A Salon writer attempts to make preserves as a way to be eco and money conscious. Though the food tastes fantastic, the experiment is less than successful.
You’d think you could save money by curing your own meats and pickling and making your own preserves. But what a Salon writer discovers is that going local and organic can cost a pretty penny, even for a DIYer:
But now, a few weeks of sticky counters and countless Ball jars later, I see that I may have gotten just a teensy bit caught up in the romance of it all. Because the truth no one tells you is that while canning and pickling and curing your own (locally grown, organic) food may be many things — rewarding, sustainable, health-conscious, creative and challenging, even — one thing it ain’t is cheap.
It would have helped her cause enormously if she’d been able to grow her own vegetables, and been able to do that in inexpensive fashion. From SmartMoney, here are 8 Ways to Cut Costs in Your Garden.