4 Cost Effective Vegetables to grow in your garden
As household budgets get squeezed tighter than ever, many people are looking for innovative ways to save money at every possible turn. Whilst some are tackling draughty hallways and inefficient rooves, others are focussing on food and how to cut back on spending in supermarkets.
Instead of relying on overpriced supermarkets, many are starting to make use of their backyard by growing their own vegetables. It’s a great initiative that not only saves you money but also reduces the carbon footprint of your household at the same time. Here are some things you need to know before you start.
Avoid common mistakes
Not planting the right kind of vegetables and investigating which kinds of crops will give the most yield might actually cost you more money in the long run. Before sowing a whole load of vegetable seeds, it’s worth checking out which kind of vegetables thrive in the kind of soil you have, and which veggies do best in the UK’s unpredictable weather.
You also want to make the biggest savings possible, so try your hand at growing some of the more expensive fruits and veg that you spend a small fortune on at the supermarket. Berries in particular are very easy to grow and can be frozen if you can’t eat them all in time.
The most cost-effective fruits and veggies to grow
Once you’ve investigated which kinds of fruits and veggies suit your soil type, the weather in your area and the amount of sunlight your garden gets, consider planting the following seeds. Not only do they work particularly well in the UK, but the seeds are cheap to buy.
Tomatoes
Great if you have a glasshouse or a garden that has lots of afternoon sun, tomatoes are a great investment of time as they are usually expensive to buy in the supermarket. Once summer is in full swing, they grow relatively quickly and keep growing well into autumn too. What’s more, the plant itself can be productive for up to 6 years.
Salad leaves
Very low maintenance and very easy to take care of, salad leaves will give you an abundance of leafy greens to enjoy for months on end. Keep your salads fresh and exciting by planting rocket, icebergs and losso rossa varieties. The best thing is that salads will keep on growing – all you have to do is trim off enough for your supper and you’ll have a full salad again in a few days.
Curly kale
What used to be a boring green vegetable is now considered one of the most versatile in the UK’s vast vegetable repertoire. And due to its increased popularity, prices have gone up. But seeds still remain cheap at just £1 a bag and you’ll have a full crop within 6 weeks. So, if you find yourself eating a lot of the green stuff, get your trowel out!
Potatoes
You can’t do better than a piping hot spud, especially when it’s come out of your backyard! Easy to grow without the need to replant the following year, potatoes are never a waste of time.
Which vegetables will you grow?