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How much is your vegetable garden worth?
Sure, eating produce grown in your own garden is fun and healthy. But it can also be a big money-saver during tough economic times. Here's how big.

By

Chris Baskind
Thu, Apr 22 2010 at 4:30 PM
 16

Related Topics:

Save Money, Lighter Footstep

Photo: vicki moore/Flickr

Here at Mother Nature, we're big fans of Hen and Harvest, where we originally found this Kitchen Gardener International article by Roger Doiron. The premise is pretty simple: In dollars, how much can a well-run kitchen garden save your family over the course of a year?
 
The answer will vary from garden to garden, of course. But it could easily amount to a couple thousand dollars. Over the course of last season, Doiron and his wife, Jacqueline, kept track of the output from their modest organic garden. All told, 834 pounds of veggies made it to the kitchen scale. Based on current market prices, the total of the Doiron's 2008 produce would have cost about $2,196.50 if purchased in a conventional grocery store, or $2,548.93 if bought as organic goods from a store such as Whole Earth Foods.
 
And that's just from a garden of roughly 1/25 of an acre — in Maine. One can easily imagine much higher yields at a latitude with longer growing seasons. The Doirons estimate they invested $282 in last year's garden, for a total return on investment of 862 percent. They turned around and used the savings on their food bill to invest in the weatherization, banking even more cash at the end of a long New England winter.
 
Sounds like quite a green stimulus during tough economic times. What could you do with an extra two thousand dollars?
 
Please jump in with your gardening stories below. 

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Comments: 16
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anonymous
Kathy Sep 06 2011 at 6:23 PM
As a serious homesteader and seasonal eater, I now grow almost all my own food. I have 40+ free range chickens for eggs and they are my best natural defense against bugs in the gardens. I never gardened - ever - until 4 years ago so don't think just because you're new at it that it would take eons to ever be able to grow a lot of produce! My tips? Keep it natural, keep it simple, don't buy into all of the overly complicated advice/gadgets/methods. If it doesn't make sense to you, make your own way.
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Don't be afraid to try new things! Buck the system! And if you do nothing else, plant some fruit trees and berry canes (raspberries & blackberries). These things take almost no care and deliver big benefits, although it does take a few years to become established.... so what are you waiting for??? :o) Have gardening questions and want to know, simple, no or low cost solutions? find me on facebook: www.facebook.com/abetterwayfarms
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anonymous
lisa finerty Sep 25 2010 at 1:03 AM
Now's the time for most of us to plant cool season lettuce -- it may only be $1/lb now but in 2 months, when lettuce planted now will be giving its last, it will be $6 or more for organic. It's easy too; you can basically grow 3 weeks of salad for 2 people with a single pack of seeds (now discounted since they are packed for 2010) and one bag of potting soil; just place the bag anywhere (even a back porch0, plant seedlings through crosscuts in the plastic,put some drainage holes on the opposite
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side. The darker the leaf color, the more chlorophyll for you.
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anonymous
Tom Mills Sep 06 2011 at 3:24 PM

Thanks Lisa...I was wondering when to plant lettuce for the Fall. Love the bag technique too.

Tom

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anonymous
k Jul 06 2010 at 1:18 AM
I don't know how these people saved so much money. Last year I planted a large vegetable garden, which entailed about 50 hours of my time to get the beds ready, $250 for good dirt (at $10/bag), $45 for plants and seeds. Water approx. $35. What I did I harvest? NO spinach, NO kale, NO basil, NO beets, 2 cucumbers, 3 peppers, about 2 pounds of tomatoes (before the blight struck), 4 leaves of swiss chard, 3 pounds green beans and several bunches of parsley! That was very expensive and frustrating and
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time consuming for no return. I do know how to garden, but we had blights, massive slug infestation, and uncooperative weather. Just saying, your not necessarily going to save money.
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annesidner
annesidner Sep 06 2011 at 3:10 PM
 It sounds like you had great expectations for a garden's first year; BUT the lessons learned and time spent is actually part of your investment!  Next year, as soon as you see slugs (or slug damage) sink a few shallow pans or small bowls filled with cheap beer into the soil; it attracts the slugs and they drown happily drunk.     Also, I see you tried to grow fruit: and anytime you plant fruit seeds (including peppers and tomatoes) you're dependent on a local population of wild pollinators to
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stimulate the fruits to grow.  Unless you have bright-colored botanicals to attract such things, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.  So next time plant clumps of bright flowers, too.    (check out  http://gardening.about.com/od/attractingwildlife/a/Bee_Plants.htm )   Things like herbs and beets are actually easier to grow because they're not dependent on pollinators in the same way.     Stick with it!  The time spent outdoors in the sun actually boosted your immune system (which can't even be measured for profit) and now I'm sure you have a greater appreciation for the effort put in by farmers all around the globe that work countless hours to bring food to our tables.    
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anonymous
My Edible Yard ... Feb 02 2011 at 9:17 AM

