Plan your garden with an emphasis on economics by selecting plants that are cheaper to grow at home than they are to purchase at the grocer.


MSN Money highlights the adventures of William Alexander, author of The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden, by sharing five plants he recommends to save money in your garden. Among the most valuable are leafy and vine vegetables:

Vine vegetables. These are the most prolific crop producers by far. Zucchini and cucumbers are notorious. Put an 88-cent zucchini plant in your garden and, if cutworms don't get it, it will try to take over the neighborhood. In most parts of the country, you can grow more zucchini from one plant than you'll ever eat. The Alexanders grow a couple of cucumber plants, from which they make a dozen jars of pickles. They never buy pickles.


Lettuce and herbs are also prolific producers that will give you a quick return on your investment. Among the plants he suggests avoiding are potatoes and tomatoes, especially in colder climates. By the time they're ready for harvest you'll be able to purchase bountiful surplus at the local farmers' market for far less than you'd invest in growing even a fraction of the amount at home. Check out the full article at the link below for more tips and tricks. Have your own experiences growing backyard vegetables? Let's hear about it in the comments.

5 Foods It's Cheaper to Grow [MSN Money]