Loving the Garden!! Saving Money Too!!

One of the great things my parents did
when I was growing up was planting a garden!

I didn't appreciate way back then, but now I know what a job it was and why they did it!

I learned a lot helping and watching mom and dad in the garden. Dad always took care of the tilling and most of the planting, we all took care of the weeding and harvesting, and mom was the one in charge of the canning and freezing of the harvest.

Mom & Dad always let us help them... Actually I don't know if they let us or if it was expected. I say "let" because I now know that having a child involved can make things a bit more time consuming :)

When I was dating my husband, he always thought I was strange because I said I loved tomatoes, but I would always pick them off of things when we went out. I had to explain to him that they just weren't the same as home... he would eventually come to understand what I meant.

Hubby and I have had several gardens since we were married, the first a small one behind the duplex we were renting.. mainly tomatoes, the next a larger one behind our first home, and now an even bigger one at the back our of property.

We've slowly moved up in size and veggie varieties along the way. The last several years I taken to canning and freezing what I think I'll need for the winter months. I still buy some veggies as we can't grow everything ourselves, but we always plant our favorites!

Homegrown veggies taste so much better than store bought because they are picked vine ripe. You have to try them to understand this. Don't have a garden yourself? The next best thing is usually the roadside fruit/veggie stands selling seasonal local produce. You will sometimes pay less than grocery prices for better quality too.

I grew up loving to get my hands dirty, but also tasting the bountiful harvest. There's not much better than a ripe red tomato fresh from the garden, or a garden fresh BLT! YUMMY! I've mustered up the courage to sometimes eat those pink fleshy rounds they call tomatoes when we go out, but now Hubby won't eat them.

Canning and freezing veggies allows us to enjoy them all year long. I try to put away enough to get us through the winter until the next harvest comes. This saves us money and makes the garden worth the effort! I've actually come to enjoy canning... it's great to see the volume of veggies I can put away and know that they are better for my family. Plus... I can say, "I did that" when we load our arms full to store away. :)

Tips for you...

If you've never planted veggies before...
Start with one or two things and see how it goes. Keep up with weeds along the way, and be patient. Veggies seem like they'll never be ready, but then when they are they'll be plentiful.

You can plant in veggies in containers too!
If you don't have room for a tilled area in the backyard, or if you just want a few plants. Just about anything that produces it's crop above the soil can be grown in containers. If you're looking for tomatoes, they now have varieties just for container gardening. Containers need watered daily most of the summer. Be sure you have plenty of room for their root system too!

Pair tomatoes with containers of marigolds for a great color combo. Plus, an added bonus... insects don't like marigolds so they help protect your precious plants from insects.

Harvest and Freeze Sweet Corn...

Gardening is so rewarding, especially when you get to taste the sweet harvest. I love to watch the plants grow, flower and produce their wonderful fruits and veggies.

I put 12 quarts of corn in the freezer last night!!
It'll be great this winter when you can't get anything like it at the grocery!


Yummmmmmy!
...had to save 2 ears for myself though (love it on the cob!)


Corn is especially a favorite because I remember eating it from our garden when I was young. My parents used to have a little scope that told you the sugar content of produce. We would often check corn to see what ears were the sweetest (& best of course!). I wonder if you can still get those gadgets... ?!?! I might have to look.

About Sweet Corn...

Corn needs to be staggered in it's planting so you have several harvests and prolonged joy of eating the fresh, on the cob veggie.

Harvest corn when the silk (strands at the top of each ear) are brown and the cob feels full. Don't let it go too long or the corn will loose it's sweetness and become too firm to be enjoyable. Kernels should tender & easily pierced with your fingernail, and should have a sweet milky fluid in them. Kernels that are starting to dimple will be chewy and not as sweet... might be ok for use in recipes, but not great for simply eating corn as a side.

To freeze corn... slice the corn off of the cob, there are special cutters available such as this, but I find a knife I'm comfortable with is the best because cobs can very in size. Cut the corn off the cob and then run your knife down the length of the cob to get any extra bits and juices left behind. Once you've finished cutting all your corn place it in a deep pot and add water enough to just reach the top of the corn. Heat on high until the water just gets hot and begins to boil, this is called blanching. Blanching destoys enzymes and helps keep the veggies in freezing.

You can find various types of corn cutters/strippers here.

Quickly place corn in freezer bags or vacuum bags (if you have a vacuum sealer) and place in cold icy water to stop the cooking process... this also saves your freezer on energy. Label and place in the freezer. I have a vacuum sealer, but ran out of bags. I had freezer bags handy so just used those. I found that when my bags were floating and cooling in the icy water I could easy work the air out of the bags by using the water pressure to force the air bubbles out of the top of the bag, essentially doing the same thing as the vacuum bag would have.

Get Freezer bags or vacuum bags at Amazon.

You can freeze corn still on the cob by simply blanching the ears, cooling them with ice water, drain and place in bags for the freezer. I've never done this so can't speak of results. I think they would be a nice treat in the winter, but would take too much space in the freezer. The corn I did last night fit in 2- 5 gallon buckets when I started and 12- 1 Qt freezer bags when I was done... a lot less space. Might be fun to do a few for the kids though.

When you're ready to eat your corn simply place in pot of boiling water until heated.... no need to cook for any length of time since it was partially cooked prior to freezing.

Buying Flowers... Annuals...

Something I do every year to accent our yard is purchase some annuals,
flowers that bloom for one season.

One of the benefits of annuals is that you can change the color scheme yearly for variety or as your tastes change. Another is that they are an inexpensive way to add color to your landscape or patio.

When shopping for annuals, you want to be sure you get your moneys worth. One thing I like to do is look around at the nicer garden shops to see their already put together containers of flowers to get some ideas. Every year I like to do something different with my containers on the porch and find this is an easy, free way to see what's in for the season and find something I like.

Don't run out and buy the first container with the flowers already put together that you see. Typically when you purchase already done containers, you pay a lot more for the whole outfit than you would if you purchased the supplies separately and put them together and you'll get to pick out the container you want to use yourself that you can use year after year.

Once you have an idea of what you want... then set out to go shopping.

Find yourself a container. It's important to do this first so you know how many plants you will need. If you're prone to forgetting to water, look for the self watering containers. They will cost more to start with, but will save you money if you tend to forget about them and have to replant.

If you choose terra cotta, it is a good idea to use a sealer on the inside of the pot to save yourself some watering time. Terra cotta breaths very well... so well that you will be watering all the time. They make sealers for terra cotta, but any spray sealant will do as long as you're not planning to eat anything from the container.

Once you have a container, or several, you can shop for your plants. You need to know where your containers will go when you get home so you can purchase plants that meet the light requirements for the area they will be placed.

When shopping for plants, don't go for the taller plants loaded with blooms! ...opt instead for the shorter plants with lots of buds that are ready to bloom. You will often find the same plants in various stages of growth at the same store, probably due to different shipments or lighting conditions. The taller, more leggy plants with lots of flowers may look great now, but give them a few days and the blooms will be fading and you'll be waiting for more, while the shorter plants getting ready to bloom will do better with the transplant and look great in a few days... plus they have the added benefit of filling in the space you provide as they grow making them look more natural.

You'll want to purchase enough plants that they look nice when you're done, but you also want to be sure the plants have some room to grow. Planting too many in your container will lead to plants that use up the water you give them too quickly and you will find yourself watering all the time, or risk finding dying plants.

It pays to pay attention... literally! Keep in mind too that some store sell a 6 pack of annuals at the same price as the store across the street sells a 4 pack for. When you're shopping at the beginning of the season, it's good to check how each store sells their flowers so you know how many you're getting when you're ready to go flower shopping.

Recently while shopping at Meijer I noticed a beautiful flower arrangement that was $29.99!! I looked closer at it and realized it was cascading petunias with a purple fountain grass in the middle.... it was sooo pretty, but the pot was plastic!

For $7.99 you could get a flat of cascading petunias that would fill 2 pots and the purple fountain grass was $2.99 each. Buying 2 purple fountain grasses and 1 flat of petunias and spending $13.97 I would have $16.02 left to spend on 2 pots! That would be 2 container planters full of flowers for less than the price of one that is pre-done... plus I get to pick the flowers I want. Maybe you'd rather have white cascading flowers and red salvia in the middle for a fourth of July bash.

Soil... Depending on your location, you may be able to mix in some normal garden soil to save on cost as well. I typically reuse the soil from the previous year and add some compost to the mix to get it back to good growing conditions. If you don't have good soil available to you, you will need to purchase some for you containers. I typically go for the most inexpensive and do just fine, some swear by specialty brands, but I've only purchased them if they just happen to be on sale making them cheaper than the off-brand.

When potting your plants, be sure they have some room for drainage so your beautiful plants don't drown. A few rocks in the bottom, or pieces of a broken pot serve well for this. It's always good to be sure your pot has at least one small hole in or near the bottom in case you do overwater.

So... when you're shopping for annual flowers for your patio, or your yard, look for the best value in size and quantity, know your lighting conditions, and be willing to pot or plant your own plants and you can do a lot more for less if you are willing to do a little work. You're friends will think you paid someone to do all the work for you!

Get those hands dirty and have some fun!