- It should be growable in a small space.
- Would be nice if it didnt require lot of attention.
- Should fill my stomach
- Would be nice if I can grow lots of it in a small time.
Gardening is an incredibly expensive hobby from a resources, space and time perspective on top of the investment of start up. Farming exists because gardening isn’t efficient enough to save money, it’s why calories have historically been so expensive
Herbs are often expensive to buy and fairly easy to grow and give you a big quality of life boost, I say start an herb garden, that’s actually worth it
set your goal of what you want to accomplish. are you just trying to save money? then you can be a bit risky in your actions. are you growing food because you might not have enough to eat later? take less risks.
the only thing that needs little to no attention are root veg. potato, carrot, radish, beet, rutabaga(sweed), etc. keep the soil soft and loamy and moist (not drenched or you will rot your food). harvest and “dry clean” the roots leaving dirt isn’t a bad thing but washing them with water will start a process you can’t stop and will need to eat them quickly. keep in a dark dry-ish(around 20-30% humidity) cool place and wash/peel when you’re ready to eat.
greenbeans, peas, tomatoes all grow vertically. I preferred growing cherry tomatoes because you will get a larger harvest and they preserve really easily. greenbeans and peas like nitrogen high soils, tomatoes like an alkaline soil(from my experience they do really well on top of old trash/wood burn pits.
don’t overlook fruits. watermelon is easy to grow but hard to keep. some types do well though. I grew some “black diamonds” last year and the vines were covered in thick white hairs that stopped the squash bugs from attacking it. I ended up with a whole 12 melons ranging from 3-10 pounds and they were sickeningly sweet.
ground cherries are similar to tomatoes, raccoons will eat them. harvest often, or you’ll lose your sweet treats.
I spent around $3k over four years (20-23). each year since 23 I’d say my garden saves me around $1000-1500 a year in groceries and that only increases as prices increase. every meal I have usually has something from the garden.
the real way to save is preservation. can it, dry it, freeze it. if you start your garden this year, you won’t likely see savings until next year (but you will appreciate your meals and savor every bite.)
Whatever you end up growing, if you have the space for it consider setting up a compost pile (You can compost in a tiny bucket, it just takes longer than hot composting). Reason is that basically any plant you grow can benefit from compost, but buying decent compost at the store is kinda expensive.
its kinda hard. To actually feed yourself it would be like potatoes but those are pretty cheap. Very expensive things would be certain spices but you don’t usually use them a lot except for cheap things like onions. Things like chives though grow like weeds. Thing like that in a container are great. You clip them as you need them and just make sure they don’t get into the garden. I think its nice to grow things like lettuce as its something you can not use for awhile and it goes bad but if you grow it you can harvest as many leaves you want want to use at the moment. They kinda go to seed you so you have start growing one and start a new one each week or so. Anything underground can sorta bee a pita with bugs and such plus things that are seperate fruting type bodies the plants often do not bring contaniments into. string beans are nice to eat fresh and keep on producing. tomatoes and peppers are great but its like a lot of nothing and then lots of stuff. Red peppers are a great source of vitamin c.
I’d say raspberries are the only thing that pay for themselves out of everything we grow.
Tomatoes have the highest yield I think, and over a long period of the year. That would be the best as a “food source”, although not cheaper than store bought.
In general it’s just a hobby, it’s not economic and you need a lot of land and effort to supply even for a single person. No wonder some 95% of population were farmers in pre-industrial era.
do you think other berries would be as advantagious. Like blackberries or blueberries?
Your hardiness zone is probably the best way to decide what kind of berries to grow. In my experience, compared to most other crops, berries are most likely to be cheaper when grown at home versus buying at the store. I’d recommend looking at what berries grow best in your zone, then choose cultivars based on what growing conditions you can provide.
Blackberries tend to need a lot of space, growing an average of 2m high and 1.5m across. When I was little, one of my neighbors had a blackberry patch and some of the plants were over 3m tall. Raspberry plants are marginally smaller, growing an average of 1.5m high and 1m across, though there are some dwarf varieties that can thrive in patio containers. Blueberries are moderate in size and can be grown in containers, but they thrive best in acidic soils. Plant near pine trees, or mulch with pine needles for good results. You can also fertilize with specific blends that increases acidity specifically for blueberries.
Strawberries are fairly easy to grow. The only downside is the most varieties only fruit once a year in late spring/early summer. Varieties that produce all summer are still tasty, but they are typically just a little bit sweeter than store bought. The great thing about strawberries is that if you have half-decent soil and don’t prune runners, they will propagate endlessly with very little upkeep. I planted several gooseberry bushes on my property. They take a few years to start putting out berries, but once they do it’s so nice. Unripe gooseberries are tart and great for making pies and jams. When ripe they are sweeter, but not too sweet, and I love eating them fresh off the bush… as long as I can get to them before birds do.
