How to save money on fruit & veg! Grow it!

With rising living costs and rising energy costs, it's no surprise that people are looking for simple ways to save money and what better way to do it than by growing your own vegetables at home? Growing your own food is a good method to save money while still having access to fresh food. When done correctly, even the tiniest plot can produce a lot of fruits and vegetables as well as potentially save money on the shopping bill.

A study by Which? shows you could save a huge amount on both fruits and vegetables by growing them at home.

According to their research, growing 1kg of mangetout at home costs around 83p. However, buying the same amount from the shop may set you back £7! Simply by growing it yourself, you can save £6.17 per kilogramme. But it's not just mangetout that can help you save money; switching from store bought to home grown can save you money on a variety of foods.

To help increase your chance of a successful harvest, here are the top 10 easiest vegetables to grow in the UK: 

1. Lettuce

2. Green beans

3. Radishes

4. Tomatoes (particularly bush variety or cherry)

5. Courgettes

6. Peppers

7. Beetroot

8. Carrots

9. Chard, spinach, or kale

10. Peas

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or this is your first time planting a vegetable garden, choosing easy to grow, quick to crop and hardy veggies is always a good choice, especially given how unpredictable British weather can be!

When it comes to gardening, it appears that there are as many equipment and gadgets as there are plant species but despite the large selection you don't need a lot of equipment to cultivate your own vegetables. You can get tools like trowels from budget shops like B&M and the pound shop. Seeds from supermarkets, ebay, and anywhere which sells gardening supplies along with a bag of compost and some pots to get you started, even washed out yoghurt pots could work.

If your garden is too small for a dedicated vegetable patch or you don't have a garden there are still ways in which you can grow your own fruit and vegetables. You can use pots and containers. They can still be placed outside, even on a balcony. As long as it's somewhere that gets the sun and it's too windy you'll be good. 

At the moment I am growing strawberries, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, cucumbers, peppers and pumpkins. Everything is doing well so far. Last year I had great success with peas and tomatoes and I managed to grow more than we could eat but my dad happily took the excess off us. Oh and there was also the parsnips and carrots which I found this year when I was digging the garden. Oops. lol I am sticking to growing things above the ground this year.

Have you planted anything this year?