Comments on: The Vegetable Train: Six Ways We Save Money with Fresh Produce http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/ Financial talk for the rest of us Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:14:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Grace Pamer http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-989618 Grace Pamer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:20:45 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-989618 As ever Trent you are the king of logic and great frugal advice. I love this list. The natural fertilizer is the way to go although our compost heap also is home to a litter of foxes so I have to tread carefully so as not to disturb.

I’ve sent some link love your way for this post as it’s just what the doctor ordered!

Best
Grace

]]> By: Tom http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988425 Tom Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:30:21 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988425 If your composter is taking a year to “digest”, you really should look into it’s contents and your processes…that’s way too long.

Not true. If you aren’t turning it over, a year is a very reasonable amount of time for composting to work through. Also, I think he’s saying he composts when it’s not a growing season for him, so the next year’s growing season he uses the scraps.

]]> By: Carl Lassegue http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988224 Carl Lassegue Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:17:12 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988224 I don’t eat as many vegetables as he does but I can definitely use some of these tips. Especially the part in the 3rd point where Trent suggests to go to the farmers’ market near the end.

]]> By: Sunit http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988221 Sunit Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:07:32 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988221 Great post as usual Trent. I’m in love with how your cooking has evolved from simple batch meals to full on ratatouilles and homemade stock.

]]> By: Kai http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988178 Kai Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:40:23 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988178 Sounds like a great overview of the entire process that can help someone starting out.

]]> By: DannyD http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988175 DannyD Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:15:36 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988175 As for shopping, I find independent and ethnic grocery stores have far better prices and often better selection than chain grocery stores do. I’ve come to shop for fresh produce exclusively at these places. I’ll often see broccoli there for $0.69/# and at the Albertsons or Safeway it is $1.99/#.

Also, dehydrating can be a good way to preserve veggies for long term. I’ve had luck dehydrating & making packets of mixed veggies to be used in soups.

]]> By: MARIA http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988174 MARIA Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:15:20 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988174 When we moved to the county the first thing we did was plant a garden.
I fell in love with homemade canned tomato sauce.
This year we have a 6200 sq ft plot with 32 tomato plants and many many others fruits and veggies.
Most will be frozen or canned.
One nice aspect of living in Central Florida is that we can plant two gardens a year ..in the spring and fall/winter.
This is our third year with a large garden and we will more than likely grow about 80% of the fruits and vegetables we will consume this year.

]]> By: Jak http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988155 Jak Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:24:40 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988155 If your composter is taking a year to “digest”, you really should look into it’s contents and your processes…that’s way too long.

]]> By: Riki http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988154 Riki Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:20:42 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988154 Compost is more properly described as a soil amendment or soil conditioner, which returns valuable organic material to the soil. In addition, compost does benefit the soil by improving soil structure, aeration and water retention.

It is not a fertilizer, and even well-composted soil can benefit from commercial fertilizers. The nutrient content of compost usually isn’t quite high enough to really replace missing nutrients and minerals.

]]> By: Riki http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988153 Riki Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:20:11 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988153 Yup, in moderation again.

]]> By: Riki http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/03/27/the-vegetable-train-six-ways-we-save-money-with-fresh-produce/#comment-988152 Riki Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:14:41 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=12158#comment-988152 My province has an excellent composting system through Waste Watch. We all have a green bin to use for compostable food waste as well as non-recyclable paper like paper towel, box board, and wrapping paper. It’s picked up once every two weeks (alternating weeks with the waste bin) – I don’t garden and would have very little use for my own compost so it’s a great way to divert a lot of stuff from the landfill. I’m not sure of the statistic, but between compost pickup and recycling, we have a huge rate of diverting things from a landfill (something around the order of 75%).

]]>