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Community Corner

Frugal Family: Grow Your Own Vegetables

This week, Frugal Family scoured our local sources in South Whitehall (and nearby) for ideas on saving on your grocery bill.

Finding little ways to save money here and there add up. Even if you have a coin jar on a dresser, that daily, or even weekly, contribution can accumulate into a little extra pocket money.

Sometimes saving a little may also require a little work. One such example – starting a garden. It doesn’t have to be anything huge. Even a container garden can yield a decent amount of veggies/herbs to save you at the grocery store each week.

Getting the supplies to get started are available at such places as the , , , 4 Seasons Garden and Landscape Supply Center and other local nurseries or home improvement centers.

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If you search the Web for container gardening, you’ll find tips and ideas galore, but here are some basics:

  • The size of the container should depend upon what you plan to grow. Smaller veggies like lettuce, radishes, leafy greens and strawberries don't require the soil depth needed by tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant or cucumbers. For the smaller more shallow rooted plants, use a minimum container depth of 12," and for the larger varieties, 18"- 24" deep works well.
  • What kind of container should you use? Oak half barrels or wooden containers in square or rectangle shapes that can be purchased at garden or home improvement centers work well as long as they have drainage holes in the bottom. Just cover the holes with a fine piece of mesh to keep the soil in and still let the water out. A clay flower pot that’s sitting in the garage could be your mini herb garden, just do a little research first. Some herbs such as mint can take over an area, so they need to be planted on their own.
  • Don’t use garden soil in a container as it tends to become compacted. Use potting soil and then mix in a fertilizer specifically available for home vegetable gardens. Most vegetables do well with a good soaking and then allowing the soil to become dry a few inches deep.
  • Pests are always a concern but they don’t need to cost a fortune to ward off either. Plant marigolds toward the back of the garden area to keep snails and slugs away. Another inexpensive and natural way to keep bugs out of your garden is to boil chopped onion and garlic along with some crushed red pepper in water for at least 15 minutes. Let the solution cool and then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Mix two tablespoons of this with a pint of water and spray your garden to repel insects.

As for what to plant – go for what you enjoy. If you grow tomatoes, you can make your own sauces or even ketchup! Can them to enjoy all year long or give them to friends to ‘share’ the wealth. Cucumbers can be cut and frozen if you like to make cucumber salad. Onions can be planted almost year-round since they don’t mind the cold weather.

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Considering that tomatoes are $1.99 pound at some stores, you can have a summer full of them for just the price of a pack of seeds and a few start-up supplies that can be used every year.

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