Backyard Groceries

Bagged lettuce with a side of Listeria, empty grocery store shelves before storms hit, and average food prices that remain elevated around 30 percent compared with prices five years ago … there’s never been a better time to grow more of your own food.

Gardening isn’t easy. It might not save you money right away, and committing to tending soil and plants for an entire growing season is a serious endeavor. We recently asked you all why, exactly, you choose this path of growing your own food. Just shy of 90 percent of you shared that you garden because the food is healthier. Saving money, food security, and food safety were all high on the list as well.

The desire is there, but how do you begin or why do you keep going? People who are just getting started often ask us for advice. Truthfully, the hardest part is taking that first step, and we’re still learning too. Never in our lives have we grown wine cap mushrooms, but “Grow Wine Caps Everywhere” shares exactly how to do it, and we can’t wait to tuck some homemade spawn under our tomato plants.

Another bit of advice is to invest in those perennials this spring. When we first began with an empty stretch of lawn that had to be mowed, those bare-root raspberries and currants and plums felt so very expensive. But now, a decade later, that investment has led to a veritable backyard grocery store, the initial cost redeemed many times over in abundant harvests. Let “A Fruitful Calendar” help you, too, manifest overflowing baskets of fruit brought into your kitchen still warm from the sun, perfect for pies and preserves.

Don’t wait for “someday,” and don’t wait for land. Start where you are, right now. Perennials can thrive in pots, and our best ‘Ponderosa’ lemon even survived a three-day trip across seven state lines in the back of a truck. We’re still harvesting those big, delicious lemons. We’ve also container-grown lovage, walking onions, and more, to great success. See “Productive Backyard Perennials” for inspiration to build up that backyard grocery store. And consult “Heavy Metals in the Garden” to make sure you’re growing food in safe soil.

Some plants can offer beauty and boost your budget. Over the years, cut flowers have provided extra income for the “plant more perennials fund.” Bulk wedding flowers in 5-gallon buckets have proven successful, as have bouquets for Mother’s Day and graduations. “Perfect Plants for Your Cut-Flower Garden” will help you choose some great blooms, whether they’ll earn income, grace your kitchen table, or both!