Can I save money growing my own fruit and veg?

Can I save money growing my own fruit and veg?

The answer is yes you can by following 5 simple steps.

1. List what you and your family like to eat, e.g. apples, swedes, peppers etc.

2. Then take that list and get mark each item as either expensive, cheap or in between. For example here in the UK carrots are cheap but Chilli peppers are expensive.

3. Then take those that you have marked as expensive and look at their growing requirements an compare those to the space and climate etc you have available. Also remember to include the amount of care that is needed. It is no use deciding to grow something yourself if you are away a lot of the time and this crop needs daily watering.

4. Once you have done this you can repeat 3 if you think you would have the room to grow more.

5. If you have no option but to grow the items on the list that are marked as cheap, then pick those that take up the least amount of space and are in the ground for the shortest period of time. And wherever possible use successional sowings to extend the cropping period.


Here in the UK fruit is generally more expensive than veg so try growing things like Blueberrys and if you have space in a sunny location citrus fruits.

Always remember to pick up your windfall apples and use to make juice/puree which you can then freeze. Both eating and cooking apples can be used for this.