Ask Lemmy

set your goal of what you want to accomplish. are you just trying to save money? then you can be a bit risky in your actions. are you growing food because you might not have enough to eat later? take less risks.

the only thing that needs little to no attention are root veg. potato, carrot, radish, beet, rutabaga(sweed), etc. keep the soil soft and loamy and moist (not drenched or you will rot your food). harvest and "dry clean" the roots leaving dirt isn't a bad thing but washing them with water will start a process you can't stop and will need to eat them quickly. keep in a dark dry-ish(around 20-30% humidity) cool place and wash/peel when you're ready to eat.

greenbeans, peas, tomatoes all grow vertically. I preferred growing cherry tomatoes because you will get a larger harvest and they preserve really easily. greenbeans and peas like nitrogen high soils, tomatoes like an alkaline soil(from my experience they do really well on top of old trash/wood burn pits.

don't overlook fruits. watermelon is easy to grow but hard to keep. some types do well though. I grew some "black diamonds" last year and the vines were covered in thick white hairs that stopped the squash bugs from attacking it. I ended up with a whole 12 melons ranging from 3-10 pounds and they were sickeningly sweet.

ground cherries are similar to tomatoes, raccoons will eat them. harvest often, or you'll lose your sweet treats.

I spent around $3k over four years (20-23). each year since 23 I'd say my garden saves me around $1000-1500 a year in groceries and that only increases as prices increase. every meal I have usually has something from the garden.

the real way to save is preservation. can it, dry it, freeze it. if you start your garden this year, you won't likely see savings until next year (but you will appreciate your meals and savor every bite.)