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You have a lot of energy. Im downsizing my garden. Just too much. I miss it but not realistic as it was before arthritis which can take the snap out of ur peas in no time.
Not even remotely close to breaking even, especially given the low cost of vegetables in season at the grocery store.
Clay soil...hard as concrete.....so tons of green matter which doesn't cost a huge amount....but i bought a pitch fork....then there is the cost of tilling.....and seeds/plants.....pest control.....weed control (surrounded by Bermuda grass)....stakes/cages....insect dust.....trellis.....
Had the most beautiful tomato plants, and heads of lettuce, and eggplants, and cabbage, and lilies, and zucchini, and squash...and more.
The DEER loved it all! There is nothing as satisfying as coming out in the morning and seeing a dozen perfect heads of red and green lettuce mowed down to the root. You just want to jump for joy that the cycle of nature is complete.
I garden because it is wonderful therapy. I enjoy it immensely, but breaking even/making money/materially reducing the overall food cost...not even close.
And the ultimate irony is that I can't even harvest the deer because of community regulations!
We have about 200 sq ft of garden space in raised beds. We just finished our 2nd year of urban farming in this house so the startup costs have eclipsed any savings over buying at Whole Foods or other 'expensive' markets. I hope over time that will decrease, but as if yet there are no savings to speak of.
Not even remotely close to breaking even, especially given the low cost of vegetables in season at the grocery store.
Clay soil...hard as concrete.....so tons of green matter which doesn't cost a huge amount....but i bought a pitch fork....then there is the cost of tilling.....and seeds/plants.....pest control.....weed control (surrounded by Bermuda grass)....stakes/cages....insect dust.....trellis.....
Had the most beautiful tomato plants, and heads of lettuce, and eggplants, and cabbage, and lilies, and zucchini, and squash...and more.
The DEER loved it all! There is nothing as satisfying as coming out in the morning and seeing a dozen perfect heads of red and green lettuce mowed down to the root. You just want to jump for joy that the cycle of nature is complete.
I garden because it is wonderful therapy. I enjoy it immensely, but breaking even/making money/materially reducing the overall food cost...not even close.
And the ultimate irony is that I can't even harvest the deer because of community regulations!
A very common story for gardeners.,it sometime seems everything is againt u.
Moles gophers, rabbits, deer, elk, mice . Then the clay soil . I just added a Foot of mushroom compost on top. After years of trying to amend clay soil,it just turns back to clay concrete after winter. I,add huge amounts of compost from the horses .. Finally hauled in a few yards of compost.
Then the water system, green house to grow from seed and heat expenses. Pot trans potting from seedling flats to grow pots. Mediums of different types, lights it just never stops.
Then every spring I'm glad I worked so hard all winter . Now I have hundreds of plants to add to the wild life buffet to plant.
I use milk as a anti fungal and purchase bugs to eat the bad bugs....set traps for the gophers at 15 bucks a pease. Then poison 4 moles....
Soaker hoses and timers all the thing that adds up.,especially timers r needed if a summer vaca is planned.
I will admit I could grow anything in my zone and did. It was a lot of fun. I'm so glad I have the pics thru all the 22 yrs of gardening.,now I am down sizing..,arthritis makes it to much to do the ache. Now it down to a manageable size and still every year find myself downsizing more.
The best part was teaching my grandchildren and friends and we all shared our bounty.
Long story short, I can't get past the convenience and quality of walking out my back door and picking what we want for dinner. That said, my wife and I have had multiple conversations about the garden "saving us money". At the end of the day, I'd say no, but that is mainly because I'm always looking to expand and add to it.
Here are my high points:
- you can't beat the freshness or flavor
- the convenience is priceless
- harvested rain (3 55gal barrels) provided 50% of our watering thru a drip system
- compost, compost, compost....you can't beat it!
- the only vegetables we bought were onions, celery, garlic and potatoes
I was in my local supermarket yesterday and spotted iceberg lettuce at $2.99 - the heads were not even that big. Our vegans are going to have to learn to garden or go hungry! Perhaps inflation will make home gardening profitable again?
My dad has always been good with gardens. I'd definitely say he saves money with it.
On the other hand, I just can't seem to make it work. I'd definitely say I spend more than we reap .
So, imo, if you can do it without all the fancy tools, enjoy putting the time into it, and actually have a green thumb, you can do it cheaply and it will definitely save on groceries.
I don't seem to have the patience for it, and we travel a lot some summers.
Unless you live in the country and have a huge garden I don't think one gardens to save money. It is a hobby that does produce a certain amount of financial benefits, if you take into consideration you do get something useful out of it, compared to a hobby like golf that produces nothing in return except a lot of fun. We garden for the flavor, convenience and yes, to some degree knowing our food is healthy and knowing where it comes from.
I save money on things like fresh herbs. When I used to buy them at the store, it was about 2 bucks for a big bunch, and I wasted a lot of it. Now, I just cut some off the herbs garden in the kitchen.
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