[Diana in Wisconsin]

Does Growing a Vegetable Garden Really Save You Money?

https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4045457/posts?page=1

[Pollard]

5. Is it worth it?

With an average-sized garden, it’s pretty likely that you could save $200 on grocery bills during the growing season, even after the expenses.

If you spread that over the five months you are working in the garden, it’s $40 a month.

Considering you’ll likely spend two hours a week working in the garden for at least 20 weeks, that’s $200 for 40 hours of work or $5 an hour.

Honestly, that may not be worth it if gardening feels like work to you or you just don’t have that much extra time.

I would think this year you could double those savings to $400. Something else many people would get is a bigger or different variety than from the grocery store. Take peppers for instance. Out here in the boonies, it's pretty much bell and jalapeno most of the year and banana part of the year. I think one store has serrano most of the time too. Shisito? Not a chance.

Tomatoes? plum, vine and slicers. No particular varieties given and they're all pretty much tasteless. For cherry tomatoes in the plastic tubs, yellow or red and they make up their own names. Of course commercially grown maters probably have names like ch-47 or something.

Lettuce; Iceberg, Romaine and red or green leaf lettuce, no name given. Then of course you can get baby greens salad mix and those usually give the varieties. They ain't cheap though. If I bought the baby greens mix from the store year round, I'd probably spend $60-80/yr. Especially considering you can buy 300 seeds for $2.50 - 3.00. Selection and quality is poor during winter yet baby greens can be grown indoors year round.

Just stumbled across these people but know nothing about them. https://www.botanicalinterests.com/

Chef's Choice Large Packet #7301 - 4.5 grams (~2,660 seeds) $3.99 - https://www.botanicalinterests.com/product/Chefs-Choice-Mesclun-Lettuce-Seeds

2,660 seeds for 4 bucks. They have several other mixes too.

[MomwithHope]

About the only gardening going on here, (west Michigan). Fresh covering of snow this morning just a couple of inches. alfalfa sprouts, I measure carefully, just under 2 tablespoons of seeds.