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" Looking to pare down skyrocketing food bills and make your dollars count for more? Growing your own fresh veggies and herbs makes a lot of dollars and sense. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that every $100 spent on vegetable gardening yields between $1,000 to $1,700 worth of produce. To get you started, we found easy-to-grow veggies and herbs, plus expert green-thumb tips that will yield big returns on your investment of space and time.    Magic Beans Whether called snap beans, string beans, or green beans, bush beans are one of the most trouble-free vegetables you can grow. They mature weeks ahead of pole beans and can be grown without a trellis.   Growing strategy: Beans grow best in full sun and warm soil rich in organic matter. Ed Hume, host of Gardening in America, suggests planting rows close together, about 6 to 8 inches apart, for abundant yields. &amp;quot;Sow every two weeks for continued harvests, up to two months before your first fall frost,&amp;quot; he adds. When to harvest? Hume says the best method for determining when beans are ready to pick is by tasting them once the pods are firm.   Recommended recipes: Succotash Salad or Green Beans with Warm Bacon Dressing    "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/home/advice/a3643/harvest-homegrown-savings-73164/>