How a Garden Can Save You Money

The money savings of growing even a small portion of your own food can really add up. Let's look at some examples based on a small beginner's garden plot with a minimum of space allotted.

You may have a one time investment in some digging tools. A shovel, hoe, and trowel may run about $30 at WalMart, and with a small starter plot you won't need more than that. If you purchase a few tomato plants, let's say 3 beefsteak varieties and 3 roma types for about $2 per plant, you can figure on $12. Tomato stakes will cost about 50¢ each at most lumber/home stores; that's $3 more. Use strips of soft rags to tie your plants to the stake, which cost $0. OR, cages are at least $3 each for small spindly ones, and at least $6 each for sturdier ones. If you want cages, buy the sturdy ones. The smaller ones will tip over in a good wind and take your plants with them. If you don't have your own compost you will need some organic fertilizer. Try the Sea Magic from Burpee: $6 for enough to last all season.

You can figure conservatively on 75 pounds of tomatoes per plant over the growing season. Those 6 plants should give you (conservatively) 450 pounds of tomatoes. In season, you might pay about $1 per pound at a market. Organic tomatoes might cost you $2 per pound at a market. That means that those six tomato plants could produce $450 or $900 organic dollars worth of tomatoes. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

Let's look at green beans, another easy-to-grow vegetable that's a favorite on the dinner table. As a general rule, two ounces of green bean seeds will produce about 35 pounds of green beans in about 20 feet of row. This varies by the variety of the bean you plant, what spacing you use between plants, and whether you are planting bush-type or pole beans. It also includes the several pickings you will make over the entire growing season. That's a good average yield estimation, which means that a seed cost of about $2 will give you about $70 worth of fresh, delicious green beans. Prices of fresh produce vary so much across the country that you could save much more.

You may have a hard time thinking of eating that many fresh vegetables. Even if you don't freeze or can your excess produce, you will be able to eat your fill all summer long with some to give away, and you'll save a chunk of change doing it. What if you also grow lettuce and radishes? Iceberg lettuce usually costs about a DOLLAR A HEAD! Every home gardener I know grows leaf or Boston types of lettuces, never iceberg. Iceberg does not have the nutritional content that the greener leaf varieties contain, so you will be gaining nutritive value as well as cost value. Wow.

I purposely did not include your labor as a cost, because the health benefits you will get from doing even a small amount of garden work are immeasurable positives. Don't forget the benefits from eating fresh-picked organic foods. And gardening is a great stress reliever; many people use gardening as a time to meditate or relax.