Hi, I really don't think that gardening has to be expensive. You can make your beds from bendable branches like I did and the price tag on them is $0. You do not need to use mell's mix instead fill the beds with homemade compost and some old potting soil. Transplants are expensive but all you need to do is start from seed. I bought my seeds and jiffy starter trays from TGN's pumkin nook for $10 including shipping. You can make oragami newspaper pots and then your not even paying for tape. As far as fertilizer well I pick up a bag of blood meal for $3 and get free kelp meal every febuary from the local home and garden show. I also bought a spool of fishing line and use that for my grids and trellises. I don't think I've spent more then $20 on my vegtable garden. So gardening doesn't have to be expensive.

Ok hope this helps.

I'm right with ya. I continue to spend money on my garden. Of course my econ background calls it investment.

For instance, the beds and soil I built last year will cost me nothing for years to come. The light setup I am building this year will do the same. Even the seeds I bought will last for a few years, even if I weren't planning on saving seed from the OP varieties. Lastly, sure you can buy fresh vegetables locally, but count on prices of that produce rising in the future. Learning to grow your own families produce needs will look like a stroke of genius in a few years.

Gardening doesn't have have to be expensive, as was previously said. However, if you invest wisely, it will pay off in the end!

You have to distribute your cost over many years. How many years are up to you, the hard part is separating the value of therapy, relaxation and aesthetics from food production? If you do things correctly, your only cost will be seeds and if you save your seeds, your annual cost will be near zero. You can add a freezer to that initial cost and still be money ahead.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

I agree with Sinf, lol, what else is new?
As daylily said, you can abridge your costs. It's just like most hobbies, you spend as much or as little as you want.
The crazy kook in me longs to point out that last year we had an enormous food shortfall internationally. I expect food prices to climb dramatically.

It is a win-win situation.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

Sinfonian is right. Yes, the innitial cost can be high, but it's a one time cost.

exactly. Most of the expense is a once every 10-15 year cost. So long as you have a compost bin/pile of some sort to freshen the beds up every year or so seeds will be about the only cost for quite a while.

I guess it just comes down to if I feel like I need the additional cost of raised beds and soil mix.

My first garden plot of my own was a 10x10 area that I tilled in 3 bags of composted cow manure from Lowes. Probably the best harvest of zuchs and squash I've ever had. Peppers and tomatoes were good too when I remembered to pick them and they weren't overly ripe. This was clay soil that was hard as a rock, and I didn't ever water that garden.

Now I'm planning nice raised beds, drip irrigation, hoop houses, etc..the whole 9 yards if you will.

As you can tell I'm the type of guy that if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it all the way.

I just need to settle in my mind that it is worth the time and cost to do it versus removing the grass and tilling in some composted manure. Our soil is pretty good, no standing water, and grass and weeds grow like crazy in it.

Anyway...that's where my mind is at now while I'm freezing my patooty off waiting for my onion seedlings to germinate, and watching my indoor lettuce garden grow!

I'm still going to have a garden, because I like doing it and enjoy the serenity of the garden, I just need to figure out how I want to do it.

I look at it this way. If the time and money you spend on the garden would be used to make more money, then it's a waste. If it would be spent to get you out of debt, then it's a waste. But if like most people, you would just spend that money on other things to occupy your time, then it's not a waste because at least with this hobby, you get outside and do some physical activity. It's also a very good way to relieve stress and develop risk taking confidence. You also develop patience and the ability to plan and execute a project from start to finish. Most jobs are "cog in the machine" jobs so this hobby pushes your limits.

I agree with what everyone here has posted. It comes down to your goals.

What is your goal with the garden?

If it is to get great tasting vegetables, as you mentioned, you have already achieved that with your original plot.

If you want it more aesthetically pleasing and to be able to grow more in less space, then this would be a good start.

How long do you plan to do this for? If it is only for one year, then it is not economically wise. But, as pointed out, the initial costs are much higher than your continuing costs. Living in the middle of farm country, you probably have access to some very cheap (possibly free) manure/straw mixture as well. This is a great amendment to your setup annually.

Most importantly, if you don't enjoy doing it, then stop. If you do, then continue to enjoy it, but cut your costs as you can. There are a lot of ways around doing it expensively. I plan on using buried milk jugs in my garden to slowly water the roots of the plants, without the cost of drip irrigation.

I'm a skinflint, so I get what you're saying.
Personally, I'd rather forgo the nice boxes & irrigation and use the time/money to make a compost bin/pile. It sounds like you have a lot of space? A lot of space, a lot of home-made compost, cheap or free manures/mulches, and you're all set up for lasagna type raised beds instead.
(The hoops are still cool though)

Gardening is therapy. What is the cost of a head doctor compared to some wood, potting soil, and seeds?

Dan

I totally agree. I started my garden primarily as a hobby that was good exercise and a stress relief. Smart or lucky, it turned out to be a great investment. Much better than the stock market I might add hehe.
Enjoy your garden.

Posted by sinfonian U:8b A:2 S:5 (SeaWA) (My Page) on Tue, Feb 3, 09 at 16:39

I totally agree. I started my garden primarily as a hobby that was good exercise and a stress relief. Smart or lucky, it turned out to be a great investment. Much better than the stock market I might add hehe.
Enjoy your garden.

