I grew up with a big garden in the backyard, as I expect many of you did, as well.
We grew potatoes, corn, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, asparagus, rhubarb, peas, green beans, radishes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, and beets every year.
Some years we added squash, kohlrabi, and other vegetables.
And Mom always had her strawberry patch-yum! Even as a child, I knew how good homegrown strawberries were.
A garden like this is a lot of work.
If you have the space and the inclination, gardening is the best way I know to save money on food.
I'm not going to outline how to plant or maintain a garden, which is more than an entire website, all on its own.
But it's an option you might consider if you want the freshest produce at rock-bottom prices, and if you want to retire on the cheap.
If you think you don't have space for a big garden, you might be able to plant a small kitchen garden in unexpected nooks.
Smaller gardens are coming into vogue as people want to live greener and as they become pinched by the economy.
Pocket gardens, container gardening, and kitchen gardens are among the many choices for gardening on a smaller scale, and these compact, manageable options appeal to many of us retirees.
Early spring is perhaps the best time to enjoy homegrown goodies.
Early-season crops like radishes and lettuce are grown, mature, and eaten before it's time to set out tender annual flowers.
Peas yield unmatched sweetness before frosts are over and they help enrich the soil, besides.
When warm weather comes, vegetables can be tucked into your flower beds.
Fluffy fern-like carrot tops look wonderful in a border, and you can let beans vine up a fence or trellis.
Big pots on your deck or patio can hold a couple tomato plants, or they can overflow with cucumbers.
If you have a fence around your yard, you can plant squash or pumpkins near it to crawl up the fence posts.
Small pots and window boxes can hold your favorite herbs.
We have a spot in our yard where nothing would grow, so we planted the durable perennial, mint.
Cabbage, kale, and spinach make good fall crops when most blossoms are gone and the rich, colorful leaves keep your flower beds looking green and attractive.
Gardening is a great hobby and provides good exercise, as well as a thrifty way to get fresh, nutritious vegetables for the least money.
Copyright 2010, Linda Manley