At Materials In The Raw, we are passionate gardeners! Growing organic produce at home rather than buying it from a market or supermarket makes is a great way to utilise space and reduce your weekly shopping bill.

We recommend growing crops that aren't too expensive to buy and that you enjoy eating. Choose crops that are quick to produce and don’t take up lots of room for the amount of food they generate.

The cheapest vegetables to buy are the ones that take the longest to crop. Potatoes, carrots, brown onions and cabbage are cheap to buy but growing them at home means giving over a large amount of garden for four to six months. In a small garden filling beds with spuds and cabbages leaves no room to grow other crops.

Crops that cost more to buy tend to be those that are costly for the farmer to harvest such as snow peas. Often these are the very crops that take up little room in a garden compared with the amount they produce over many weeks.

Most vegetables spike in price as they move in and out of season. We pay more when the crop first hits the market than later in the season when it’s abundant. Growing early season varieties for an early harvest saves money compared with buying the same produce at a premium in the shops. 

To reduce growing costs, sow seed (cheaper than buying seedlings or advanced plants) and use locally sourced organic mulch and fertiliser including homemade composts, worm wee and weed teas. Using tank water cuts water costs.

Insect pests, diseases and weeds are expensive to control so grow crops or varieties that are resistant to disease or rarely troubled by pests. Practice good garden hygiene, track early signs of pest problems and do lots of hand weeding.

Money savers

If you’ve thrown away sludgy bunches of herbs from the bottom of the fridge, then you’ll know the savings to be made plucking sprigs from the garden as needed rather buying them from the supermarket. Herbs are easy to grow either in a garden or a pot.

Good starters are basil, chives and parsley. 

Vegetables that are expensive but are eaten regularly include beans, broad beans, broccoli, cucumber, lettuce (soft-hearted varieties), silverbeet, snow peas, spinach, tomato (cherry tomatoes are the easiest) and zucchini. Grow these at home to save money and have plenty of vegies on hand for your family.

From

The Management and Staff

Materials in the Raw

About Materials in the Raw

Materials in the Raw (MITR) was established at Casula in 1988 as a bulk Landscaping materials distributor reselling sand, soil, gravel and mulches. MITR specialises in the supply of landscaping and building materials from multiple locations in the Sydney Metropolitan Area.

We deliver paving supplies to all Sydney regions including: Sydney City, Canterbury-Bankstown, Eastern Suburbs, Forest district, Hills district, Inner West, Macarthur, Northern Beaches, Lower North Shore, Upper North Shore, Northern Suburbs, South, western Sydney, Southern Sydney, St George, Western Sydney and Greater Western Sydney. If you are would like paving supplies delivered outside of Sydney please contact us for delivery prices

Our Sydney outlets are located at:

Chullora: Corner Hume Highway and Davidson Street
Guildford: Corner Ruby and Oxford Streets

At MITR, our customers are extremely valuable to us. It is our mission to help you build the very best with our diverse range of products and commitment to great service.

Our experienced and enthusiastic staff will work with you to make sure you get the job done in the right way. All MITR employees are trained on a regular basis so they are up to date with the latest products, trends and tips.

We are determined to be the best in the industry and we go beyond Landscaping Supplies and building materials. MITR has a genuine commitment to supporting local communities to keep them strong and their environments clean.