Thrifty Tuesday: Grow your own

The stay at home decision is a tough one, at least for us. As for now, I am home for the summer and we'll reevaluate our situation in the fall. I may need to go back to work. In the meantime, I am always looking for ways to save money. I also love to cook and if I can combine the two I am a happy gal. Tuesdays are about saving money and here is one way I do this.

Every spring I plant a garden. It is a joy. Its a small garden, but it keeps us in vegetables all summer long. Not only is it economical, I know what I've used on the garden (IE no chemicals), its very local and better tasting than much of the grocery store produce that has traveled for miles in a truck. What I don't grow, I try to buy from the farmers market for the same reasons. This also insures the veggies I'm serving my family are in season which again, means they are most likely cheaper. I spend $2 on a tomato plant in April/May and have fruit by July and one plant produces a few tomatoes a week.

I plant tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, eggplant, cucumbers, lot of herbs and more. I even had a garden when I lived in an apartment. Most of the plants can be done in containers on a balcony. Its not too late to get started even this year. There are plants you can plant now for the fall. It is so rewarding to go out back and pick your own pepper for a recipe. I'll be including recipes in the coming weeks (on Thursdays) that utilize vegetables that many people grow in their home gardens.