How to Beat Inflation & the Recession by Gardening

I am writing this article to address the growing issue that all of us are facing with inflation and the recession. I want to help each of you to help your hard-earned dollars go further, in this post I will show you How to Beat Inflation & the Recession by Gardening.

I have already published articles on the ways to save money by gardening for you to refer to.

If you are just now reading this article (6-10-2022) and have not started a garden you still have time to make an impact that will save you money on your vegetable purchases.

How much can you save

Fruit and vegetables on average as of this writing have gone up drastically, I saw organic tomatoes for $4.99 a pound at a local grocery store. If you grow 1 tomato plant that plant costs you $1.00 and it produces 15lbs you have now a cost down to 7 cents plus the cost of a little fertilizer and water which is not much.

The biggest cost to you is time, which can be enjoyable especially when you see the impact on the alternative to buy the same produce at the store.

This is just one example of cost savings.

You will also save on the number of trips to the store which will reduce your cost for gas for your car which as we speak is on average across the country $5.00 per gallon.

Value to Grow your own

We have discussed the money you save, along with the money saved is the flavor and freshness that you can enjoy by growing your own food even if it is just a small number of plants.

The beauty of growing vegetables in your yard, one of my favorites is growing eggplants. Not only are the plants a nice addition but the flowers and large purple or white vegetables are a great color addition to have in your yard.

Purchasing Plants

Now is the time that garden centers are reducing the prices of vegetable plants to reduce their inventories. I recently purchased some nice vegetable plants for 56 cents each that were usually priced at $2.50-4.00 each.

You can also find distressed plants that did not receive enough water or care but are still in good enough shape that you can give them a little extra care to get them growing again at 75-90% discounts.

It is also worth asking your local shop if they are willing to discount these vegetable plants you want since it is so late in the season or if they have any unadvertised specials coming up.

Lastly, every year I find people like myself that grew or purchased too many plants and we are giving them away to someone wanting them. This year I have given away many tomato plants that I grew from seed and my son found a person giving away pepper plants while they were on a walk in his neighborhood.

Fertilizer

To get these plants growing you need to give them the correct fertilizer to kick start their growth, do not skimp on organic fertilizers for inexpensive non-organic fertilizers.

Just like vegetables getting discounted many times you can find that garden centers are discounting their fertilizers and bags of organic planting mix.

If you do not see an advertised discount on these products be sure you ask.

I have also found at all of the stores I shop an area where they have products that the packaging has been damaged and they are discounting severely to move the product.

Garden Location

If you do not have a dedicated area for your garden you can still plant a garden by planting the vegetables in the garden beds with your plants and flowers as long as they are in a good area to receive 6-10 hours of sunlight.

Favorites to add to your yard

These are some easy vegetables and fruit plants to introduce to your yard that will save you loads of money and will add color to your garden beds

Tomatoes

Peppers

Eggplants

Cucumbers

Blueberries

Strawberries