On 1 Jul 2003 10:17:27 -0700, (Not Much)
wrote:

I've bought a house and I want to start a garden. I have two main
goals for this garden. First off, I'd like to save a little money. I'm
going to be on a tighter budget and I'm hoping I can save some money.
Secondly, I'm always looking for healthy new hobbies that don't
involve the TV and computers etc. Gardening seems like a good
addition. I live in zone 8a(Dallas, TX) and I want to start sometime
in August or September.

snip

You don't want much, do you? :-) For a fall garden, look up "cool
weather crops". Even Dallas winters aren't ideal for tomatoes. There
are few plants that will produce measured quantities at appropriate
times. "Staggered planting" is good for some greens and herbs, but
when tomato season happens, there are a lot of tomatoes. And zucchini.

Truly frugal use of a garden pretty much involves canning and
preserving, or trading ripe veg now for battery-jumping later. It
certainly is cheaper to buy $1.50-worth of bean seeds and grow your
own than pay (last time I looked) $1.79/lb for them in the grocery
store.

Gardening has a longish learning curve. No one can tell you exactly
what to plant, when, what the yield is going to be, and what to do
with it. It *is* a wonderfully rewarding endeavor on any scale.