Although you might think you wouldn't grow enough to make a difference to your grocery bill each week, you would be surprised at how much having a small patch in the back yard will actually produce and how much you will save on your food bills. I have a small plot in my backyard that provides all kinds of produce with every changing season and I know how it was grown and what was used to produce it. 
We use no chemicals or pesticides. We do find that we need to protect our leafy greens from hungry possums by using wire or netting around the plants, but we always plant some extra greens to keep them happy. We have found that parsley is great for this purpose. They will munch it to the ground, but within days there are new shoots emerging for our possums to nibble on and it always comes back. We protect 'our' parsley with a ring of wire, so we get a good supply as well. We've also found that by taking the netting off during the day, allows birds to feed on caterpillars and grasshoppers to help keep our leafy greens happy and pest free. These are just a few examples of the chemical free deterrents we use and we are happy to know that we are helping our wildlife to sustain themselves as well. 
If you don't have the room or the energy to transform your back yard to grow your own food, you could try joining a local community garden where you will not only find space to grow your own, you will most likely find a community of like minded folk and enjoy the social interaction that this provides as well. For a directory of local community gardens please visit http://communitygarden.org.au/acfcgn-directory/ For some other ideas to help you 'Grow Your Own Food' we suggest >
- Investing in a worm farm
- Composting your food scraps using a Bokashi bin or a Stainless Steel Oggi Bin.
- Reading up on Organic Gardening with our selection of books
- Using Heirloom seeds
- Making your own insect house to invite friendly bugs into your garden
- Storing your produce using a Dehydrator
- Getting the most out of your crops by using a cold pressed juicer or a Vitamix Total Nutrition Center
Even if you start with a few herbs in pots or containers on your balcony, the satisfaction that growing your own food provides far outweighs the energy of giving it a go.
