Growing own produce indoors in winter to save money

[frugaltimes]

I won't be the only one on here who is shocked at the ever-increasing prices of fresh produce, as well as the poor quality in supermarkets at the moment.

Just looking for ideas of produce I could grow indoors this winter? I'm a total novice and not very experienced with growing things or gardening in general.

My DC loves strawberries so I was thinking of getting some strawberries plants going, ready to plant outside in the warmer months. Any success stories to inspire me?

We grow quite a few differently things and I can tell you there's no guarantee you'd get a decent crop and, hand on heart, it is cheaper to buy the organic alternatives from M&S. it is actually quite expensive to grow your own and it takes an awful lot of time and effort. Unless you've been at it consistently for 20 years and you know what you're doing and re-plant from your own seeds/cuttings Even then it still takes time and effort.
UK soil and weather are also restricting what you can grow successfully.
Unless you are very keen on courgettes: these grow like weeds and we stopped planting them, I'm sick of them.
Potatoes grow well.
Fruit trees and fruit bushes are about the only things you can count on do look after themselves, once established.
Don't forget birds and rabbits also take their share through the year.
It's bloody hard work for not much really. You just feel a bit like a very proud farmer when you pick up 3 tomatoes once a week. But it's an expensive hobby. Waste of time and money if you want to do it for economic reasons.
I wouldn't bother with indoor growing. Only for decoration really.
Maybe start in spring little by little and you can build your own repertoire as a hobby. Then gradually build on this.

I buy supermarket herbs and I keep them going for months in one of these self watering planters but it wasn’t cheap and I could havr bought 40 basil plants from Aldi for the same price.

Hi OP, if you want to save money growing things, I’d suggest the following:

• avoid buying pots. Plant things in the ground or use homemade newspaper pots, rinsed out yoghurt pots / baked bean tins. Avoid buying cloches, mini greenhouse, pea sticks, hanging baskets etc etc.
• borrow library books and look online for beginner gardening tips, gardening with children etc. The library books I’ve borrowed were modern, attractive and inspiring. Avoid following poor advice online and YouTube (e.g. grow your own apple tree for free from apple pips from your supermarket shop), it wastes money and time trying these
• avoid overpaying for seed and plants in garden centres. I’m unsure if cheap seeds from bargain shops or cheap supermarkets are any good. I’d recommend JParkers as a reputable online store. If you request a catalogue / create an account they’ll give you free postage on your first order with no minimum spend but there’s a 7-day limit, so maybe look online and plan what you want first. Some packets of seeds are as little as 50p (radishes) and you can get 10 strawberry plants for £9.99, “exceptionally reliable fruit”. They cater to beginners as well as experienced gardeners.
• If you like maths at all, maybe do a costing with your child? A great real-life application of maths. Add up what you have spent. Weigh your harvest when you pick it and calculate what that would have cost in your usual supermarket.
• Indoors in winter you can grow microgreens, cress, radishes, maybe lettuce and herbs. You can start off many other things.
• If saving money is your aim, stick with your successes. I fail at growing carrots every year (!) but do well with strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins
• Avoid paying for compost. Use soil from your garden and enrich it with homemade compost. Buy one small bottle of Tomorite (£4.41) per year. It can be used on more than just tomatoes. Or FertiGel (£5.99) from JParkers
• To avoid wasting money, keep on top of your gardening / watering, avoid accidentally letting things die, maybe have a routine?
• If you make gardening into a fun activity for your child it’s more value for money because you’re getting entertainment value as well as food
• Apart from growing things, you could forage for blackberries etc later in the year, kids usually enjoy picking them
• If you continue with gardening, save your own seeds and plant on your strawberry runners.
• Probably £20 total is enough to get you started in your first year (£9.99 for 10 strawberry plants, £5.99 FertiGel, £3-4 radish/cress/lettuce/herb seeds, free postage), and £10 a year thereafter. If you’re successful, that could translate into £40-60 worth of food per year, or more 😀

Another vote for sprouts which cost £££ from a supermarket and pence if you sprout your own. Ignore the equipment they try and sell, a jam jar with a whisp of muslin held in place with an elastic band or even damp kitchen towel will be perfectly serviceable.

https://skysprouts.co.uk/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17858133726&gclid=Cj0KCQiAg63LBhDtARIsAJygHZ4ZCbyvly2JvuYc5xqkgCskG2hlXnAmVK80af7KEVFVEFGd-W9VVp4aAv-5EALw_wcB

This is for the spring rather than the winter but we had good success one year growing sweetcorn and it was delicious cooking it fresh from the garden. We planted the seeds inside and then transplanted the small plants outside.

We had tried planting a few things but because we didn't know how to control pests and we didn't want to use pellets the slugs got most things but the corn must have been quite hardy as it survived.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/sweetcorn/grow-your-own

My in laws grow their own veg and they reckon it costs them more than buying from the supermarket.

One way to save is to repot supermarket growing herbs with some goo d compost, look after them and put them in a sunny spot. I had a single pot of basil for about £1.20 that lasted all autumn and I used it several times a week.
Then went away for a week and DH had killed it/chucked it out

And don't buy plants as that can get expensive. Grow from seed, using supermarket varieties.

As PP said - it's not cheaper. Our home grown tomatoes were gorgeous but cost a fortune when you consider plants, grow bags, stakes and ties, tomato food etc. And we only got one - very tasty - dinner out of DH's home grown mushrooms for £15!

But foraging is good - blackberries, wild garlic, and free apples - people with apple trees always leave boxes of help yourself apples. You can make jam, pies and and crumbles all autumn for just the cost of the sugar or pastry topping. And fresh pesto with the wild garlic.

I currently have peppers in large pots in my kitchen, they are slow growing compared to the summer when they are in the poly tunnel, at the moment i might get 3 peppers every 2 weeks, temp of my kitchen is minimum of 21 degrees & it’s a sunny room. Temp of my polytunnel in summer around 30/35 but I get peppers every 2 days in summer 😊

Cress, mustard greens and herbs (parsley and chives are easy - basil perplexes me) on the windowsill.

A couple of grow bags of potatoes are nice and easy, but not massively cost effective. Strawberries take time to establish but by year three will have taken over your garden. Don’t expect anything much for the first year though. My blackberry bush is an absolute monster if you have space - again not much doing for the first couple of years, but now I get a good harvest.

For the short term you might do better to learn how to store produce properly so that you can take advantage of gluts, and buy in bulk. If I had to choose between investing in gardening supplies and a freezer, I’d choose the freezer.

I hate to talk anyone out of gardening though.