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A Maryland mother said she's saving $1,800 a year by growing fruits and vegetables for her family – and she's paying it forward this Christmas by gifting homegrown presents from her garden.
Christen McCoy, 39, grows over 50 types of plants in her backyard garden, including tomatoes, peppers, sprouts and pumpkins — saving herself and the family about $50 each week on groceries, news service SWNS reported.
The Baltimore music teacher, wife and mother of three said she feeds her family these fruits and vegetables throughout the year – reducing the items she needs to buy at the grocery store.
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"I save a lot of money in the winter months as I preserve the produce from earlier in the year," McCoy told SWNS. "In the summer months, I am able to grow strawberries and raspberries that my three young children will eat like oxygen."
In a video recently posted on her Facebook page, McCoy provided an itemized list of the fruits and vegetables that have saved her cash.
Christen McCoy (right) said she's saving her family $1,800 each year by growing her own fruits and vegetables in her backyard garden (left). (SWNS)
McCoy claimed to have saved $230 on peppers; $205 on raspberries; $110 on strawberries, which she also uses in smoothies and to make jam; $80 on bush beans (she's got a freezer stocked with them); and $40 on herbs.
McCoy only saved $30 in blueberries this year because her patch is still growing.
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"But I know they'll pay off big time in the future," she said.
"Tomatoes were the real money-maker," McCoy also said. "I saved $890."
Among the vegetables grown in McCoy's garden: peppers, beans and tomatoes (shown above). (SWNS)
One of her favorite dinners to cook from her garden, she said, is a one-pan meal made from peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs, paired with sausages and pasta, according to SWNS.
"All my kids will gobble it up," she said. "It has so many fresh ingredients in there. Everything apart from my pasta and sausage is coming from my garden."
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McCoy said that by harvesting her own fruits and vegetables, she educates her children about the process of growing food.
"All my children are very active in the garden with me," she said. "It has had a huge impact on my family life, especially with my youngest. He is connecting everything he does with the science around growing things."
McCoy says she saves money in the winter months by preserving the produce she harvested earlier in the year. (SWNS)
This year, McCoy plans to gift family and friends some of her homegrown foods, including jars of jams and pepper jellies, which she told SWNS will save her $500 on gifts.
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"I don't have to go to the store to buy them," she said.
McCoy said her "gardening expenses are minimal."
She added, "The flavor, the freshness and knowing exactly where your food comes from — you can't put a price on that."
Fox News Digital reached out to McCoy for further comment.
Peter Burke is a lifestyle editor with Fox News Digital.
