Gardening doesn’t mean going hungry, that’s for sure.   Gardening seems like hard work but it can be rewarding! By mid June, early July you will be happy that you planted veggies!  If you live in a region with a long growing season, then you are even luckier!  Of course this depends on what growing zone you live in.   Give growing your own food a try. Your friends and family will be amazed at the amount of veggies that you can grow in a limited amount of space.

If you plan your garden and container planting with some thought, you can actually save money and eat healthy.   Many food pantries and shelters also have drop off days to donate your extra veggies.  In a poor economy, it is even more important to plant your own vegetables. There are also several ways to preserve your vegetables which we will discuss on this website. Canning, freezing, making sauces, jams, chutney and pickling are super options for gift giving and savoring your garden during the off-season.  

We used our spring strawberry crop to make ice cream!  These strawberries grew in a small patch behind our garage, and the best thing about strawberries, is that if you thin them out at the end of the season, the plants will return the following year.

You also do not need to spend a ton of money planting your garden. In this blog, I will post tips and instructions on how to use recycled containers and how to grow your vegetables on a budget, and in tight spaces. Over the years I have planted small gardens in a small Chicago plot, as a Peace Corps volunteer in South America, and now am patio gardening in California. My goal is to grow mostly vegetables that are expensive in the market. I love going to the farmer’s market to get ideas on what to plant. There are so many options! Look to the column to your left for updates and posts with my tips and ideas about gardening. My most recent post about canning and pickling vegetables makes me happy. I bought pickled green tomatoes at the farmer’s market last week, and am sad to say that they were super expensive!

I found it interesting that the number one (#1) selling product on amazon right now is the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Grower. Here is a similar product:

Gardener’s Revolution™ Planter
This innovative self-watering planter is sturdier, easier to plant, and best of all, provides continuous moisture to plants without daily watering. Simply fill with planting mix, add organic fertilizer, and plant your tomato seedling. Hang in a convenient, sunny spot. This planter grows peppers, cucumbers and eggplants, too.

This just shows that gardeners are out there, testing new or redesigned old techniques to garden in small spaces.