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There’s bound to be some great deals on produce during the harvest season in your area. Of course, one of the best places to find these deals is in your own garden. While it will cost you money to raise produce and it will also require time, the freshly picked fruits of your labor will make it so worthwhile. Even if you don’t have a large yard, you can container garden and get plenty for the summer and some to put away for the winter months. It’s also a great learning experience to gain knowledge you can use if the SHTF.
For those who simply have no space or time for their own garden, there are other places where you can find delicious food at a low price or even free.
1. Community Garden
Check the area to see if there’s a community garden. Several cities have community gardens where the price of produce is an hour of picking weeds or putting in another type of labor. Some just provide land that you can use, while others have seasoned gardeners backing the project and you simply fill in with labor. If you have a close neighbor that has land and gardens, talk to them and see if you could help out for some of their seasonal bounty. Sometimes neighbors have extra produce they simply don’t want and will willingly share it. In many cases, it’s fruit or vegetables that don’t keep well, but you can eat those right away and use the money you would have spent buying vegetables for canning.
2. Road Side Stands
Check for local road side stands. In many areas locally, we have roadside stands that have fresh fruit and vegetables at reasonable prices. Some of the stands have the gardener’s surplus, while others are grown intentionally to provide supplementary income. Even those grown for extra income are low priced, since most people do it just to pay for their own seed and supplies, rather than make a huge profit.
3. Pick-your-own farms
If you’re looking for blueberries, apples or strawberries, pick-your-own farms provide great bargains on produce. While you can bring the kids to help, make sure they’re old enough to be responsible for themselves. Some farms don’t allow young children because parents get too involved in picking to watch them closely.
4. Farmer’s markets
The local farmer’s market may be an actual building where farmers bring and sell produce or an outside area blocked off on the street where they set up shop for a day. The latter will provide the best deals, since the farmer’s booth rent is often minimal. Either way, you’ll have farm fresh produce at a low price.
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