Posted on 03/10/2022 6:43:41 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
When spring finally arrives after a long, cold winter, it always seems like a good idea to get outside.
“I’ll start a garden!” I think to myself. “I’ll save money by planting vegetables!”
But then I wonder: is it really worth it? I’m a skeptic, so I had to get to the bottom of it.
1. How much can you save per vegetable?
I looked at a few common, easy-to-grow vegetables to figure out how much they produce per seed, and therefore, how much growing one plant could save.
Cucumbers Store price: $0.69 each or $0.99 each organic per cucumber Price when you grow your own: less than $0.01 each
Generally one plant will produce about 10 cucumbers. Average price of seeds: $0.06 per seed to grow one plant Savings: About $7 for each plant grown, $10 for each organic plant grown
Carrots Store price: $0.17 per carrot Price when you grow your own: less than $0.01 per carrot
One 10-foot row of carrots would produce about 75 carrots. Average price of seeds: $2 for 500, so less than $0.01 each seed that grows one carrot Savings: About $12.50 per one row grown or 75 carrots
Onions Store price: $0.74 per onion Price when you grow your own: $0.03 per onion
One 10-foot row or about 40 onion sets planted would produce about 40 onions. Average price of sets: $1.25 for 40 sets, or $0.03 each Savings: About $28.35 for one 10-foot row of onions
Tomatoes Store price: $0.50 per tomato Price when you grow your own: $0.10 per tomato
One plant can produce as much as 50 tomatoes. Average price of plants: $5 per plant Savings: About $20 per plant grown
Radishes Store price: $0.50 per bunch (about 12 radishes), $1.50 per organic bunch Price when you grow your own: $0.03 per bunch
One 10-foot row would produce about 60 radishes. Average price of seeds: $2 for 200, so about $0.01 each Savings: About $2 for a row of 60 regular radishes, $7 for a row of 60 organic radishes
Zucchini Store price: $0.40 each or $0.70 each organic zucchini Price to grow your own: less than $0.01 each
One plant will produce about 25 zucchinis on average. Average price of seeds: $0.15 per seed to grow one plant Savings: About $10 per plant grown, $17 per organic plant grown
Green beans Store price: $2 per pound, $6 per organic pound Price to grow your own: $0.50 per pound
One 10-foot row would produce about 8 pounds of green beans. Average price of seeds: $0.10 each (40 seeds needed per 10-foot row) Savings: $12 for one row — 8 regular pounds, $44 for one row — 8 organic pounds
Watermelon Store price: $6 per melon Price when you grow your own: $0.01 per melon
One plant produces about 3 melons. Average price of seeds: $0.04 each to grow one plant Savings: $18 per plant grown
2. What about all that water?
So, clearly the data screams “It’s cheaper to plant a vegetable garden than to buy produce at the store!”
But, what about all the other things that go into it? The cost of water, for example!
The maximum recommended size for a manageable garden, especially for beginners, is 16 by 10 feet.
This would be 160 square feet of soil to water. In the summer months, this would require about 14.5 gallons of water per day. In the spring and fall, so April, May, and September, you could cut this in half, and use even less in October if you still have plants like squash and pumpkins growing.
On average across the United States, water will cost $.004 per gallon or about $.04 for every 10 gallons.
So if you used 2,000 gallons of water over the growing season, it would cost you $8, and 3,000 gallons would cost you about $12.
If we filled a 16 by 10-foot garden with two tomato plants, two cucumber plants, two zucchini plants, two watermelon plants, and one row each of carrots, onions, green beans, and radishes, we’d save $210 by not having to buy those things at the store and we’d spend $8.26 on water.
3. What else will you need?
Of course, you’ll need a few tools like shovels, hoes, rakes, and gloves. But you don’t need a lot to grow most things. Start small and then see what is really necessary.
If you have tomatoes or peppers, plan to spend a few dollars on cages or something to help them grow vertically.
