With the economy continuing to decline, especially if you live in Michigan and the increasing gasoline prices you may have noticed that the cost of food has been increasing. What if I were to tell you that you don't need to spend money on those larger grocery stores? or that you can save money year around? Would you be interested?
FACT: grocery stores only keep 3 days worth of food on stock for the entire local community. What if some natural disaster happened, would you have enough food to live off for 3 month, or even 3 weeks? The tornadoes in Joplin indicated that you can be caught off guard in preparing for a disaster. Over the next few months I will dedicate this blog to saving money on food and how to prepare for larger periods of time.
Today's topic: Buy Local/Organic Food and Grow Your Own.
Grow Your Own:
The Garden Beds & Growing Pots:
If you have a house, mobile home, or condo and have the space available to grow your own backyard garden for the summer, it can save you money on produce. Depending on your yard space, depends on how many growing beds and sizes you can do. There are two options for growing beds: building your own* or buying built ones. We choose to build our own. We have two 8X4 beds we built. This is the less expensive option and they are fairly easy to build. Here are some basic instructions. If you prefer to purchase raised garden beds many home & garden stores have them available (Lowes, Home Depot, etc). You can purchase compost from recycling centers or may be able to find supplies at home & garden local stores or growing coops. You can purchase seeds at local food coops or organic grocery stores, and at some farmers markets. Follow the directions on the packages. We choose to grow the following: box #1- *mixed greens/lettuce, broccoli, peas, yellow onions. box #2- green onions, green beans, carrots, sugar melon, and strawberries. In pots we have tomatoes, lemon balm, and mint.
If you have an apartment or condo without a place for large garden bed, but have a porch, patio, or balcony here are some options for you: build a smaller growing box or stacked (measure the space you have) or grow in pots. Here are some fresh vegetables you can grow in pots: carrots, green beans, *greens (in larger pots) tomatoes, and various herbs*. Some herbs can be grown on window sills indoors.
**mixed greens can be grown in just about any sized box or pot depending on how much you want. Click here for a great article about how to do this.
Buying Local/Organic Through a growing Co-op
Buying local not only promotes economic growth for your community, but also for your state. In many states purchasing items made in your home state are less money because they don't have to be shipped as far. Farmers markets are the best way to get your local food or to purchase in bulk--in addition to your garden or for later winter storage. Here is a link to find your local farmers markets by state. Also check your local chamber of commerce. Also depending on your area if you don't have the time to shop at a farmers market, many coop delivery companies are available. In the winter months we use this one.
Should I buy Organic or Local?
One question I tend to get a lot is whether buying local is better than buying organic. I always promote buying organic because it is ultimately better for you. However, since we all have different budgets here is a helpful guide on what is most & least chemically treated.
These items are most chemically treated. You should ALWAYS buy these items organic whether local or not: Celery, Peaches, Strawberries, Apples, Pears, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Nectarines, Sweet Bell Peppers, Spinach, Cherries, Kale/Collard Greens, Mixed Greens, Lettuce, beans, Potatoes, and grapes.
The following foods are least chemically treated and you should ALWAYS try to buy these local, whether they are organic or not: Onion, Avacado, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Mango, Peas, Asparagus, Kiwi, Cabbage, Eggplant, Domestic Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Sweet Potatoes, and Honeydew Melons.