I also have several aronia, chokecherry, and elderberry bushes. Their berries are smaller and more tart that other ‘dessert’ berries, most suitable for syrups or mixed into desserts or jams. Supposedly their health benefits are phenomenal, but I discount a lot of that kind of talk and just enjoy using them where and when I can.
I’ve also planted a Hawthorne tree that puts out a ton of berries each year, but one thing I didn’t realize is that they are extremely susceptible to rust (fungal disease), and if I don’t treat it every spring when it flowers then I won’t be able to use the berries in the fall. When I do treat it, and I do get around to using the berries, they taste like a cross between an apple and a cranberry, and I like to use them in my thanksgiving stuffing/dressing and cranberry sauces.
There’s a whole 1 m2 home growing hydroponics community to get inspired from, I am sure there are people that has the same requirements as you.
Or else ask here: !hydroponics@slrpnk.net
Why is that community empty?
Everyone starved to death.
Lol
it’s not empty, it’s just a problem with federation.
Not necessarily a problem. If no one on your instance is following that community your instance will not know its contents and will present it as empty
You instance might not be properly federated with slrpnk
Could be a protocol or blocked instance thing? try here: https://slrpnk.net/c/hydroponics
That one’s empty too :(
Guess the problem is in my end
Open the link in a web browser. If you’re using an app or custom frontend, the link might be opening in your instance.
Since it’s a small community, and you are the first person to subscribe to it from your instance, it might not have federated content over to your one yet
Hydroponics doesn’t sound simple tho just saying…
It’s not bad. But it ain’t saving you money. The nutrients are expensive.
You grow veggies because your bored and want fresh food.
What do you normally buy? If you live on potatoes then your food bill is very low and you should grow potatoes to bring it down.
But potatoes are also very cheap to buy, which makes them a poor choice if you want high value per m². Herbs are what I started with in my garden. Rosemary, sage, chives and mint. Got some bay trees that I started from cuttings last year, hopefully they will become productive at some point.
Then got an allotment this year, high value crops I have are:
Jerusalem artichokes - tubers that are used like potatoes but rarely see them in shops and when you do they cost a lot. Related to sunflowers.
Taunton Deane kale - a perennial kale that grows up to 2m tall.
Hope to keep growing both for years to come.
The only useful thing I can think of is herbs. They won’t fill your stomach, but theyre nutritious and flavorful and expensive in a grocery store. I have a potted rosemary that’s been alive for ~6 years. Unfortunately, rosemary is one herb we rarely eat. What I really need is an enormous amount of basil.
rosemary is super hardy and has outlived every other plant in my front and back yard. we get so much rosemary I give it away to the neighbors and we also make rosemary bread. it’s delicious.
Absolutely agree herbs are a good starting point. Make some roast potatoes with rosemary salt. The most expensive part is probably the rosemary.
This, also summer squashes and peppers. Rosemary, sage, and thyme take a while to become established, like a full year, but once they do ypu will have more than you need. Other herbs like basil, parsley, and cilantro grow quickly and benefit from being planted in cycles. Especially if you eat a lot of them. Growing your own garlic may also save you money, but only if you use a lot.
It really depends on where you live. I’m in zone 10 (subtropical) and can grow successfully:
In the cold season - fennel, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cilantro, arugula, lettuces. Sometimes radishes. Eggplant and peppers (eggplant can last a few years here if no freeze)
In the hot season - okra, watermelon, basil, eggplant and peppers, sweet potato (Stokes Purple). Tomatoes. Hong tsoi (plant survives winter but produces in the rainy season)
Trees - citrus, figs, carambola, longan, loquat, bananas.
If you are in a cold place with little space, radishes are fast growing. Potatoes are filling and good to do in containers so you can find them. Greens are very healthy with so much nutrition per calorie, and collards don’t mind a freeze, neither does fennel.
Potatoes grow in small spaces and don’t require a lot of attention, but they won’t save you much money.
I think the most bang for your buck home garden are things you wouldn’t buy because they are too expensive but can grow easily. Herbs are a good choice.
In my garden I mix those with things that are cheap, but fun:
- asparagus (perennial, almost zero effort, get a few delicious means out of the 5 plants we have each year)
- fresh beans (easy to grow if they don’t get eaten by various garden mammals) and not something I usually buy fresh.
- dried beans (not a good use of a small space because the yield is low compared to fresh beans but super fun)
- potatoes (fun, use last year’s as seed and augment)
- sweet potatoes (fun, still producing them from slips I bought in 2022.)