If you plant in containers, that will be a big investment in the first year. Adding fertilizers, bug killers, or mulch can be another expense. Knowing what your overall savings will be can help you be super stingy about adding costs.
Don’t forget to coupon, bargain shop, and check out our Home Depot hacks where you can find gardening supplies, plants, seeds, and more.
4. Consider the time you’ll have to invest.
his is a huge one. You’ll likely spend a couple hours a week watering, weeding, pruning, and harvesting.
How much extra time do you have? What is your time worth? And how much do you enjoy being in the garden? (There are obvious physical and mental health benefits.) So…
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.
Therefore, it’s only worth it if you would enjoy all the other benefits of healthy eating, exercise, fresh flavor, being outdoors, and a therapeutic or family-bonding hobby.
https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/money/does-growing-a-vegetable-garden-really-save-you-money
Will you save money? Maybe and maybe not.
But you will have a steady supply of fresh produce that you’ve already paid for.
L
Bidet has weighed in on this subject:
“It depends.”
;-)
If Biden and the Communists have their way we’ll soon be eating our pets.
Beyond that if the shortages continue, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t, then you have food.
Therefore, it’s only worth it if you would enjoy all the other benefits of healthy eating, exercise, fresh flavor, being outdoors, and a therapeutic or family-bonding hobby.
I grow tomatoes mostly because you pick them fresh and they are significantly cheaper than a stand or store price.
I grew heirloom tomatoes. I gave them away but if I had sold them...and I know they would absolutely sell....I grew about 200 lbs....I would have made a fortune. I started from seed in my apartment. Once they were in the ground...they grew as if Jack of Beanstalk fame planted them.
My freezer is my garden. I plant and harvest constantly, without need of rain and threat of bugs or crows.
Its about availability and access.
Grow what you can eat.
Its easy to overplant tomatoes and cucumbers.
This woman is an idiot.
Quality of the end product is far superior if you use the best seed.
Much of grocery store produce are grown for shelf life, not for taste and texture and edibility.
Nature of the beast.
Problem with garden? Not all plants are suited to your location, so past some basics, the variety goes away.
You will also have the advantage of not having to buy tomatoes from Mexico, where just about all of the tomatoes in supermarkets--even upscale ones like Whole Foods--come from.
Absolutely, and variety as well. There are varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that supermarkets don't fit into their selection.
Many years I've done all this, had a 25'x25' garden. Made good use, many years, with a rototiller, saving some time and effort.
And, I'm happy to say, I have the a best population of well-fed moles, chipmunks, gophers, rabbits and many other creatures to show for it.
The food is better, fresher, more fun, and available when the trucks stop running.
and they taste so much better. We did tomatoes last year for the first time. No comparison to store bought. Friends were asking us for more and the roasted chipolte salsa was off the charts.
Will you really have a steady supply of fresh produce, maybe and maybe not...
Not trying to argumentative, most of the produce the article mentioned has a relative short harvesting season, meaning you will have nothing and then an overabundance then nothing, unless you know how to can, preserve, or freeze the excess supply.
When I was a kid, we usually had 2 gardens per year, one large one in the spring where we grew most of what was listed in the article, then a fall garden with vegetables that grew in cooler weather.
Then my Mother and Grandmother, would can and freeze a ton of stuff, everything from different types of pickles, beans, peas, corn, etc..
We had 3 freezers growing up, on over the refrigerator and two chest types in garage, we also raised our own beef and pork, so we used the freezers a lot.
Now, I would agree with the article, if you like to garden then it’s fun, I like to do it, if I had the room, I would have a small greenhouse and grow stuff in there year round.
I live in NE Florida, so I don’t get snow and ice and can grow stuff year round.
when you got no money and you got no food and your life is shit and you find seeds in grandma’s cupboard what is there to lose? you put the seed in the shit and you get food. who needs job or money or food when your life got seeds in shit?
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