Howdee
I really don't think of what I save I think of the better things we are eating. No chemicals and no peservitives ( or how ever you spell it) I also really don't know if I save too awful much. When I can I think as each pint is worth a dollar and each quart 2 dollars. I can about 1000 jars a year. Well actually if ya think of it that way we save a lot. Not to mention the stuff we eat fresh. I guess what Im saying is it is really hard to put a price on good food.

Purpleacres

Not much percentage wise as it is amazing how much of the "grocery bill" is actually inedible. Few of us would even consider making wages. Growing is recreation pure and simple. Of course vegetable growing does have some advantages over other forms of gardening in that we eat good in season and, in my opinion at least, many vegetable plants are as eye pleasing as ornamentals.

If I write off (as I tend to do) gardening expenses as 'leisure costs', and therefor in a completely different budget category to grocery costs, I've been saving at least $20 a week (out of my single person's grocery budget) by eating out of the garden for the past month or so. If I add up what all that potting mix cost me, though, and balanced it out... um, I'd be nowhere near coming out on top.

But I figure, I garden now rather than doing other, more expensive things I used to enjoy, like going to see movies or spending all my money on clothes. So hour per hour gardening is a way cheaper way to have fun, more rewarding, AND feeds me (when I get it right). I haven't spent a cent on expensive grocery-store bunches of leafy greens, way too big for me to eat before they go bad, in two months- I just step out the back door with a pair of scissors and step back in with exactly the amount I need for my dinner. Not having to throw away wilted, bad grocery produce is almost as satisfying as the food I get from my garden (and garden produce is never wasted, it's composted!).

According to DH we probably could buy what I grow cheaper since water is so expensive here in CA. I grow veggies because I think they taste better fresh from the garden when you pick them at their peak. I know string beans and tomatoes sure do. And I grow a lot of things that are hard to find at the grocery store or are very expensive like heirloom tomatoes. And there is a big difference in the quality of the produce especially on things like parsnips and turnips which get soft at the store. All those reasons and I just like to garden. Overall it is a pretty inexpensive hobby.
Clare

We haven't bought produce for years now,barring what I can't/don't grow here,e.g., tangerines & persimmons.
Some things are expensive in a store,like parsnips and sweet potatoes.We have plenty and give some away.
Amortising costs to garden vs. grocery bill,break even happened a couple years back.
As others have said,you always know what you have when you grow it yourself.
And I'm neither green thumb nor "gardening is therapy" type.

A combo of :
Big Garden + Long Growing Season + Moderate Climate + Unlimited Water (deep well)
= Good Savings + Diverse Produce + Organic Quality (+ good exercise).

Never really crunched the numbers but we grow ~90% of our veggies & fruits. Seeds are cheap, Fruit trees are a one time cost, and compost is free. The Labor is very intense, but priceless ;o)

I'd like ot think that I save some money, though I can't quite put an exact figure down. It greatley depends on what you grow. Once you've established your garden the costs to maintain it will go down greatly. But ultimately it's about quality and freshness. Anyone here can tell you that a tomato from the grocery is more like styrofoam with red dye added. I like growign herbs because they never wilt, grow in abundance, and I don't have to make a trip to the grocery store because I don't have one of the herbs in a recipe.

If you are on a tight budget you should look to grow things that are more pricey in the grocery store. Also, farming is subsidized so that food is only cheap in the store because your tax dollars are already paying for it. If ever there were a food crisis you'd want that garden for sure.

In my small garden this last season I know I saved probably $15 dollars a week with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Whole season total was $120.

Four cherry tomato plants produced in the neighborhood of 30 pounds of tomatoes that we actually got to eat (instead of the squirrels!) One eggplant produced 12 fruits. I didn't count the peppers but the two plants gave us all we wanted to eat for the whole summer. Half of one small package of green beans produced enough for two people to eat a couple of times a week for 6 or 7 weeks. I use very little bought fertilizer, mostly homemade compost. I watered a few times during our severe drought in late summer but we're on a well so it's almost free. I haven't done the math but the savings were considerable if you look at the prices of veggies in the stores. The eggplants alone would have cost me more than the whole garden cost to plant and grow.

Since I retired a few years ago, have tried planting an extensive food garden.

I harvested apricots, apples, oranges, limes, lemons, boysenberries, macadamias, almonds, plums, peaches, figs, mandarin oranges from my trees. Made jams/jellies, frozen juices, and sauces.

Most of my veggies are grown in boxes - 9 in all - and included tomato, lots of peppers, celery, onion, garlic, beets, cabbage, broccoli, lots of lettuce, cukes for pickles, beans, snap peas for stir fries. Either canned, pickles, or froze these. Grow herbs - oregano, mint, thyme - as ground covers and for drying. Also horseradish.

I also keep a hive of bees and enough honey for our family and some gifts, also 3 chickens for fresh eggs and giving.

Haven't added it all up in cost accounting - but the exercise is great and keeps me out of mischief. I'll be 86 come January this year - and it is getting a lot easier.

Make my own compost - shred up the trimmings and have lots of chicken poo to make it decompose in a hurry.

I recommend this lifestyle - it has opened up a lot of new food ideas and have met a lot of nice folks who volunteer their time and expertise to teach how to grow, preserve the harvest right here in these forums.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

You bet - I save on the grocery bills.

Truthfully, I'd have to say I actually wind up paying MORE for the veggies I grow than the ones I buy - but it's just so much fun to plant them and watch them grow: It's a hobby like any other, and a great one, in my opinion. Gets you outdoors and active, and encourages you to eat lots of healthy fresh veggies! Worth every penny.

What I look at, my home organinc grown is better that putting toxins from GMO food crops in my system.