My guess is that while you put the effort and money into purchasing good soil (to be commended), you still were missing needed nutrients. May I suggest your next step be a really good organic fertilizer - preferably seaweed based and cut down on your watering. Most people don't realize that they overwater. Your garden will start producing more and more the healthier the soil gets and the pests that attack your veggies will also disappear as the soil gets healthier.

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anonymous
Wendy Jul 06 2010 at 3:58 PM
Yes, you can incur some expenses, but I don't know how you had such a terrible harvest. I am doing container gardening, made my own organic container soil, had to buy some containers (a lot I used 5 gallon buckets like you get at the big home stores) and have kale, basil, swiss chard, and lettuces coming out of my ears. You might want to look into a book called the New Square Foot Gardening book or The Bountiful Container. I'm all organic and make my own pesticide and use organic fertilizers, worm
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castings, and sea kelp. If gardening isn't for you, consider joining a CSA. I joined an organic CSA this year (www.localharvest.org to search for one near you) and I pay about $25 per week for easily $50 worth of organic food. I'm not a long time gardener either, this is my first year container gardening on this scale and I have 9 tomato plants, eggplant, broccoli, peppers, beans, snow pea pods, lettuces, beets, harvested kohlrabi already, turnips, cilantro, radishes, and have carrots growing and starting more beans, carrots, and garlic greens. I have two large in ground growing chives and planted about 6 in ground squashes and zucchinis. I fought off Japanese Beetles last week and the containers tend to try out quicker, but to me it's worth it to go get your own salad from outside your door. Might also look into soil bag gardening. I did my kohlrabi and snow pod peas that way with no problem. Have broccoli growing that way too. You just buy a bag of soil, add fertilizer if it doesn't already have it, punch some drainage holes in the bottom, cut open top or make slits, and put your seedlings or plants in that. Not that expensive, no weeding. Have heart, sometimes mother nature just gets ahead of you.
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maryann9296
maryann9296 Jul 05 2010 at 9:52 AM

This is our first that my husband and I have done a vegetable and herb garden Im already getting my first cut of lettuce and my friends have gave me some extra beefsteak tomatoe plants and they are growing into the season soon we will be eating and all salad garden,I enjoy geeting into the dirt.

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anonymous
Terica Jul 05 2010 at 9:51 AM

I press the flowers and plants for my art from my garden, along with getting my fresh vegis from it. The extra yellow squash blooms taste great deep fried and also look beautiful pressed!
Plus you can also save money growing your own Health wise. no need to pay for a gym !
here's my blog if you would like to see how my garden is I'm-pressing my life. http://flowersbyterica.blogspot.com/

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anonymous
Wendy G Apr 23 2010 at 11:08 AM
I don't think equipment costs is that much especially if you do square foot gardening or container gardening as there is only the making of the beds or using containers. Good containers you can scavenge, re-purpose, and re-use. I used old peanut butter jars, cottage cheese tubs, and organic salad tubs last year to grow my organic romaine in which lasted through December with just a snow blanket in Michigan. I buy my tomatoes started so I don't have to worry about it. I am currently living on a farm
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but have to move before planting season (sigh) and will be going back to small plot gardening. But I plan to do early season crops like lettuces, kale, chard, and maybe some potatoes (since I'm moving again in 3 months). Being able to stay in one place for extended times is a plus, but I'm not letting it deter me from growing my own food. We are vegetarians and feed heavily on veggies, so growing our veggies saves more than probably the average person. When I can pull out a salad a day from containers for pennies, it definitely pays off big dividends!
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anonymous
Wendy Jul 06 2010 at 4:03 PM

