Faced with inflation and rising fruit and vegetable prices, more and more French people are looking for alternatives to preserve their purchasing power. Discover how creating your own vegetable garden can be the miracle solution to save money and consume healthily.
The garden, a hidden treasure to fight against the expensive life
Food is an important part of the French budget, and inflation is not helping. But imagine if your garden could become a source of savings and well-being? In her book “Mon potager pouvoir d'achat”, Maud Roulot shares her advice on how to grow your own vegetables and save money.
Fruit and vegetable prices are also affected by inflation, sometimes reaching record levels. Consumers are turning away from these foods, which are essential to their health. However, the famous slogan “five fruits and vegetables a day” remains valid.
Create your own vegetable garden and save a lot of money
For those who have the opportunity, growing a few fruits and vegetables allows you to feed yourself while saving money. Maud Roulot embarked on the adventure in 2017, and the result is unmistakable: “I lightened my shopping bills and, above all, I became aware that what I eat is of better quality.” Producing healthy food to eat healthy food has become an obvious choice for this gardening enthusiast.
In her book, Maud shares her experience and tips for producing food herself and thus gaining purchasing power. Her first piece of advice is simply to dare to take the plunge: “It's within everyone's reach. You have to take care of it, watch over it, it's not enough to plant. It's better to start small and expand later, so you don't get discouraged by the maintenance. She recommends starting with vegetables that are easy to grow and productive, such as radishes, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and potatoes.
From YouTube to the publication of her book
When Maud started her vegetable garden, she learned a lot from reading and online videos. She then launched her YouTube channel “Le jardin d'Alekil” (Alekil's garden) to exchange with other enthusiasts and share her tips. Today, she has over 60,000 subscribers and regularly posts videos on growing vegetables, raising chickens and rabbits, and many other topics.
Take back control of your diet
By growing her own vegetables, Maud quickly realized savings. For example, in 2022, she compared the prices of organic and conventional fruits and vegetables to her harvest for the year. Her production of 280 kilos represented a value of 1160,18€ in organic and 805,68€ in conventional. Despite the expenses related to the garden (tools, seeds), the gain is significant, and Maud has thus considerably increased her purchasing power.
Another advantage of the vegetable garden is the control of what we eat. Maud does not use any plant protection products or pesticides: “There is little chance of poisoning yourself with vegetables from the garden, but above all, they are delicious. Some vegetables, like spinach, even take on an incomparable flavor when grown in the garden.
There's still time to get started!
If you want to harvest tomatoes or zucchini this summer, there's still time to get started on your vegetable garden. Spring is the ideal time to sow and plant many of the vegetables. Maud reminds us that a garden can be cultivated all year round and that it is possible to grow vegetables even in winter.
For small areas, know that even if you have a small balcony, it is possible to grow tomato plants, strawberries, green beans or some salads in a container provided for this purpose. And if you don't have a balcony, you can hang a planter in your window and plant a few herbs or a vine of cherry tomatoes to enjoy all summer and season your dishes.
So, don't wait any longer and embark on the adventure of vegetable gardening to fight against inflation and enjoy healthy and tasty food!
Summary
I'm a big fan of short stories about people – I'm a pro at tech and smartphones, serial literature, and writing in my spare time.
