Find Out How Much Money You Can Save By Growing Your Own Food.

By Rosina Ayling

With just a few weeks until 2015, the free app below can help you save money in the new year. This small app calculator shows how much people could save if they were to grow their own fruit and veg in their garden or allotment, instead of buying it in the supermarket. The app first asks you how much you spend on fruit a week. Second, it asks how much you spend on vegetables a week. It then lists a handful of different fruits and vegetables and asks you to say how many you buy a week (individually). The last question focuses on whether you own a greenhouse or not. The app then calculates a final figure, showing you how much you could save in a year if you were to grow your own fruit and vegetables.
As people are looking to save money throughout the year, this app is current and helps advise people on how to become more organic and ‘green.’
The easiest way to enjoy vegetables that are chemical-free,unpackaged, and fresh is, of course, to grow your own. The only distance the food will travel will be from your garden to your plate. Try growing your own food – fruit and vegetables especially – to cut down on your supermarket bills and help with your budgeting. I did some simple calculations to see how much money you could save, but it’s not just money you will be saving by growing your own food. Home-grown produce tastes so much better, and it can be cooked within minutes of harvesting. There are no ‘food miles’ involved. You’ll also be able to ensure that your food is grown with limited chemical input. Children love to eat growing things they can pick right out of their backward, and growing your own food is a great way to help them understand where food comes from and to get them involved in gardening.
Growing your own is much simpler than you might expect. To get started, all you need is a couple of pots or a patch of soil and you can make a contribution to your family’s five-a-day portions of fruit and veg. You don’t need acres of space to grow vegetables – even the smallest area can be productive. From tomatoes in hanging baskets to sprouting seeds on a windowsill. Want to start your own garden? Follow these steps!

Step 1:

Gather several gardening tools before you get your nails dirty. Quality tools are very important, they provide more efficiency and comfort and thus less work for you!

Step 2:

Chose where your garden will grow. Pick a sunny spot and decide whether you want a Traditional Garden, a Container Garden or a Raised-Bed Garden.

Step 3:

Prepare your soil – check your soil before starting. Poor quality soil can ruin fruit and vegetables. You can do simple tests to find out whether your soil is up to scratch. Found out how here.

Step 4:

Decide which plants to grow – pick fruit and veg that appeal to your diet and suit your lifestyle. The cost of the packet of seeds your garden will pay itself for the amount of edible goodness you can create!

Step 5:

Ready, set, grow – you’ve got your gear, prepared your plot and soil, and bought your plants. Next comes planting them to ensure they’ll get adequate sunshine and water as they grow.

The average household weekly spend on fruit in the UK is £3.20.

The average household yearly spend on veg in the UK is £4.20.

Also, with ‘Loosing Weight’ and ‘Saving Money’ both being in the top 10 most popular New Year’s Resolutions for people to make – this app is not only fun, interactive and colourful but it’s informative and may help you stick to your 2015 resolution!