I know it's the dead of winter right now, but spring is around the corner.  A great way to save some money on food this year is to plant your own vegetables.  You'd be amazed on the money you'll save when you grow your own.  Not only will you save money...but the veggies will taste much better since they came from your back yard.

Even if you don't live in a house with a back yard, all you really need is a balcony or patio.  There are lots of veggies that can be grown in pots today.  All you need to do is fertilize and water and you're golden.  Here are some veggies that do great in pots-

Tomatoes.  You can grow them from seeds..or buy the small plants from any home improvement store.  You need to be sure you buy a steak to tie the plant to as it grows.  They can get quite large and when the tomatoes start to grow, the plant can get top-heavy and break. 

Peppers.  There are so many varieties of peppers today.  Spice it up and plant a few different types.  I love the red and yellow bell peppers...and growing your own will save a lot of money.  Just one red pepper can cost you $2.99 in the store!  The yellow and red bell peppers are actually ripe green peppers.  They also make all kinds of colors today too.  Grow some chili peppers too.

Herbs.  Basil, cilantro, rosemary...they all do very well in pots.  Herbs are very delicate...so keep that in mind.  Also, when they get at least 6" tall...don't take the whole stalk when harvesting.  Pinch off about 1/2 or 1/4 from the top.  This will promote new growth and also make it more of a 'bush'.  This will give you a lot more of the herb over time.



One thing to remember....if you have an enclosed patio...or grow these plants indoors...you need to 'manually' pollinate the flowers.  Since there won't be many bugs indoors...you are basically leaving it up to chance for the flower to pollinate and the veggie to produce.  All you need to do is use a Q-tip and very gently dab around each flower.  Be sure you use the same Q-tip for the whole process.

So start planning your garden today and you can save some money this summer and have high quality food too.