How much I saved by growing my own - August 2017

Each month I'll be reporting on how much money we're saving by growing our own organic produce, you'll be able to find all our monthly round ups here. We're often sharing produce between the family as well. I am including what we're gifted, the way I see it, the more you can encourage your extended family or friends to grow their own food the more you can save just by sharing. Pricing wise I am comparing to current local organic prices, of if I can't find organic I just find the regular price. We don't have acreage, this is an average suburban block (approx 600sqm) that we rent so we can't even rip up the lawn to make space for more garden so we're growing with temporary raised garden beds and aquaponics systems which consists of the following amount of space:

• 6sqm of raised garden beds (4 beds)
• 3.6sqm of aquaponics grow beds (3 beds)

and loads of pots! We also have 2 chickens (that only started laying this month!). You can find our awesome chicken coop here.

What we produced this month

Our chickens got the majority of our cauliflower as this winter has just been too hot. You can read about what our August was like here.

• 5kgs of Sweet Potatoes = $28.45 (organic $5.69kg)
• Mint = $3.49 (non organic)
• Parsley = $5.49 (Organic)
• Oregano = $3.60 (organic)
• Lettuce = $5.49 (Organic)
• 250g Cumquats ($14kg) = $3.50
• 3 limes = $4.80 (not organic)
• 2 dozen Eggs = $16.38
• 3 x Broccoli = $13.90
• 2 x Sugar Loaf Cabbages = $11.98
• 500g of Tomatoes = $4.00
• Spring Onions = $3.39

TOTAL: $75.99

What we were gifted

• 4x Pumpkins (3kgs each) = $41.88 (non organic $3.49 kg)
• 1 Punnet of Broccoli seedlings = $2.65
• Pepino Seedling = $3.50
• Corn Seeds = $3.00

TOTAL: $51.03

What we spent

• Seeds = $30.10

TOTAL = -$30.10

Things that we've sourced for the garden for free

A trailer load of horse poo! There is a farm which is a bit of a drive out of the city that piles horse poo near the fence and we go and collect it. My husbands uncle also has horses so we got a load from him as well. Obviously if we had to pay for this in an urban setting it would be quite expensive. But always keep your eyes open for stuff that people don't need. Check out the freebie section on gumtree if you're looking for something for your garden, another persons trash could be treasure for your garden!

Total amount we saved by growing our own

So excluding what we sourced for free, and the fact that we didn't properly plant out this winter, this month we saved a total of $96.92 by growing our own food. Looking to get an abundant harvest this spring? Grab by free growers guide for sub tropical climates.