Posted on 04/05/2010 11:30:57 AM PDT by Graybeard58
With today’s tight economy, everyone is looking for ways to cut expenses. Growing a garden has the potential to reduce the amount of money spent on groceries. But this “potential” depends on the costs involved in growing the crops, types and amounts of vegetables grown, yields that are derived from the garden, and other factors. So, the answer to the above question is “yes” – if done correctly.
It’s possible to spend a small fortune on a garden. The humorous book, "The $64 Tomato" by William Alexander, discusses one man’s quest for the perfect garden and how it ended up costing him $64 per tomato (among other things). This astonishing figure is the result of all of the input costs (tools and equipment, fertilizers, pesticides, water, etc.) associated with gardening. These costs can add up quickly, even for a small vegetable garden. The trick to saving money with a vegetable garden is limiting the costs while maximizing yield.
While saving money may be one of the benefits to growing a vegetable garden – let’s not forget that there are others as well. Gardens are a potential means to increase our confidence in food safety and security. We know where the food is coming from and all the history of plants grown in our own gardens. We know what chemicals were used, we know what pests were problems and we essentially eliminated the whole resource-gobbling transportation chain to get the food to your plate. And all that gardening is good for you. It is a great form of physical exercise, and I haven’t met a nutritionist yet who didn’t think that fresh produce was “good for you” too!
So, growing your own vegetables can be rewarding, regardless of the potential savings. But with a few tips, it can save you some money on a grocery bill or two. First – you have to know a couple of basics of growing vegetables.
Vegetable Growing Basics
There are a wide variety of vegetables that can be successfully grown in Iowa. As I walk through the produce section of my grocery store, there are only a few things I see that are difficult to grow in Iowa. The location of the vegetable garden is crucial. Nearly all vegetables need full-sun and a well-drained soil. The vegetable garden also should be located near a source of water. Iowa’s climate allows production of both cool and warm season vegetables.
Cool season vegetables (carrots, beets, lettuce, cauliflower, etc.) are planted in early spring and harvested by mid-summer. Warm season vegetables (tomatoes, pepper, eggplant, squash, etc.) are planted after the danger of frost has passed and harvested by early fall. With proper planning, it’s possible to grow two or three crops in a given area during the growing season. Using the same space for two or more crops is called succession planting. Other techniques, such as interplanting and companion planting, are other ways to make efficient use of garden space. The more efficiently you use garden space and resources the larger the potential savings.
Below are several other important factors to consider when growing a vegetable garden to save you money.
Select vegetables that you like. This is simple – you’re not likely to take care of …or eat things you don’t like. So don’t waste your time or money planting them in the garden.
Select vegetables that can be easily stored or preserved. Selecting vegetables that have a long storage life or that can easily be canned or frozen is a great way to stretch your grocery dollar. Potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, and winter squash can be stored for several months when stored at the appropriate temperature. Other vegetables, like beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and sweet corn, can be preserved by canning or freezing. Preserving vegetables is a great way to enjoy the “extra” produce later in the year.
Select vegetables that are expensive to buy in the grocery store. To save money, grow more expensive items, like tomatoes and melons, or large quantities of vegetables that you purchase regularly. Consider vegetables like beans, beets, onions, spinach, broccoli, peppers, carrots, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, peas, and Swiss chard. These vegetables provide the biggest returns on your investment of space and time in the garden.
Do some research and start with a plan. Decide what you want to grow and determine what will be necessary to be successful. Plan the garden on paper first. Establish a network of family members, neighbors, or friends that can help you answer your questions. Don’t forget about your local county extension office. There are more than 20 vegetable gardening publications from Iowa State University Extension that can help you (see table below). Each of these can be picked up at your county extension office. They can also be ordered or downloaded online at www.extension.iastate.edu/store. County extension offices are also the meeting centers for Master Gardeners – many of whom have the knowledge and experience to keep your garden growing successfully.
