Stocking the Fridge with Homegrown Food

It's getting to be that time of year when we don't plan to spend much on produce at the grocery store. We also don't need to buy eggs. Today, I filled the fridge with lettuce, spinach, artichokes, cilantro, and green onions from our garden. I also hard-boiled some eggs from our farm. 

We restock the fridge with produce from our garden every few days, and also have enough to share with family and friends. 

Keeping a garden really helps lower the food budget, as a pack of seeds costs only about $2-4, and from that we can grow $20-$100 worth of food. Saving some seeds from the harvest makes it even more valuable, especially if you're growing heirloom varieties, since the next generation of plants will remain similar to the parent. If you plant perennials, it's possible you'll then have food from those plants year after year - perhaps never having to plant those items again!

It does require work to establish a garden and keep up with the weeds. The soil also needs to be amended periodically - we primarily use compost from kitchen scraps and chicken coop bedding, rather than spending a lot on fertilizers. It's also good to put down mulch to help reduce watering. A great mulch can be made from fallen leaves that were raked up in the fall and composted, or from tree limbs that were chipped. We use both. I don't spend money on containers for starting seeds - I just reuse old plastic containers from food we bought at the store (yogurt, sour cream, and cottage cheese containers are great). There are so many ways to reduce gardening costs by using what you already have. 

Back when we first moved here and money was tight, we got our first seeds from the seed-sharing service at the public library. I've also been known to deadhead flowers from flower beds we come across in town or while traveling, and take them home to dry - these can then be planted, so you have free flowers!

With food and gas prices high and so much uncertainty in the world right now, the more we can grow locally, the better off we'll be.