Easy Tips for Growing Your Own Food

Have rising food costs and recent scares involving e-coli and salmonella made you consider growing your own food at home?

If so, you're not alone. Some 43 million U.S. households are expected to try their hand at food gardening this year -- including the Obama family -- and 21 percent will be newcomers looking to green their thumbs for the first time, according to the National Gardening Association.

The association says the average 600-square-foot garden costs $70 to plant, and produces about 300 pounds of fresh produce worth $600. That's a $530 return on your investment.

But not everyone has the room, ability or expertise to cultivate a large backyard garden.

"Good Morning America" housing contributor and Wall Street Journal editor Wendy Bounds says there are easy gardening products that are great for small spaces and make gardening as easy as adding water. They might cost more upfront, but they promise to outproduce in-ground gardens in some cases, so you end up eating more of what you plant.

Bounds tried it out herself and wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal, and has tips for how anyone can do the same.

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All-in-One Containers

Growing food in containers can make your life much easier, Bounds says, because it eliminates weeding, digging and worrying about animals eating the fruits of your hard labor. Both EarthBox and Garden Patch Grow Box are all-in-one kits that take the guesswork out of gardening.

EarthBox System
($55, available at EarthBox)

The EarthBox system contains everything you need to start growing food, from the pot and soil, to fertilizer and a mulch cover to keep out pests and disease. It also has a reservoir in it, so if you forget to water one day or need to go out of town, you won't have to pay the kid next door to come take care of your plants. Bounds' favorite feature is they tell you exactly how many plants can grow comfortably in the box -- two tomato plants or six broccoli plants. The company promises that EarthBox can double your food yields, and they offer a one-year guarantee saying that if it doesn't produce as advertise, they'll refund your money.

Garden Patch Grow Box
($29.95, available at The Garden Patch)

The Grow Box works similar to the EarthBox, and is a bit cheaper, though you still have to buy potting mix.

Savings:
Bounds has been growing lettuce in an EarthBox and her household of two has eaten homegrown salad about two or three times a week since late May. Based on what she would pay for organic lettuce in the supermarket, she says she's saving about $6 a week. That adds up to $72 in three months, for savings after costs of about $15. Next year, her savings will go up dramatically because she already owns the box.