Research and consider ways to reduce your inputs. Collect rainwater for irrigation. Add compost and well-rotted manure to the garden to improve the soil and reduce the use of fertilizers. Practice the principles of Integrated Pest Management to control insects and diseases, reducing your reliance on pesticides. Start with high quality seeds – most are relatively inexpensive, and most can be stored for at least one or two years. Find ways to reuse containers, flats, stakes, ties, etc. Remember that saving money with vegetables usually means keeping the costs as low as possible while still growing productive plants.
Start small. Like many things, gardening takes practice. Plants will require regular watering, maintenance and harvesting. Growing many different vegetables in a large garden can be overwhelming for new gardeners and can ultimately lead to failure. Limit yourself to just a few types of vegetables the first year. When you become more confident in your abilities and resources, you can increase the size of your vegetable garden and grow a wider variety of crops.
Finally, have fun growing your own vegetables. Encourage your neighbors to grow a few vegetables as well. Visit each other’s gardens and trade “extra produce” regularly. It’s surprising how something as simple as a vegetable garden can impact your life...and hopefully your pocketbook as well!
Seed packets are 10 for $1 at The Dollar Store.
For $10 and a stick methinks you could eat for quite some time.
I hear you on the pickle crocks. I inherited a 6 gallon and a 5 gallon from my late MIL, but I spent $200 on the others from Marshall Pottery and the shipping was substantial, but I ran the numbers and UPS was cheaper than the 4-hour drive to NE Texas. The good thing is that my grandchildren will probably pass the crocks on to their grandchildren -- they are that durable.
On the other equipment, you can go to estate sales and cruise eBay to get a reasonable price. Also, the mason jars will long outlast you. They aren't that expensive and WalMart puts them on clearance in September or October (in our area) and I save quite a bit that way.
If you acquire your hot water canner, food mill and other things over a few years, the price works itself out in the long run.
Another great thing is that I share my canned bounty (jellies, jams, pickles, etc.) with friends and family and they always return the jars so that I can fill them up again. It has gotten to the point that people from town will just bring a case of jars by and give them to me because I gave them a couple of jars of jelly. Now that word has gotten around that I am an avid canner, folks bring jars that they've had in storage or jars that they find in their parents house after a death or when they go the nursing home route.
"I remember dill pickles taking a special jar lid that was zinc coated with a glass insert to resist the vinegar and these were sealed with a red rubber gasket. I'm not sure these are even being made anymore."
The Ball or Kerr lids that are sold in stores these days are just fine for any fruit, vegetable or meat that you can. They cost around $2 a dozen if you don't buy in bulk, but you can get them in larger quantities online and save additional $.
Overall, we save thousands in food costs with a garden and various fruit and nut trees and bushes. That doesn't even take into account what we save in meat by hunting -- another thread all in itself. LOL
Gosh, I apologize for the lengthy response, but I am passionate about preserving food. ;-)
Gardens provide luxury goods....not savings on groceries! I can’t hardly eat store bought tomatos or green beans, because mine are much, much, better!
They supplied the extended family, friends, neighbors and the in town food bank and still threw vine ripe tomatoes in the mulch pile. They had three large chest freezers and did not buy anything at the store except out of season fruit, flour and spices. They raised beef and traded for pork, chickens and eggs.
They were doing wide row gardening, multiple crop in a row plantings and organic fertilizer (chicken houses nearby) before it was common place. They also used carnivorous insects for most pest control.
They look terrible.
You had better UPS the lot of them to me so that I can Quality Test them, as I wouldn’t want you to get hurt...of course I’m kidding, they look great and I’m jealous.
Seriously, you know the joy of standing in the garden with a salt shaker and decimating a tomato vine I’m assuming.
We did that to my Grandfather’s garden every year.
LOL! I did actually grow canteloupes on a trellis last year and they did very well. The day that they slip off of the trellis, they are at optimum readiness, but I usually watched them carefully and harvested them a day or so before they let go. Oddly enough, none of the melons was bruised or harmed in any way by slipping off to the ground.
