In an effort to save money and be a little bit healthier, we’ve decided to try our hand at growing okra. We built a little 3 1/2 x 7 raised garden and planted 3 plants of a variety that we bought at the local home and garden center. I also planted a handful of seeds of another variety that a friend had given me. This being our first venture at gardening, I didn’t have a lot of hope for the seeds even sprouting, much less growing big enough to produce actual fruit.
The summer drought and heat wave haven’t helped us much, but we have been able to cook and eat our own okra twice now and things are picking up with some much needed rain and slightly cooler temps. This is a pic of my two sweeties in front of the okra. The tall stuff is the Star of David variety from the seeds. The shorter plants to the left are from the home and garden center. I couldn’t begin to tell you what variety it is.
Next year, I think we will try expanding our little garden to include maybe some crooked-neck squash and purple hull peas. None of us are big fans of tomatoes, and I really don’t think we have the room for corn. I haven’t quite understood the process of growing potatoes, so that is left to be researched. I mean, if you plant a potato, how do more grow from the one potato? My grandparents are master gardeners, they come from farming families who lived through the depression, so I’ll have to ask them.
I have also started couponing. So far I kind of suck at it, but I have some great friends who are sharing their insight with me. I don’t want or expect to ever become an extreme couponer, but if it saves us some money… well, I’ll try nearly anything.
As for the cooking, I wish I could say we are gourmet chefs, but really, we just make whatever happens to be quick and easy at the moment. I use coupons for Hamburger Helper and roaster chickens, so I suppose we will be eating those things (separately, of course) quite a bit. And a huge credit to my wonderful hubby, because he does a lot of the cooking while I’m out at cheer practice. I suppose once I tackle the money-saving thing, I can tackle the learning-to-cook-healthier thing.
