HOME ON THE RANGE

One frugal way to keep food costs down is to grow one’s own food.

Previously, I’ve written on my lack of success at growing a garden. One of Mother's Little Helpers grew corn and tomatoes this summer. I felt inspired to try again but inspiration alone wasn't enough. I needed a frugal way to launch this inspiration.

 

Recently, a friend’s friend invited me to harvest some vegetables from her “garden”.

This was no ordinary garden. This was a farm. I was in awe at the bounty of vegetables grown from seeds, equally in awe at the dedication required to tend to such a garden and the generosity of allowing a stranger to harvest from her fields.

One of the vegetables from the garden was a butternut squash. As I prepared it for dinner one night, I had my inspiration and my frugal way to grow a vegetable. I saved the seeds and dried them for planting. Butternut squash, per pound, can be expensive; I had nothing to lose by planting them in a flower pot.

At worst, my brown thumb experiment would be yet again be another flop. At best, a seed or two would sprout. Proudly, I have four little sprouts.

I’ve realized that vegetable seeds are akin to sourdough starter dough. You save one cup and it makes endless loaves of bread. Given one butternut squash, there are too made seeds to count that have potential to yield an abundance of butternut squash.

I say “potential” because, after all, I am the one trying to grow this vegetable.

Before they can leave their plot in the pot, a new location needs to be found for them.

Home on the range, there is a deer that plays…and eats. Finding a corner of dirt hidden from the deer, so my squash can sprawl, is the next challenge.

Until I can find a safe haven for them to grow, I will transfer them to a larger portable pot. If this too becomes an epic fail, there are more seeds where these came from!

 

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Container gardening is a frugal way to grow one’s own vegetables without having a large space. It’s most suitable for upward vertical growth than horizontal expansion.But if at first you don’t succeed, try again!

                             FOUR SPROUTS OF BUTTERNUT SQUASH