I also started using milk jugs (with drainage holes) and 2 liter soda bottles to grow romaine and swiss chard. It's doing great! When I read that the swiss chard needed 1 gallon of soil, I scavenged at our community recycling bin and pulled out milk jugs, washed them, put holes on side and bottom, added some rocks at bottom, filled with container soil, and planted, put cocoa hull mulch on top. Voila! Perfect growing depth and easy to water and move.

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anonymous
Bill in VA Apr 23 2010 at 10:47 AM
I’ve got $32.78 in my garden so far and have pole bean, pink shell bean and crowder pea seeds (an experiment) left over to share. I’ve already shared 1/2 flat of tomato plants. (a half flat was only about 98 cents less than a whole one … and we know a family on a tight budget with a good-sized garden … so, for 98 cents, we bought their tomatoes for them. And got a lot of ‘warm fuzzies’ for ourselves.) So, two families are going to be eating very well indeed from the original $31. (I bought
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broccoli plants afterward.) Others will benefit through the season from the excess. I already had grapes, three kinds of garlic, strawberries, mint(s), dill, sage, basil and chamomile in the garden (all either perennials or self-seeding). To that I have added 3 kinds of legumes, two kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of peppers, arugula, black seeded Simpson (both loose-leaf salad greens) and asparagus roots (got roots 2/$1.00 at a local farmers market). Basically, since I garden organically, my cash outlays are done. If I get nailed by fungal wilt in the fall beyond what my compost tea can combat, I’ll have to apply lime. That will set me back about $5. Since I use compost heavily, there is no need to lime the soil. If I get slugs, I’ll have to spring for a 5# can of cheap coffee. The compost heap has been perking along at a happy 130 deg. F. for about a week. I’d like to see 160-170 … but 130 is actually a good temp. if I can sustain it. Other than that, I’m down to just the expense of water until time to harvest & preserve.
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anonymous
Annah Apr 23 2010 at 10:45 AM

You could probably do lettuces, tomatoes and herbs and potatoes really cheaply. And garlic too. They’re easy to grow, and they cost a lot in stores. But they don’t take up too much space. And if you have a surplus, you can make friends with your neighbors, or donate to the local food pantry.

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anonymous
Trish Apr 23 2010 at 10:44 AM
I’ve always found herbs to be the best bang for buck and time invested. Most store bought cut herbs also have a very short shelf-life, especially when compared to just leaving them in the ground and snipping when needed. With other foods, some of the not-so-great savings growing your own is mitigated by the value that comes from fresh taste, lack of pesticides, gardener satisfaction and the convenience of proximity. It’s much more difficult to attribute a dollar value to that mix of variables.
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For example, my garden grown peas never beat the prices at the markets, but when I grow them myself, there are a few weeks of backyard grazing that I can’t get at any store.
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anonymous
Julie Apr 23 2010 at 10:44 AM
I just remember the price I paid to get heirloom tomatoes at a farmer’s market for a recipe, then not having enough, so I had to make an additional trip to Whole Foods and boy were they expensive, too! One of my goals this year is to cook from my currently non-existant garden, so keep up the gardening posts! I would love to see a monthly tally. In a class I took last summer, it was a delight to get fresh vegetables from a classmate who is determined to primarily eat food raised on his land. He
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raises and eats a lot of rabbit, and has a huge garden. He was such an impressive role model!
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anonymous
Mary Luke Apr 23 2010 at 10:42 AM

...is all of the buying of equipment. Still most people will save money by growing their own vegetables. Items like fences and tools last for years, and their costs should properly be amortized over the life of the garden. In fact, seed-payback ratios understate the true benefits for growing your own "because of the vastly superior produce you'll get" in a home garden, compared to what you get from a supermarket.

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