Frugal Gardening: Growing Your Own Food Without Breaking the Bank

[flowerbug]

i beans

 

[Mini Horses]

Depending on location, there are a lot of root crops that can stay in the ground a lot longer into "winter" than you might have even considered before -- easy storage. Carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, potatoes, etc. And collards, kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage, can survive some pretty cold challenges. Maybe a light row cover. Just thoughts for storage concerns inside, to keep things working

 

[Rillowen]

Focus on items that are easy to store/preserve. A bed full of lettuce in June won't feed you in December. Support your local farmers if you have space or effort limits.

Editorial comment: embrace seasonal availability. some of us are old enough to remember our grandparents only being to get citrus in December/January from Florida. Cases of oranges, grapefruit, etc. being eaten through April until being tired of it. Fresh fruit never available during the winter. Just be willing to change your behavior to reflect the reality

Butternut squash stores for a year and is a highly productive plant, I had 9 last year and accidentally grew over 400lbs of squash. About 40 of it is still in storage and perfectly fine.
Dry and can fresh fruit and veggies while they are in season, a nice jar of homemade strawberries preserves in the winter can brighten everyone's day, and give you that vitamin C.

FORAGE you would not believe how much of the "weeds" growing in your yard or the field next door are not only edible and palatable, but more nutritious than what you get from the store! We can go out most of the year and bring back a varied and delightful salad enough for 7 people, and we only have 1/2 acre! Most places you can find edible roots, wild fruit, and medicinal herbs as well. As and side benefit, many of the greens that keep growing all winter are actually highly in the vitamins you need most in winter, like Vitamins K, C, and U.