| Price of Seeds | Cost at CSA* or Harris Teeter | Amount Produced | Price if purchased |
| Heirloom Tomatoes ($1.79) (unavailable at Home Depot, link to similar product) | $2.99 (for 2)* | 46 | $68.77 |
| Squash ($1.35) | $2.99 (for 2)* | 0 | $0.00 |
| Zucchini ($1.19) | $2.99 (for 2)* | 16 | $23.92 |
| Bell Peppers ($1.59) | $1.99 (for 2)* | 86 | $85.57 |
| Banana Peppers ($1.59) | $0.43 | 97 | $41.71 |
| Onions ($1.59) | $1.27 | 2 | $2.54 |
| Pumpkins ($1.43) | $6.99 | 3 | $20.97 |
| Cucumbers ($1.35) | $0.79 | 21 | $16.59 |
| Sunflowers ($1.35) | $2.29 | 7 (about 2 cups) | $2.29 |
| Brussels Sprouts ($1.59) | $3.49 | 0 | $0.00 |
| Supplies | |||
| Potting Soil (used sparingly to start seeds, previously purchased) $0.00 | |||
| Gloves and a trowel (given as birthday gift) $0.00 | |||
| Plow (borrowed) $0.00 | |||
| Fencing to keep out critters ($34.97) | |||
| Garden Safe Insect Killer ($5.79) | |||
| Garden Safe Fungicide ($5.47) | |||
| Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Fruits and Vegetables Granules ($12.47) | |||
| A cucumber plant when my other cucumber plants died (gifted from my FIL) $0.00 | |||
| Tax | |||
| $5.14 | |||
| Total Spent | Total Produced (plus tax) | Total Savings | |
| $78.56 | $280.73 | $202.17 |
Additional Notes:
Garden Start Up Costs
I kept my start up costs very low. I didn’t create raised beds and my garden was by no means
“pretty.” I can’t keep up with Martha here. This isn’t rural New England!
Quite a few people around the blogosphere make a big deal about the start up costs of gardens. There’s very low start up costs if you keep it low. And yes, there is no guarantee that anything will sprout (just look at my squash!), but if you are successful, growing a garden can be a fun way to save on grocery costs.
Store Pricing
I used my CSA’s veggie pricing when available because I think it more accurately reflects the pricing of local produce. When not available, I used the pricing of a local grocer, Harris Teeter. (Yes, I know veggies might be cheaper somewhere else, this is just a good estimate, ya’ll!)
Novice Gardener
I think it’s also important to note that I am totally a beginning gardener. This is my first time keeping anything alive– including houseplants! I know there will be bad years and good years, but I believe with experience my vegetable gains will increase, thus increasing my savings.
The time factor
Yes, growing a garden (even a small one, like mine) takes time. Most weekends I was out there pulling weeds. I watered the plants almost every day (unless it rained). P.S. We have well water, so there was no cost for the water. But growing something, ANYTHING, keeping it alive, then eating something I grew with my own two hands has been one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done. EVER! And that includes getting my Master’s degree.
Have you ever planted a garden? If so, were you successful? Do you think it saved you money? Did you make an insane chart like I did? Let me know in the comments!
love,
melanie
Great post! I just have a small flower bed next to our house that I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and a couple of strawberry plants in. Every single thing tastes so much better than store bought! Love showing my kids the process too.
Yes! I didn’t even mention how much better my own veggies taste!
Awesome to see how much is saved when you grow your own veggies. I am going to try cucumbers and beans next year and maybe green peppers, oh and basil. I don’t like tomatoes or squash, unfortunately. But I am going to try the others in big planters on my back deck.
Yes, try it! Let me know how it turns out!
Wow GREAT JOB!!! This is amazing. And on the first try!
I am so lucky: we share a small house with another couple, (each his own floor) and our garden is huge. Beside ten fruit trees we have a big veggie patch. The biggest luck is that our downstairs friend is a passionate gardener and preserver. He plants more then what they can eat and we may pick freely. I planted pumpkins, peppers, radishes and other stuff, but there was already abundant produce growing spontaneously from last years seeded plants..you get the picture?! So much free food, someone willing to care for the garden, (we all work on it by the way) and my fiancé is a landscape gardener so he has shovels and knowledge 😉
We agreed on no chemicals in our garden and make our own compost. Now..what a rant.
Anyway it is helping so much to keep costs down. I buy flour, cheese and sugar and that’s all we need since a few boxes of grains we have stored last a long time.
Oh my goodness, I am so jealous! I hope one day my gardening will be that prolific, but until then I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done. Thanks for the comment!