It's no secret that the cost of food has risen in recent years.

That's one reason many people are starting to turn to gardening.

If that is you and this is your first time listening to the Beginners Garden podcast, welcome.

Part of my gardening journey when I first started 10 years ago was because I wanted to grow more food to save money on groceries. Of course,

groceries didn't cost as much in 2013 as they have in 2023, but many of the principles are still

the same. And if you're a regular listener, welcome back. I'm hoping that this episode will give you

some great ideas for stretching your dollar even more

when it comes to saving money on groceries. But just because you have a garden, that doesn't

mean you're actually saving money. If you ask veteran gardeners, does gardening really save you

money? Most of them will say, and I've actually surveyed this on social media in the past, but most of them

will say not the first year, but eventually. But what if you want to save sooner than eventually?

And what if you're not at a stage of life where large scale preserving is an option?

The first many years of gardening, I thought that making a significant dent in my

grocery budget depended on food preservation. And while that is still a huge reason my grocery bill

hasn't skyrocketed like most others, I found that saving money by gardening doesn't have to

only be done through weeks of nonstop canning, freezing, and dehydrating.

The good news is that there is another way to save money in the garden, and it's by

strategic succession planting. This is a process that I have leaned into more and more and more each

season, and I want to share it with you, and it's what I'm going to be leaning into more and more and more each season. And I want to share it with you.

And it's what I'm gonna be leaning into more than ever next year

as I seek to grow more fresh food

so I don't have to preserve as much next season.

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