What Should I Grow to Save Money?

Partially because of the current economic situation, many of us are trying to save money and be more self-sufficient these days. Growing your own food at home can be an integral part of this effort. This raises an important question: What home grown crops will give me the most return on my effort?

From a productivity and nutrition point of view, nothing can beat the humble potato. A few spuds, cut into pieces and planted in early spring will soon produce many pounds of nutritious, long-storing food that tastes good and is extremely versatile. Because of its ease of growing, mighty productivity, and climactic adaptability, the potato is the most widely grown subsistence food worldwide. Useful guides to growing potatoes at home can be found here and here and high quality seed potatoes can be ordered here.

Steve Solomon, author of the legendary Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening
and Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times , provides a useful chart where he ranks vegtables in order based on approximate value per square foot and the amount of time the area will be gowing the crop. His top 20 are as follows:

1. Fresh Herbs


2. Parsley


3. Carrots


4. Beets


5. Parsnips


6. Lettuce


7. Salad Greens


8. Scallions


9. Spinach


10. Kale


11. Swiss Chard


12. Leeks


13. Kohlrabi


14. Potatoes


15. Rutabagas


16. Zucchini


17. Tomatoes


18. Cucumbers


19. Peppers


20. Cantelopes and melons

Notice what's not on there: things like corn, watermelon and bulb onions. Why? Because they take a long time to grow, use up a lot of valuable real estate, and are cheap to buy at the market. This is not to say that you shouldn't grow them, but a list like this can help you prioritize when you have limited time and space (like most of us).