See...now you just put it all in perspective for me! Sure I might spend $500 bucks this year, but it's nothing compared to what I've lost!

If going to a farmer's market and buying your fresh veggies would be as rewarding to you as picking them out of your own garden why would you do it?

Mary

Will the money you spend on gardening be spent on something that is addictive or not healthful? E.g. flat screen TV or alcohol? Spend on the garden.

Period.

Dan

gardener_mary even the thought is ludicrous.

dan_staley That depends, is the alcohol going to be in BMs?

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

It's interesting to see how everyone rationalizes their own approach to gardening. Nice thread.

Something similar was posted over on the container forum under the heading Are veggies in containers ever a cost savings? I think the answers are very much like the variety of replies here, so I left a link in case you wanted to investigate and compare notes. I could easily have posted my reply to that thread here & it would prolly fit right in. ;o) I said:
I think in some instances it's a savings, and in others - not. E.g., when I grow tomatoes or lettuce ...., I know I'm really saving a bundle over what the crop would cost at the grocers, but I can't envision cabbage, melons, broccoli, cauliflower ..... you get the picture, as being cost effective.

I too, garden mostly because I find the effort:reward ratio favorable, and the rewards are most often not considered from a material perspective. My rewards are mostly measured in personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment, but that the growing experience helps satisfies a need to nurture (especially the bonsai) is especially fulfilling for me. I suppose the reason I spend so much time here is that it also fulfills that need to nurture and is just a natural extension of the growing experience as a whole. ;o)

Al

jbest,

Alcohol as a product of the hops or grapes you grow is a different story! ;o)

Dan

I hope each year to spend less money on my garden and hope it will eventually "pay for itself". Last year we built the beds and bought compost. This year we are putting together a green house and planting more fruit trees, blueberries and blackberries.

I also spent a ton of money on seeds last year. (And I keep buying more, lol). I hope to start saving seeds this year.

The crummy store bought produce has become so expensive, I can't believe it. Most of it I refuse to buy, YUCK! I want homegrown tomatoes soooooo bad. :)

Connie

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden blog

Connie, your blog rocks!!

carolynp - Thank-you :)

Connie

connie - no fair! You have a garage to build things in, I have to do all of my construction projects outdoors. Oh.....I bet you're gonna enjoy that GH.

EG

Is it worth it? Well, I think it is. We just finished eating all of our potatoes. We still have 6 to 8 more helpings(each one feeding 12 people)of pureed tomatoes that have been in the freezer all winter for pasta things. We have 6 to 8 more things of pesto in the freezer that will take us to May. We are still eating carrots from last year. I have 3 large banana squash's, 8 more butternut squash's, and still lots of frozen beans and corn from last year. I dont spend that much on anything anymore. Some of my seeds I have had for 8 years, and they still work. I definitely think it is more than worth it, not to mention the shape of the economy, and even more so-the healthy things we get around here without all the worries of salmonella,e.Coli, etc....for me, its totally worth it...

For me it's definitely worth it! What I did to eek out more money for the garden budget is to cut back on groceries, this has helped our pocketbook and waistline! All out OJ comes from the garden, about 80% of my greens right now are from the garden, and my harvests get better and better. I want more though! More growing space, and more plants!

The taste is definitely worth it IMO. Plus the satisfaction knowing I grew it myself!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: My gardening blog

Check on compost in your area, rather than buy it at lowes you mighr find it way cheaper. Where I live the county gives you FREE compost by the truckload. And there is a mushroom farm near me that sells it 5 dollars a truckload. At that price I wont buy much soil, I'll just grow mostly in compost. And It costs me about 20 bucks to build a beautiful raised bed with lumber from Lowes. So that's 25, with the bed and compost, and it will last years. Just a thought, be creative and ask around!

good to revisit threads like this during this time of the year, just to remind some of us why were doing this

personally, if i was gardening solely for the food value, id be starving. if i was doing this to save/make money, id be bankrupt.

that said, if satisfaction, patience, accomplishment, and just being in touch with nature was money and food, id be fat and rich.

really. the perpetual patience lesson and watching everything interact with each other is reason enough, even if it costs me thousands a year. (lets not test that theory though...)

what about everyone else, especially with the current state of the union?

I've gotten a lot of our "stuff" off freecycle, or used at estate sales: Fluorescent lights for seed starting, straw bale, cold frame, fencing and stakes, edging, plus every kind of rake, shovel, and fork. Seed trading is cheap, of course. I still end up spending money, but I've only been gardening 3 years, and I spend less every year. And I do notice a difference in the grocery shopping during the gardening season because we eat what we have.

Vegetables are expensive! Especially when your girlfriend is a vegetarian!

There is no value you can easily place on the learning experiences and relaxation thats comes from working the soil and tending to your plot. You dont just learn about growing food, you learn about life, and you learn about yourself.

The investment you make can be a positive one financially though, especially if you focus on the high dollar fruiting crops. If you grow organically, just keep track of the per pound price of organic produce at the store and calculate how much "money" you harvest from the garden. Even if its not organic, the numbers add up.

One of the shortcomings of our lifestyle is that we don't get to see a product from start to finish. This affects our sense of well-being in the areas of accomplishment and pride in our work. Doing a vegetable garden is a start to finish project. Especially if you save seeds and start your own.
You can't buy that at the mall.
Keski