Back to the Basics

Gardening.

Dave and I were very new this year at this very old tradition and have loved every minute of it! We have eaten our weight in spaghetti squash and have garnished every possible meal with fresh tomatoes! Dave's coveted plant? His peas. He loves his peas.

To start a garden was not a cheap endeavor. We decided to do square foot gardening which is wonderful for a small yard, but has a little bit of an upfront cost to get started. And though we can't say we stopped buying vegetables all together this summer, we can say it has helped subsidize the cost of our weekly food bill and we are eating much healthier because of it!

Gardening all started because of our dream to become frugal millionaires. We wanted to learn how to produce our own food and grow what we eat! See?? Frugal can be fun and educational! Dave picked up some books on square foot gardening last winter and the dreaming and planning began!

We were slightly ambitious this year (let's be honest, I was ambitious this year) and we filled, I mean FILLED, each 1'x1' square with as many seedlings as would fit! In total, we had 2 boxes of 12 1' x1' squares, which means, we were going to have a lot of produce! About halfway through the summer, we had to pull some plants because they became too big (like a spaghetti squash plant, a zucchini plant and a pumpkin plant). All in all though, we had an incredibly successful year!



This year, we harvested tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots.

We also harvested broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, onions, peppers, radishes, peas, and beans. And did I say more lettuce, kale, and spinach???

 

 

Watching the plants grow, picking the produce, pulling weeds, and enjoying the fruits of our labor was a definite success this year! Though we may not have saved a ton of money, we enjoyed some delicious homegrown produce, were able to barter fresh vegetables for farm fresh eggs, and we learned the importance of knowing what's in your food and where it comes from!

 

As I washed the vegetables for salads and chopped up herbs for different recipes, I couldn't help but feel rich! Growing your own food definitely brings a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction!