Growing Your Own Food

   

Carrot harvest

 Growing your own food just became even more important than ever. As prices increased this fall we saw lettuce and cauliflower go up in price. Reasons for that are many but the drought we had could be one of the reasons. Overall the transportation costs of everything are up due to the high cost of fuel and that's being passed on to the consumer. Of course, many of us are not earning any more than we did before. I predict that 2023 will see another resurgence of food growing like we did at the beginning of the pandemic. Some of us may be doing it with less space than we had before so that creates more challenges. Just to let you know how popular gardening has become, our community garden has a waitlist of over twenty people. They may not get a spot in the garden for several years. It's probably time for a new community garden to be set up in the community. 

    To save money in the winter think about growing crops that store well like carrots, potatoes, winter squash, cabbage and rutabaga. Before air travel families relied on these winter crops to get them through the winter. People ate what was in season and didn't rely on bagged salads and fruit from other countries. Perhaps this is something we need to think about even if we only do part of it. One cabbage can make several bowls of coleslaw.

Red potatoes from a container

    One thing that hasn't gone up is the seed that you grow. Collecting your own seed is easy and you will have seed for years to come. Check your local library for books on seed saving. Sure, you can also go online but most seed saving books will have all the information you need. Watch for Seedy Saturday events and seed swaps and trade seeds with others.

Onion ready to flower

If you've grown onions from sets before you may have had some of your onions go to flower like in the photo above. If you let this onion flower it will go to seed and you can collect the black seed when it's dry. 

  

Blueberries & Raspberries from the garden

    Another way to save on food prices is to grow berries and other fruits. Many shrubs and trees do well in containers for those who don't have a garden. Berries and other fruit can be frozen or canned. Preserving your own food so you have a supply over the winter will save on your grocery bill. I remember my mom bending over a large canning pot making jam. With four kids to feed and a single income she knew how to put up food for the pantry. Perhaps this is the year you take a canning class. Yes, it does cost a bit to get started but once you have the jars and a canner you are ready to go. You can also freeze berries and vegetables for winter meals. 

    Start thinking about your 2023 garden now by ordering seed catalogues, checking out seed swaps and sketching out your garden plans. Watch for trellising ideas and good buys on containers during the off season. If you want to check out seed companies go to Seeds of Diversity. They have a long list of companies that grow their own seed for sale.