How to Fight Rising Food Prices

RC — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:00:40 +0000

According to a Yahoo finance article yesterday, food prices rose the most in 36 years last month (from the previous month), with wholesale prices (the Producer Price Index, or PPI, which includes other things besides food prices)up the most in over 2 years. According to the article, most of this was due to a nearly 50% increase in the price of vegetables, although prices of other foods have gone up as well.

Not a good thing, if you’re trying to plan cheap and healthy meals.

Besides other factors (such as heavy rains which damaged some crops), the rise of oil prices due to unrest in the Middle East (and some speculation I’m sure) and the tragedy that is still unfolding in Japan has the potential to drive food prices even higher, at least in the short term.

My family’s grocery bill is one expense that I seem to have trouble with. Because a grocery bill varies depending on what you are buying, it’s easy for it to fluctuate; unlike your phone bill, for example. It sometimes gets higher than I would like, so I find myself trying to reduce regularly.

Here are some tips on combating rising food prices now and stop rising food prices from affecting you in the future:

Cut back on more expensive items- Even though prices on just about everything are going up, if you focus on things that are more expensive and substitute cheaper alternatives, you will have more money left over for other items in your food budget.

Eat out less- Cooking at home definitely saves you money, and if you are trying to cut down your overall food bill, cutting back on eating out is a great place to trim costs, as restaurant prices will be going up as well.

Grow your own herbs and vegetables- Growing your own vegetables or herbs can help trim your grocery bill as well. In many parts of the country, now is the time to start planting. Want to start small? Try container gardening with herbs and other easy to grow items that don’t take up a lot of space.

Get Back to the Basics- Use staple foods like rice, beans, and basic cheap cuts of meat or poultry more often, and your food preparation prices will drop. Check out a site like cheaphealthygood (or others) for frugal recipes and other money saving cooking tips.

Batch cook and freeze meals in advance- Preparing multiple meals at the same time can not only save money, but time as well. Cook two or three servings (for yourself or family) at one time, and freeze the extra. You’ll save off the top, and if prices keep rising, it’s almost like putting food in the bank, so to speak, hedging price increases, depending on how long you freeze them for, of course. Along those same lines, consider stocking your pantry as well.

Shop smart at the grocery store- Make a list, use coupons, check what is on sale, and follow these other tips for spending less at the grocery.
photo credit: Roebot

Create an Edible Container Garden This Spring

RC — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:26:35 +0000

I used to be quite the gardener when I was younger. My father has been a lifelong backyard gardener, and now that he is retired he spends quite a bit of his free time gardening, starting around January or so when he plants his seeds inside to germinate for spring planting, through the late fall when he harvests the last batch of crops for the year. I guess I got my green thumb from him, and I actually dug and planted my own garden, about 3 ft by 10ft, right next to my father’s larger garden, so I would have a garden that was all my own.

As I grew a little older towards my teenage years, I let it go for other pursuits-you know, useful stuff, like hanging out with friends, playing video games, and listening to music.

Since I have been out on my own I have experimented off an on with container gardening and small garden projects, some similar to a square foot garden. I grow one for a year or two in a row, and then get side tracked and don’t have one for a few years.

I have been planning on expanding my on again-off again gardening this year, both as a way to grow some of my own herbs and vegetables, but also as a way to spend some quality time with my kids. Both of them have “helped” their grandfather in his garden over the last couple of years and have taken a keen interest in helping him plant things and harvest. (And what kid under the age of 5 doesn’t like to play in the dirt?)

My plan for this year, which I plan to start in the next week or two, is to take advantage of all of the planters and pots I have accumulated over the years, and plant quite a few vegetables and herbs in them. I am going the container route not because I don’t have the space, but I already have a dozen or so nice-sized pots that I can use without much effort, as opposed to digging up a large sized garden plot in the backyard.

What is Container Gardening?

Container gardening is a great way to enjoy homegrown vegetables and herbs, especially when you live in an apartment, have limited back yard space, or don’t even have a yard. Even if you have a yard, container gardening is a simple way to grow the types of herbs and vegetables that don’t need a large area to grow in. Vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, green onions, lettuce, and squash do well in containers, as well as all kinds of herbs, such as cilantro, rosemary, dill, basil, mint, thyme and many others. Even cucumbers and beans can be grown in containers, but you may need some sort of trellis or fence for them to climb on.

Container Gardening Tips

A “lighter” soil mix (containing vermiculite or peat moss, for example) works best for gardening in containers, and watering is important, as the small amount of soil can dry out easily. It is good to add a layer of drainage material (such as gravel) to the bottom of containers as well. Small containers can be used for herbs, while larger containers will work best for plants such as tomatoes or bell peppers. Sunlight requirements depend on the plant or vegetable you are planting.

Looking for container gardening resources ?

Here are a few articles with some good, basic information:

Vegetable Gardening in Containers from the Texas A&M AG Extension

Container Vegetable Gardening-(pdf file) – Iowa State University

Container Gardening- WVU Extension Service

Container Vegetable Gardening- NC State University

Books on Container Gardening:

All New Square Foot Gardening

McGee & Stuckey’s Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers

Think Your Way to Wealth » gardening

How to Fight Rising Food Prices

Create an Edible Container Garden This Spring

What is Container Gardening?

photo by thomaspix