Most economical veggies to grow?

[Got Worms?]

Originally Posted by bower

.... I started three kinds in my greenhouse in homemade grow bags. we've been dining on kousa since the middle of May... sooo good.

Please, 'splain "homemade grow bags".
Charlie

[stonysoilseeds]

you right doug although ithaca is only about 30 milesfrom me is light years away in preferences.. i like visiting the farmers market there it is loaded with etnic foods and hierloom vegetables they get a premium price it really rocks

[tjg911]

if you are looking for purely volume and no work it has to be cukes on a trellis, pole beans, cabbage, zucchini and yellow squash.

if you are looking at saving money vs buying and storage thru winter it's winter squashes, onions and garlic. carrots and beets keep well too but they are more work imo and i gave up growing them. tomatoes if you want them all winter, i like them for fresh eating and prefer to just make sauce from store bought puree when it's on sale. cabbage keeps ok but only for a few months, i freeze pole beans, if you want to make pickles they'll keep too but to me it's too much work. i have made fridge pickles but they only keep about 120 days.

tom

[plainolebill]

We've got a limited amount of space so production value is a big consideration for us. I consider our highest value crops to be tomatoes, garlic, lettuce, green beans and long eggplant. If I compare the prices at the local food co-op vs how much of this stuff we can grow I'm way ahead of the game. We do grow a little zuchinni and cukes but truthfully they are relatively inexpensive in the store compared to the amount of space they take up. Potatoes are another item that's pretty cheap in the store, we grow some for fall storage but not a lot. Peppers aren't very productive so we don't grow many.

Some things that simply aren't available at all a worth growning like Trombetta squash and magenta spreen lambsquarter.

We have 6 blueberry bushes and although we could go to a no-spray u-pick and get them for $1.25 lb we like having them here. We also have a everbearing raspberry patch that is a real money saver.

Herbs we grow in pots and dehydrate or use fresh.

[bower]

Originally Posted by Got Worms?

Please, 'splain "homemade grow bags".
Charlie

Sorry Charlie, I missed your post. I used the plastic bags from compost I bought, cut out the bottoms, folded, stapled, punched some holes and rolled down the top. Result: 5 gallon grow bags.

[Cole_Robbie]

As a side note, in a greenhouse, I think tomatoes and salad greens are the two most profitable food crops on a square-foot basis. Cucumbers and peppers get an honorable mention.

[mrs_dlight]

I mostly just grow for fun but I get the biggest crops from Tomatoes, salsify, beets, garlic, sunchokes, zucchini blossoms, turnips, pickling cucs, kohlrabi, swiss chard, herbs also Sakurajima radishes and daikon

We have an amazing public market on Saturdays in Rochester. Everything seems to be $1(because thats what vendors yelling out ). Sometimes you wonder what's the point of growing because you can buy cheaper than growing your self. Last weekend I bought a huge box of zucchini and summer squash for $2 I can't wait till the end of august when they are practically giving away tomatoes and peppers.

[BigBrownDogHouse]

I've really just been in the serious gardening game for about five years now but I am still always overly impressed with Snow Peas.

I only plant them in a small area in back but always seem to be able to pick a good bowl full everytime out.

I got a great Spring crop, froze some and now I have some growing in a container even though I know it is a bit early for the Fall crop.
Once the weather cools down a bit, I'll start another container so I have a steady supply starting in Sept-Oct.

I grew a variety this year that didn't even need staking....grows three feet straight up.