Northern Iowa.
In Europe, several years ago, they were proposing elimination.....(making it illegal) to keep open pollinated crops.
I am delighted to note that as of this first week of April we’ve already eaten from our garden. Our Swiss chard overwintered quite nicely and has yielded us enough greens for two meals so far. =]
...and therein lies the answer. Most of my neighbors have gardens and they ALL grow far more than they can eat. I save tons!!
I’m still enjoying the dried habeneros that you sent me ... I have them in a vacuum sealed jar so that they’ll keep longer. I’ve hardly made a dent in the supply because it takes sooooooo little of those fire-inducing sprinkles to spice up a meal or a batch of jerky. Take care, my FRiend.
And then all given to the Iron Chef cooking show.
-PJ
Not for most, but it does make you feel good.
I grow all sorts of goodies.
It is a hobby.
It is better, fresher and different food than is available at the store.
But my home garden costs me more per unit consumed, unquestionably. Mass agriculture has huge economies of scale, and it will always be cheaper to buy a tomato at Walmart than to grow it myself.
But mine taste better. :-)
How can you get sick of fresh tomatoes????????
Not this old girl. I start my seedlings in late Feb, they are ready to go in the ground now. I nearly cry when I have to buy a store bought one in the winter NO TASTE. My thornless black berries are leafing out well, my strawberries are starting to bloom, green beans are coming up, squash is ready for planting. Blue berries are blooming. Going to expand to sugar peas this year and see if they do well. Going to try cucumbers (short variety) in my topsy turvy this year. Big Lots has them for about $7.50 vs the $9.99 at Lowes.
Put up 20 quarts of toms in the freezer along with 14 quarts of green beans last year, on top of all we could eat and I gave away. Plus hubby had fresh tomato juice to drink.
I hid half my green beans behind the low growing azaleas out front, no one knew they were there...we have a home owners a$$ which has rules...rules I bend! Because our back yard is a stupid steep hill that would cost a fortune to level and put in a retaining wall!
Actually, I could buy my veggies for less than I spend to grow them but the peace of mind I get from working in the garden is priceless!
“How can you get sick of fresh tomatoes”
Being up-side down, the plant just grows and grows until it touches the ground (about six feet long, I’d say).
Probably 10 fruits each plant, each day.
Believe it or not, it got old.
Try this. http://www.squarefootgardening.com
Forget about growing ornamentals — just veggies, fruits and herbs. Amazingly productive per square foot; and practical too.
Once you capitalize/amortize the first year’s expenses (for lumber and fencing) it’s extraordinarily productive.
Ah yes. Guerilla gardening. I've practiced that as well. Cucumbers up a metal trellis. (bought on sale, end of October, at one of the big box stores) No one the wiser. Except me. And my cucumber ranch dressing recipe! Yum.
My zucchini is already blooming. I planted one in my raised bed back in February (seed) and kept it covered with frost cloth on nights below 40. Lo and behold it sprouted and is now about a foot and a half across. Next year I'll start a zucchini from seed indoors under the lights in a peat pot and set that out mid Feb. We'll see.
My snow peas are going insane with blooms now. I planted them end of Jan and covered on nights below freezing. I hope they make a bunch before it gets too warm for them here
Ditto the strawberries and blueberries. I also planted cherry bushes and they are absolutely covered now too. Bees are very happy.
Will planting *A* garden save you money? Probably not just one season considering the amount of money tools and such cost. But if it’s something you plan to do every year, it will save you money in the end. Especially if you can the vegetables and save the jars.
That being said, every year I spend two hours on my knees, sweating bullets picking beans... all that goes through my head is “Three cans for a dollar on sale... Three cans for a dollar on sale...”
It’s HARD WORK! But the vitamin content is really much better. You can taste a difference. People come over and ask about my veggies when I make dinner and their face makes a drastic “WOW” because so many people my age haven’t had true garden vegetables.
And no, not the kind like Michelle Obama fakes.
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