How a greenhouse could save you £35,000

18:11:20 13th November 2008

Experts at National Savings and Investments (NS&I) have been backing the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) Grow Your Own Veg campaign, saying that growing your own food could save tens of thousands of pounds.

According to the financial experts at NS&I, the credit crunch and ensuing rises in food prices have led to many families struggling to afford nourishing fruit and vegetables.

But it suggests that getting out into the greenhouse and garden could help save a small fortune.

It worked out that if someone was to make lunch from their own home-grown food every day instead of buying it from a retail outlet the savings over a year would equate to around £1,000.

Over a whole working lifetime that could save over £35,000, according to NS&I head of communications and marketing Tim Mack, who explained that growing your own can be a great way of getting tasty food.

"A meal of freshly harvested vegetables from your plot is very rewarding; somehow the produce seems to taste even better than usual," he said.

"Not only that but by growing your own you can save on your grocery shopping, leaving a little extra money to set aside."

Tomatoes and peppers are just two of the foods that can be grown under glass in the UK - some may even go for more exotic foods such as bananas and chillies.