Have you ever started a garden? You probably imagine this perfect, lush land of veggies aplenty, that will be the envy of all your neighbors…but that sounds expensive. So today I ask, will a home garden save you money, or cost you money?
Well, as you might guess, if you want the garden to SAVE money overall, you have to manage your expectations and also be smart about creating and growing it. Because there are definitely horror stories about people who spent way too much on their garden, so that each veggie ends up costing more than it would have at the store.
In fact, there's this book called The $64 Tomato by William Alexander, about a man who calculated that he ended up spending $64 for each tomato his garden grew!! (After calculating the costs of buying tools to till and ho the garden, fertilizing it, getting sprinklers to water it, fencing/wire, and all the other STUFF!)
I don't know about you, but I don't think even the BEST tomato of my life would be worth $64.
So without further ado, here are some tips on how to avoid that:
Is It In Season?
First of all, this sounds obvious, but read up on what you can and can't grow in your area and season. No point trying to grow a lemon tree in the middle of winter! But for a more subtle example, carrots are planted in the spring and harvested in the summer. Whereas, tomatoes are planted in the summer and harvested in fall, because tomato seeds are more susceptible to frost.
Of course, this depends on where you live, and whether early spring frost is a danger for your crops. (Yes, I'm calling them crops…We're getting legit now!! 😉 ) You can find season and climate info on the back of the seed packet.
Next, I know this tip sounds equally obvious, but it's something that people totally LIEEE to themselves about:
Pick Vegetables You'll Like, Cook, and Eat!
I think we all tell ourselves that if we plant 20 kale plants, we're going to eat a kale salad every day! Or if we plant summer squash, even if we don't know how to cook a single dish with it, we'll learn some recipes!!
These are nice goals to have and I totally support them, but personally I would recommend growing veggies and/or fruits that you LOVE and that are easy and COMMON to cook with. After all, if you do you're planting right, you'll probably end up with more than you expected, and you'll have no idea what to do with 30 eggplants just chilling there….
You could give them away to friends and family, sure, but that doesn't sound like a "yes" answer to the question, "Will a home garden save you money?" 😉
Also, pick plants that last a long time before going bad! Potatoes and their sweet potato cousins are both good options.
Also, keep in mind which veggies are actually expensive in the store. Watermelon, for example, can run $5, or even more for organic. And cherry tomatoes can be a rather ridiculous $3 – $4 a pint. So by growing these you could potentially save into the triple digits, if you and your family are really big on them!!
So, will a home garden save you money? Absolutely, if you, AND your family and friends, eat enough!
Which leads me to my last tip:
Use the Neighborhood!
You should totally rely on your family for gardening help…but also network with your neighbors! You would be surprised that more than just gossip goes through the grapevine. 😉
Many of your neighbors will have gardens as well, depending on where you live. So you guys can trade and barter just like the old days, and you can also trade gardening tips!!
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