The dirt in my yard is perfect for a vegetable garden. We always plant tomatoes. My wife just put them in the ground yesterday. We have tried other things too, like cucumbers and green beans.

Yes. I am doing cucumbers, strawberries and okra. I do have one tomato plant and hope to do a trade on some of the others to get ‘maters or squash or zuchinni.

I’m 14 stories above ground, right in the middle of Clayton. I have enough room on my balcony for one plant, and I recently replaced it with a plastic clump of geraniums with a lead weight anchoring it in place, because the original, live plant kept blowing away!

I’d starve if I relied on my “farm” for food!

Why should you? The government is responsible for providing our food.

10 bucks says Johnh has a better garden than anyone else on here.

I’ve got a cherry tree, some currant bushes, and a few strawberry plants. Does that count? Mostly it’s for the birds, although I do wish they’d leave me a cherry or two. Many moons ago I used to have a vegetable garden. In addition to the usual tomatoes and green peppers, I had a wide assortment of “greens” and I’d always try something new like celery or brussel sprouts. I’ve even donkeyed around with soy beans and wheat. Corn was kind of a waste of time–took up too much room to be truly productive and the danged raccoons always got it all, plus strewed what was left of the corn plants from one end of the yard to the other. I got out of the vegetable garden mentality when a)my neighbor’s trees shaded out the perfect spot, and b)I realized that I could grow perennial flowers with a lot less work. (Think of them as food for the soul.)

I think it’s fun to grow something edible even if it’s just a small herb pot. But I don’t see it as saving much in the way of money unless you’re like my grandma who used to can everything in sight. It was nice to have your own plum preserves in January but–come on–it was extremely labor intensive and you had to buy the jars and the sealing wax and God knows what else. Probably cheaper to hit the local produce market.

Amazed… The best reason I can think of for growing a few veggies is that’s one form of productivity the government worshipers haven’t figured out how to tax.

I’ve been growing some kind of vegetable & herb garden in my yard for over 16 years now - I have an average job in healthcare, so I’m not too badly off right now. Being a cook with gourmet leanings I did’nt like the taste of storebought tomatoes, so started growing my own. I don’t have big plot - just a 4 by 8 foot raised bed. I choose interesting varieties of plants also. Try supporting a Missouri seed company called Baker Creek Seeds. If you like heirloom veggies or want to support genetic diversity this company is the thing! And yes, its saved me money over the years. Not a fortune, but even cutting a grocery bill by $10 a week helps on my average income of $35K. Oh yeah, they can’t tax me either!

I grow a very fine selection of clovers and other native plants. Some might call it a prairie rehab-type conglomoration. I like to think of it as my lawn.

I’d had one a couple of years ago. Produced more than we knew what to do with. Am going to try this year, but it’s going to be interesting considering my backyard is heavily shaded and very soupy right now. It’s interesting to note that a small garden can produce enough food for a family for a season. It doesn’t take all that much. That said, it takes a big garden and the willingness to can to have your own food for the whole year. I grew up on a lot of canned goods that my grandparents would make.

Tomatoes, peppers and green beans grow great down here in the rich soil, humidity and sunshine. I’ve got some seedless grapes that have never done well, and the peach trees get picked pretty good by the squirrels. I’m going to replant strawberries in the raised bed and looking forward to the perennial raspberries (both of which tend to spread on their own).

I grow fruit and vegetables because it is satisfying: they taste better and it’s free*. Plus my friends are impressed that when I bring over a fruit salad, it really is home-made, down to the ingredients.

* plus labor, tools, plant and seed costs, fertilizer, sweat, achy back, amused looks from the neighbors, etc.