Want to grow your own food but you’re worried about the cost? The good news is, there are lots of foods that are cheaper to grow yourself than buy at the grocery store.
If you’re working with a tight budget, below you’ll discover the most cost-effective foods to grow in a sustainable garden.
Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the most popular foods to grow yourself and it isn’t hard to see why. Not only are lettuces easy to grow, they’re also really affordable. It’s estimated that just one pack of lettuce seeds can provide enough lettuce for five months.
When you consider the cost of buying lettuce each week, you soon realize just how much money you could be saving by growing your own.
Tomatoes
As they don’t need much space to grow, tomatoes are a popular choice for everyone looking to grow their own fruit and veg. They are also extremely easy to grow and the amount of money they can save you is impressive.
It usually takes around 12 weeks for tomato plants to be ready to harvest. Once grown, they can produce fresh tomatoes every single day for up to six years. This easily makes them one of the most affordable foods to grow yourself.
Green Beans
Each green bean plant can produce dozens of beans. In fact, it is estimated that each plant will produce six pounds of produce. At the grocery store, this would cost you approximately $29.52. However, three plants could produce the same amount, costing you just $5.25. This makes an impressive saving and you’ll find green beans tend to grow quite quickly too.
Berries
Berries are the hardest foods to grow on this list. However, if you make the effort, they can save you a small fortune on your grocery bill. Berries are really good for you, but they are also expensive to buy. So, growing your own can help you really cut back your grocery budget.
You’ll need approximately three bushes in order for them to cross-contaminate. Having three bushes will roughly produce 5-7 pints of berries each year. They will continue to produce fruits for years so the amount you could save here is huge.
Asparagus
Although you’ll need to be patient when you grow asparagus, it will pay off financially. The plants can take two years to grow and harvest. However, each plant can produce asparagus for up to 20 years. So, you need to think about the long-term cost benefits here.
As asparagus is a little trickier to grow, it’s only recommended trying this as a beginner if you eat a lot of it. If you don’t, you could be wasting a lot of time and effort.
These are some of the most cost-effective foods you can grow yourself. Think about the foods you mostly consume. If you grow the things you eat the most of, you’ll generally save the most money. Some of the plants featured provide cost-cutting benefits in the long term. So, if you’re looking for initial money-saving foods to grow yourself, focus on things such as lettuce and tomatoes.
