Growing Food on a Budget

I'd add, for those who don't have land upon which to grow, seek out a local school or other organization...maybe even the local food shelf and ask if they'd be willing for you to start some plants on a pre-determined plot.  There are lots of grants available for this kind of thing, which can easily cover all costs, including tools. I know this because I've done it.  Be sure to check where the outdoor faucets are and plant near those.  Schools often have some sort of garden, but they often turn to weeds fairly soon.  The problem often is that the things grown produce during the summer when school is not in session.

I would suggest planting things that are in season when school is in session.  Asparagus starts in early May,  while apple, pear and quince are ready come September or October.  Persimmons, pawpaws and medlars would be other trees worth mentioning.  My peach ripens in late August/early September. Hardy kiwi mature in October here and they produce thousands of berries. Concord grapes are also amazing!  This isn't to say that other fruits and vegetables can't also be grown.  It might be a destination for students during summer vacation.  Research is key.  I've found better solutions by searching out different varieties of plants.  I grow the Dwarf Gerardi mulberry (6-8' HxW) and the Bushel and Berry Raspberry Shortcake(2'HxW) because both are much more manageable and a better size than the standard plants.

Woodchips can be donated by local arborists.  Planning and sketching and ordering could happen in the off season with a small number of invested students.  With a little research, you could find all sorts of plants that would suit the school as well as you!  Your grant could explain that it's an outdoor classroom, a nutrition adventure and an opportunity to promote all sorts of lessons in ecology and life skills such as cooking and cooperation.  I would suggest that you consider even coordinating with the high school's wood shop to build some arbors, benches and picnic tables for outdoor classes.  

I really love the premise that permaculture involves earth care, people care and fair share.  The 12+ principles like "Every problem is a solution waiting to be discovered" offer really great life lessons. Anyway, it's another possibility.  It would involve some work and coordination, but in return, you could plant the garden of your dreams for zero cost!

Kudos to Alex Vivaldi for their exhaustive and cogent overview.
My takeaways: 1. Buy what's cheap. 2. Grow what you like and what pays dividends on itself (i.e. expensive herbs, robust perennials and reliable seed producers).

We have finally learned enough, grown enough, and learned to preserve enough to make every trip to the grocery store an investment, rather than a dent in our income. I go in once a week or so to buy milk and flour, because I don't want the burden of a cow or goat, and I'm just now learning how to grow grains in quantity. Anything else involves loss leaders, discontinued items, overstocks, bulk quantities and special sales from the stacks. Every BOGO offer gets my attention. Reduced For Quick Sale is my mantra. Any veg that has viable seeds or can be propagated from the root is a candidate for the cart.

We still have real butchers at our store who stock the meat section. They know how to recycle scraps into ground meat and sausage, and every Tuesday they mark down whatever else didn't sell by 50%. I never know what sort of meat I'm coming home with, but it's always tasty, and always cheap.

Finally, I want to repeat what I've posted on other threads. If push comes to potential famine, a lot of folks don't even think about a garden until all the seeds are gone from the cardboard display rack. (Think repeat of the COVID experience.) Even in that situation, the grocery store is still a place to buy seeds in the form of dry BEANS, POPCORN, and BIRDSEED. (No, birdseed doesn't grow birds, but it will provide you with a potential crop of sunflowers, wheat, barley, and millet.) Last evening we enjoyed a big bowl of home-grown popcorn from last year's scatter crop of seed, and made grits out of the un-popped kernels. And I believe we currently have about nine different varieties of beans growing from a single bag of 15-bean soup mix.

Grow what you can.
Save wherever you can.
Share your abundance to build community.

Yeardly Arthur wrote:made grits out of the un-popped kernels.

Hellooooooo grits! Can I ask you about the specifics of doing this? Every so often we get a batch of popcorn that is full of duds, and we only find out after popping. I'd love to know the specifics of making them into grits. Do you blend the duds with water and then cook up?

(and hear hear on the rest. birdseed especially can be a great source of all sorts of wild things, from sorgum to millet to sunflowers)

I don't know though this might have been mention, getting seeds from grocery store produce.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Yeardly Arthur wrote:made grits out of the un-popped kernels.

Hellooooooo grits! Can I ask you about the specifics of doing this?

We just grind them up in a coffee or grain grinder and add them to our regular grits. They add a nice toasty flavor to the mix.