- tomatoes (local fresh tomatoes are outside of my budget in general except for the ones I buy for canning in September)
- garlic (very, very low effort and I use last year’s as seed)
- carrots (fun and delicious)
- raspberries (I never buy fresh berries, and the raspberries need nothing more than pruning in the spring)
- weed (almost free weed rules)
I don’t grow lettuce or most leafy greens because I have a slug problem (no advice please) but have hydro lettuce on my “want to try list”.
I’m going to try asparagus, I’m also able growing a ton of zero effort food.
My front yard is crazy dry and has a fair bit of sun. That makes it bad for most crops but asparagus loves it!
I just planted some. The packet said not to harvest the first year, harvest lightly the second, and then it’s party time. Kind of intimidating, honestly, to need to keep it alive that long.
Lmao we were so scared about stressing it after keeping it alive for so long that we waited 4 years before taking any substantial amount.
That might be where I end up too!
That’s quite a big list. Thanks for taking the time.
Check out the gardening communities! People are doing some really cool stuff and it’s nice to be inspired as you plan your own garden.
You will be better off using your time on a side gig.
Veggies are cheap and take a ton of effort for anything decent usually. It’s a hobby, not a money saver in most cases.
Some things are going to depend on your climate, so what has worked for me may not be a good fit for you.
That said, things I’ve had success with as a lazy gardener in a cool temperate climate:
- beans: pick every few days and eat fresh; keeps producing through the season
- lettuce: choose a variety from which you can pick a few leaves at a time rather than harvesting the whole head
- silverbeet/chard and spinach: pick leaves as needed
- Jerusalem artichokes: takes all season to grow, but produces an abundance of tubers; use them like potatoes
- leeks and spring onions: use the green part, leave the roots in the ground and it will regrow
- radishes: quick to grow, can be eaten fresh or cooked
- beets: can pick occasional leaves to eat while the roots are growing
- perennial herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives)
- parsley
- Asian greens (pak choy, choy sum, tatsoi, etc)
Mostly those things have grown with little attention from me apart from water when it’s dry. Many of them can be grown easily from seed, which is cheaper than seedlings but takes longer.
Let a plant go to seed and you get more for free. Leeks, spring onions, radishes, leafy greens, parsley are very easy to do this with. Save a few Jerusalem artichoke tubers for next season’s crop. Let a couple of bean pods dry on the plant, save the beans and plant them next season.
If there is a community garden near you, that’s a great place to ask for advice about what grows well in your area. They may also be able to help you get started with seeds or cuttings.
cucumbers: never had them cost me more than they’ve saved, and I love cucumbers both in regular salad and caprese
tomatoes - pretty stupid easy to grow as well.
fingerling potatoes - surprisingly these thrived as well, even though we have terrible soil.
had mixed luck with most other things
It either saves you money or it doesn’t take a lot of effort. Can’t have both. Growing even 5% of the food you eat is barely a hobby anymore but rather a job.
Add in the small space requirement. I did some hydro in about an 1m^2 space and it was enough for a few salads a week.
You can’t save grocery money by growing food at home.
Unless you have significant amount of land and you’ve already invested in the resources.
Growing food is expensive. My garden every year costs me $200 or more, but I am not getting that much produce from it, maybe $50.
Most people don’t aim for their gardens to grow high value crops at a low constant expense.
Organic rosemary appears to be around £0.20 per sprig, I bought a plant for under £5 several years ago and that is my entire expense on buying rosemary. I have several of them growing now all propagated from that plant. Easily in profit on that.
Of course if you factor in other garden costs you could say it’s a negative overall, but I didn’t have to buy them if I was only focusing on the costs, I also got some things because it looks nicer. Like stone tiles for pathways and wood borders. If I was going all in on running it as cheap as possible then I would have spent nothing at all in the past few years.
and I have a jar of it that lasts me years that I got for 3 bucks.
it’s never cheaper to grow your own produce.
A jar that is years old is going to be shit quality compared to fresh.
I don’t know if you saw the part where I said there are ZERO ongoing costs for growing the herbs, you can also get them for free if you share with others. So it’s entirely possible to grow them for nothing at all.
Home grown stuff is going to be more comparable or even better than organic produce so you should probably look at that to get a comparison on price.
If quality doesn’t matter at all to you then sure just live off the cheapest rice and oats at £0.50/kg.
Search Huw Richards on YouTube. He has a book as well. I guess it’s suited to British climate so will work in new York and anything south of that.
Key take aways: cucumbers beans and peas are the easiest and fastest things to grow, if you haven’t grown anything before.
Potatoes are viable and give a big harvest
I would recommend any root vegetables because, A) its satisfying, B) they’re less susceptible to bug and slug attack. Carrots are super good for you.
Edit: if you have no garden space, just pots, beans cucumbers pease work well in that.
Potatoes are even viable in this method if you have a lot of surplus water (e.g from a clothes dryer or a dehumidifier or from washing up or cooking or tea drinking.)
