Saving Green While Growing Green: Smart Gardening on a Budget
Pursuing Gardening Offers a Resilient Pastime Amid Economic Downturns, Ideal for Commencement Today
Ready to cultivate savings as well as fruits and veggies? Gardening is more than just a hobby; it's a cost-effective way to boost your weekly grocery budget!
Save a Bundle with Backyard Produce
With the right plant choices for your zone, you can grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs right in your backyard (or even on a windowsill) to cross off your shopping list. Start with an affordable pastime and eventually reap the rewards—hundreds in savings during peak season!
"Gardening is like magic! You invest a bit in seeds and soil, and instead of piling up bills, you get a bounty of fresh, tasty harvest," says financial planner Eric Croak, president at Croak Capital. "If you grow $20 worth of lettuce each week for six months, that's $480 back in your pocket."
Size Matters: Small-Scale Savings
Even a small scale garden can make a significant impact on your weekly costs and provide plenty of opportunities to save. A 4x8 raised bed, for example, can produce enough greens, tomatoes, and herbs to knock $60 off a weekly grocery bill at its peak. That's $240 a month during the season and potentially $1,000 a year—just in time for those pesky grocery price hikes!
Canning for Year-Round fruition
Thinking bigger doesn't mean you're committing to a full-scale farm. With a little planning, you can preserve your garden's bounty for year-round enjoyment (and savings) with a canning solution. Preserve items like green beans, corn, potatoes, and more, then enjoy your garden-fresh produce and the extra cash in winter!
Level Up with Insider Tips
- Go local: Connect with free resources in your community like garden clubs, seed swaps, and your county extension office. They often provide seeds, discounted tools, and training programs.
- Composting for free: Don't chuck your veggie scraps! Many common produce items, like green onion bulbs, lettuce scraps, and carrot tops, are great for pesto. Compost the rest to create nutrient-rich soil!
- Recycle containers: Check Buy Nothing groups for used pots, or use household items like an old whiskey barrel or washed-out yogurt containers to grow your produce. Just be sure they're food-safe!
"Composting has a triple whammy! You're creating your own fertilizer, taking care of waste, and saving on purchased fertilizers," says Lauren Click, founder of Let's Go Compost. "Speaking of saving, composting transforms waste into a goldmine!"
Peace of Mind, Pocket of Change
In times of economic stress, gardening serves as more than just a stress-reliever. It offers a sense of achievement, control, and even tranquility. As Eric Croak notes, "When costs climb, gardening flips the script. It's calming, productive, and gives you a sense of control during uncertain times. Mental bandwidth is real, and gardening frees it up by focusing on something positive."
Additional Resources
- 6 Rules for Canning You Should Never, Ever Break
- How to Can Corn to Preserve the Fresh Flavor of Summer
- The 16 Best Gardening Tools Our Editors Recommend
- 17 Fruit and Vegetable Scraps You Shouldn't Toss-and What to Do with Them Instead
- Eric Croak, President at Croak Capital, finds gardening a cost-effective way to boost the grocery budget by growing produce at home, saying that investing in seeds and soil can result in a bounty of fresh produce worth $480 in savings during peak season.
- Even a small-scale garden, such as a 4x8 raised bed, can produce enough greens, tomatoes, and herbs to save $60 off a weekly grocery bill at its peak, amounting to $240 a month and potentially $1,000 a year.
- To extend the benefits of home-grown produce throughout the year, consider preserving garden bounty through canning, as suggested by Lauren Click, founder of Let's Go Compost. This method allows for enjoying garden-fresh produce and saving during winter.
- To optimize gardening savings, utilize local resources such as garden clubs, seed swaps, and county extension offices, which often provide seeds, tools, and training programs at discounted prices. Additionally, composting vegetable scraps creates nutrient-rich soil and saves on purchased fertilizers, while also reducing waste.
