they are fresh will help to keep you out of the produce section at the store which can save you hundreds of dollars a year. Your store produce comes from all over the world and has a shorter shelf life and the price can skyrocket depending on the weather in the location of which the produce is grown.

Obviously you will be unable to grow certain fruits and veggies depending on where you live. Citrus plants will not grow for me because I do not live in the environment needed for this to prosper so make sure you buy plants that will thrive where you live. We have an above ground deck and in the fall we can staple plastic to enclose the area and set up pallets on blocks to start plants from seed. The plastic allows the sun to come in but keep bad weather out. My dryer vent is also located inside of the so called greenhouse to it is always warm.

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