I can't do 100%, but every lb counts

It cost me a lot more, but I don't care. I am completely turned off of store bought veggies. I also give a lot away and my neighbors love me. I don't grow toms, but my neighbor does, he also does the corn. I supply the squash, Okra, lettuce, kale, and collards. Right now I have a winter garden in. It is not doing well because I could not plant any earlier due to the damn heat. Still I will have lettuce and otther greens to give away and all I can eat.
I figure I pay 3 times the amount to grow the stufff than I could buy it for. Ah, but the fun I am having. PLEASE DON'T MENTION the Greenhouse I am building. Just like a boat. LOL

1eyedJack and the Dawg

It would be difficult (and time-consuming) to add that up, but especially if you buy organic vegetables, you will save money. Last year I purchased two kale plants and at the time I bought them I thought they were sort of expensive, I think they were over a dollar apiece. But they produced enormous amounts of kale for many months, until our weather got really hot in the early summer. I think I could have kept them alive through the summer if I had tried, but I needed the space for other things, and by then the kale leaves were tasting bitter. But for all those months, I noticed that organic kale of the same variety at the farmers market was about $4 a bunch. If I had bought just one bunch each week I guess would have saved between $80 and $100 just on kale. I was eating at least that much of it, and giving more away.

Then there was the organic looseleaf lettuce I grew. I paid $2 or $3 for a large packet of mixed seed (still using it this year) and also supplied myself, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Organic lettuce was going for $2 to $3 a head but since I cut my lettuce leaves with scissors and let them regrow from the roots, I used the same plants all fall and winter and spring and saved an awful lot of money for myself and others.

Beets were another good example. They are ridiculously easy to grow and a seed packet seems to last a lifetime. Yet organic beets (heck, even non-organic fresh beets) are very expensive at the market.

Not every vegetable provides such a drastic cost comparison, of course. Zucchini squash is usually pretty cheap at the store, and of course it produces so much on the vine that you want to pay people to take it off your hands. Some other vegetables can be bought cheaply, although if you buy only organic vegetables most of those will cost twice as much as non-organic and that makes your cost comparison with homegrown a little more meaningful.

But as most every gardener points out, the taste of homegrown food is much better, and the knowledge that food you grew yourself is safe for you and your family is priceless. When you factor in pride of accomplishment, convenience at cooking time, and the joy and pleasure of being close to nature, the value of gardening rises exponentially.

Tomatoes here run $2-3+ a lb...organic $3+ (which is how I grow).

Basil runs $12-$17 a lb here.

Both are very easy to grow in mid-NC.

The main reason I grow, besides being able to control my food production for a time period, is I grow some stuff I ordinarily wouldn't buy or can't buy locally for a reasonable price (if at all) like fresh okra (I like it garden crisp/fresh) and specialty peppers.

There was a similar thread to this last year, to which I have posted a link below. It was quite lively.

Those who have read some of my other posts know that I garden for a number of reasons. Besides feeding my family (and friends, neighbors, and anyone too slow to outrun me), I also grow seed crops to maintain a seed bank, and do some amateur breeding & experimentation.

In terms of money spent, only in the past few years have I finally come out ahead. Most of my expenditures for poles, fencing, and equipment are finally over; and as my seed saving has become more effective, I find myself spending less and less for seed.

Of course, I still can't resist trying new varieties each year... what can I say, it's an obsession. So many varieties, so little time.

But to focus only on money is to miss the point. We gain so much more from our gardens, things which are hard to place a value on. Exercise. Relaxation - except maybe for the planting rush, or the height of the canning season. Self-reliance. Growing the varieties _we_ choose, and picking them at the peak of flavor. Growing food with- or without chemicals, according to our convictions. Sharing the fruits of our labors (literally) with both friends and strangers. Sampling the incredible diversity of nature's bounty.

I expect that vegetable gardening will extend my life, not only because of what it does for me directly, but because I do it instead of other less-healthy pastimes. Besides, you meet the nicest, most generous people. ;-) To me, that's priceless.

Here is a link that might be useful: Can you buy it cheaper than you can grow it

Depends a lot on your individual situation. If you have to buy everything, soil, fertilizer, etc.you're doing it for love. But if you make your own, you come out on top most of the time. Part of my enjoyment in gardening is to see how little I can actually spend on it! But, it is hard to place a dollar value on good-tasting food and the enjoyment of growing things.

I have a lot of friends around here who have spent $30-$50 on massive bags of soil for their garden without even checking in with the city composting site where they could have gotten a truckload of "agricultural mix" topsoil/compost for $15.

Some cities/towns simply give away their compost. One thing to remember is almost all of this compost in most areas is leaf compost. Still, if you can find a good source for topsoil you can buy in bulk (or occasionally get free) what you need and mix your compost in yourself for some great soil. Doing this, though, you might want to get a soil test done. This is free in NC, btw.

Too few people around here take advantage of any of this as I've seen walking around my neighborhood.

Zeedman said: "I expect that vegetable gardening will extend my life, not only because of what it does for me directly, but because I do it instead of other less-healthy pastimes."

Exactly!

I've only been doing this for six months and I realised the other day that it's been about exactly that long since I last turned on the television. What a wonderful realisation. I don't miss it one bit, in fact, I think I'll give it away to someone who might use it.

It also occurs to me that when adding up the cost of gardening and seeing how much we save on groceries, we should be looking not only at fresh, quality, organic produce- but HOME DELIVERED as well. The convenience of not having to go to the grocery store for fresh veg is huge. When I look at the price of a box of home delivered organic produce, I think I've paid for all my potting mix, pots & seeds already!

Considering how expensive gas is, and how far I'd have to drive to the weekend farmer's market, I think my home garden is a good deal. Plus, I don't have to spend money on a gym membership every month. I just hoe and weed and turn compost. ;)