M is for Money

The best produce around can be grown in your very own backyard. The fruits and vegetables you grow will have more nutrients and fewer chemicals than the stuff you buy in the store. And for those who understand the environmental benefits of eating local, you can’t get closer than the backdoor. But is it truly cheaper to grow your own, or will it cost less to purchase your produce?

Like many things in life, a garden can cost as little or as much as you want it to. In part it depends on your property, some lend themselves to vegetables easily while others require coaxing to produce anything edible. My own falls into the latter category. If I ran a cost/benefit analysis of our own garden, looking at the value of the produce received versus the cost of materials used, at best it’s a wash. We have spent hundreds of dollars getting our garden to its current state. But after all that work, it now takes very little money to plant each year.

The Early Costs are the Worst

Starting a garden from scratch will cost some money, especially if you don’t have any tools or garden implements. You will need shovels, trowels, rakes and hoes along with means to water and support your plants. There are stakes and tomato cages you can buy, pots or raised planter beds. If your soil sucks, you will have to import potting soil and mix in additives to improve it. There are fertilizers and pest controls to purchase. Some plants are a long term investment, like fruit trees. I found that in the first year, the costs can be overwhelming.

My advice is to start slow with just a few key items and buy things as you need them. Our first year we tried to improve the soil we had already, the next we built raised planter beds. Those beds will last for years but took time and money to construct. Many of the things you buy, with the exception of most plants, are reusable. Pots and stakes or tomato cages can be used year after year. Garden tools, when properly cared for, will last for a decade or more. The fruit trees you plant will eventually bear fruit year after year with just a little care. Hence the initial costs are high, but eventually there is no more to buy. At that point, you will reap more in produce than you are paying out to maintain your garden.

Tracking our Cost/Benefit

We are in our 4th year of gardening the same section of our yard. At this point we have plenty of pots and raised planter beds along with a drip irrigation system reaching all of it. We have enough stakes and cages, ties and trellises. The only thing we had to purchase was plants. I am weighing and tallying our garden totals for the season to see how an established garden stacks up in a cost benefit analysis. I estimate we’ve spent about $75 on plants and fertilizers for the year. I see our garden as an enjoyable hobby, so I’m not accounting for our time spent. With the drip system, raised beds and mulch I’ve developed a garden that requires very little time input to be successful. So far our only harvest has been 4 pounds of tomatoes and some basil, but the year is young. For the first time our grape has fruited, I thought it would never happen. Unfortunately the dwarf peach tree is having an off season and I doubt we’ll see the 10 pounds of peaches I got last year. The house came with several mature pomegranate trees, which produce hundreds of poms. It’s a valuable crop -if I knew how to sell them. To calculate the value of our produce (what it would cost to purchase in the store) I plan to use the regular store prices. Our garden is organic and many are heirloom varieties that cost more to purchase, but I don’t want to stack the deck in favor of the garden. Stay tuned for updates throughout the summer.

There is a lot of joy and pride to be had in growing your own produce. It may not equal a huge cost savings, but over time your garden can translate into better health for you and your bank account.


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