How to save money by growing veggies and herbs in small spaces

In Indian cities, where food prices rise faster than salaries and most homes lack backyards, growing your own vegetables and herbs is no longer a hobby. It is a smart economic move. With tomatoes selling at Rs60 a kg and coriander bunches at Rs40 in big cities, small-space gardening helps urban families cut grocery bills, eat fresh, and reconnect with nature.

Across India, a growing number of households are embracing edible gardening to save money and eat fresh. In Rajanna Sircilla, Telangana, Gajawada Swaroopa grows chillies, tomatoes, curry leaves, seasonal greens, gourds and brinjals on her 10 ft x 20 ft terrace garden, saving about Rs3,000 a month on vegetables. 

In Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, V Priya Rajnarayanan, an MBA, grows her family’s food on her terrace garden using native organic seeds. She has built a compact garden using recycled plastic bottles and buckets. The home garden supplies organic vegetables and leafy greens year-round. 

“Most importantly, the vegetables are fresh and free of pesticides. My family has not spent a rupee on healthcare in the last decade,” she says, adding that it reduced the fresh grocery bill to almost zero.

These home-grown success stories show that you don’t need acres of land or big budgets to enjoy farm-fresh produce. A few pots, some compost, and sunlight can go a long way in cutting costs and boosting health and taste. Here’s how you can start:

1. Use Vertical Space Creatively

When floor space is scarce, think upwards. Vertical gardens made with wall racks, stacked crates, or hanging planters allow you to grow multiple crops without crowding your balcony. Herbs like mint, basil, and coriander thrive in vertical towers.

In Odisha, Sujata Agarwal turned a 6 ft x 6 ft space into a vertical garden using old PVC pipes with holes for plants. “Water once put in the pipe remains for three months. One crop is ready in 45 days, and two to three PVC pipes ensure that a crop is ready almost every week,” she says. Sujata grows spinach, methi, lettuce and other greens at home and supplies them to some local restaurants. 

Also Read: Five farmers who found profit in dehydrating vegetables and flowers

2. Choose Quick-Growing and Compact Crops

Not all vegetables are suitable for container or terrace growing. For small spaces, users can pick fast-yielding varieties like chillies, tomatoes, spinach, radish, lettuce, coriander, and fenugreek.

Many people also grow salad greens and microgreens in trays, harvesting every 15 days. While the expenditure on seeds is around Rs 200 a month, it saves around Rs 2,000 in fresh greens, especially in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, where fresh produce is priced very high. 

Vidydharan Narayanan began putting trays of microgreens on his balcony for household use. The success led him to start a low-cost greenhouse unit for the commercial cultivation of organic microgreens.

Quick crops mean faster results, less maintenance, and harvesting something fresh almost every week.

3. Make Your Own Compost and Organic Fertiliser

Composting takes care of household waste and saves money on fertilisers. Vegetable peels, fruit scraps, tea leaves, and dry leaves can turn into nutrient-rich compost in a small bin.

When Ram Vilas Singh’s business was hit by the COVID lockdown, he started focusing on rooftop gardening at his home in Karnal, Haryana. He made his own organic compost using waste like peels and leaves. He showcased it on his YouTube channel, and a rising demand for the compost led him to make it on a larger scale for his viewers-turned buyers.

Homemade compost keeps soil fertile, increases yields, and helps retain moisture — critical for small containers that dry out quickly.

4. Upcycle Everyday Items as Planters

You don’t need fancy pots. Old paint buckets, tin cans, broken mugs, and plastic bottles make excellent planters. Just ensure proper drainage holes.

Almost all urban gardeners grow brinjal, curry leaves, lemongrass, tomatoes and okra in upcycled detergent cans or paint buckets, cutting monthly vegetable costs. Upcycling keeps the setup eco-friendly and affordable. Line containers with coir or old cloth to retain moisture and prevent dripping.

5. Share and Learn Through Community Gardening

Many Indian cities now have active terrace-garden and organic-gardening groups on WhatsApp or Facebook. Joining them helps you share seeds, exchange compost, and learn climate-specific tips.

In Bengaluru, the Garden City Farmers Trust runs weekend workshops teaching apartment residents how to grow veggies in 2x2-foot boxes. Nearly 10,000 people have already turned farmers in the city, growing daily vegetables like spinach, curry leaves and tomatoes at home.

Similarly, Mumbai’s Urban Leaves community helps people start rooftop farms using permaculture methods. These groups reduce experimentation costs and build motivation, ensuring your garden thrives in the long-term.

With some creativity and consistency, any rented flat or an independent house can grow fresh food year-round. The savings may begin small, but the satisfaction of eating what you grow is immense.

(Riya Singh is a Ranchi-based journalist who writes on environment, farming, sustainability, startups, & women empowerment).

Also Read: Ten seed festivals where you can buy native seeds

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