Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Cost Of Growing Your Own Vegetables?

Has anyone ever asked you "why bother, when you can get all those home-grown vegetables from the organic green market/local stand/grocery store?" 

You mean outside of the ridiculous amount of enjoyment I get in starting the garden off with deciding what to plant, and sowing seedlings and buying transplants, the daily fussing checking in on their progress, and the harvest-to-table enjoyment?

Now I am the first person to admit that the initial outlay of large pots, wood for planter boxes, compost, peat moss, bamboo stakes etc, might put a lot of people off, but I am convinced that over a period of two years or less you're way ahead. More importantly the kids learn a hands on skill that, to my knowledge, isn't taught in schools, and which they can incorporate into their own lives having gotten a little confidence from early on.

My hubby gives me the deer-in-the-headlights look when I (very) casually mention a visit to the big-box DIY store. So I thought I'd take a minute to get my head around the weekly cost of buying veggies from someone else vs. growing them myself.

Free Things First: get your own compost bin going. It's free plant food. My compost bin is a cracked recycle bin, it took a year to get completely underway because my boys would just throw the eggshells/left over snacks (apples, celery stalks, carrot sticks etc) in the trash.

Let's imagine that, like us, you are a family of four, who enjoys stir fries, eggplant parmesan, salads, salsa, veggie soups etc. The below example shows an initial 1st year's outlay of installing a vegetable garden. The 2nd chart shows the costs coming down significantly. Finally I round off my self-debate with our weekly veg grocery cost as a comparison. To view our families weekly harvest during South Florida's veggie season, please take a peek at my previous blog.
My Summer Veggie Garden Rests

1st year outlay example
Assumes you use some of your own garden soil.
Description
#
Unit Price
Cost
15 gallon Pots/Totes
4
$ 10.00
$ 40.00
Compost/Peat Moss/Soil Mix
7
$ 8.00
$ 56.00
Selection of stake bundles
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Alaskan Fish Emulsion 1 gallon
1
$ 13.00
$ 13.00
Wood for one 8’ x 4’ planter box
3
$ 7.00
$ 21.00
Bonemeal 4.5 lbs
1
$ 9.00
$ 9.00
Netting for beans
1
$ 4.00
$ 4.00
Tomato/Pepper/Eggplant Cages
6
$ 4.00
$ 24.00
Tomato Plants
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Pepper Plants
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Eggplants
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Broccoli / Cauli transplants packs
4
$ 4.00
$ 16.00
Assorted Seed Packages
4
$ 2.00
$ 8.00
Sundry items/other veggies
1
$ 25.00
$ 25.00
Miracle Grow/Dynamite examples
2
$ 8.00
$ 16.00


Subtotal
$ 264.00


2nd year outlay example
At this point you've got your own compost pile to add to your garden.
Description
#
Unit Price
Cost
Compost/Peat Moss/Soil Mix
4
$ 8.00
$ 32.00
Selection of stake bundles
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Alaskan Fish Emulsion 1 gallon
1
$ 13.00
$ 13.00
Tomato Plants
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Pepper Plants
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Eggplants
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Broccoli / Cauli transplants packs
4
$ 4.00
$ 16.00
Assorted Seed Packages
4
$ 2.00
$ 8.00
Sundry items/other veggies
1
$ 25.00
$ 25.00
Miracle Grow/Dynamite examples
2
$ 8.00
$ 16.00


Subtotal
$ 142.00
 
Notice the reduced 2nd year Subtotal vs. 1st year's cost?

My weekly vegetable bill alone would be this - if we didn't grow our own!

Description
#
Unit Price
Cost
Broccoli
2
$ 1.99
$ 3.98
Green Peppers 99c/lb
2
$ 0.62
$ 1.24
Red/Yellow/Peppers $1.99/lb
2
$ 0.96
$ 1.92
Cauliflower
1
$ 2.49
$ 2.49
Tomatoes on Vine $1.29/lb
6
$ 0.60
$ 3.60
Broccoli Rabe $1.99/lb
1
$ 2.49
$ 2.49
Bag of Carrots
1
$ 1.99
$ 1.99
Onions White
2
$ 1.00
$ 2.00
Strawberries
1
$ 2.50
$ 2.50
Basil Sprigs/Parsley/Lettuce
3
$ 1.99
$ 5.97
Eggplants $1.99/lb
1
$ 4.00
$ 4.00
Bag of Potatoes
2
$ 4.00
$ 8.00
Celery Bunch
1
$ 1.99
$ 1.99


Subtotal
$ 42.17
Note: I have been very forgiving with the unit costs. For example Green Peppers are sometimes $2.49/lb and Strawberries $5.00 for 16 oz. Baby Eggplants run at $3.49/lb.

Let’s say I would spend $42 over 48 weeks (assume chopped and / or frozen left overs carry us over the remainding weeks.) Over the course of a year that’s approximately $2,000! 

My initial outlay of approximately $300 has yielded a minimum of 7 months of continuous fresh produce. They are not all readily available at the same time, due to differing maturity periods, and cool vs. warm weather veg. But none-the-less, the grocery bill savings are enormous.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me! Now what was the question again.....

4 comments:

  1. I'm thinking a lot of thought and preparation went into this post! I've often said it costs me more to grow my own veggies than it would to buy them. . . but you can't put a price on the enjoyment I get from harvesting home grown tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc. And the more experienced I get, the less expensive it is . . . maybe someday soon I'll break even. :-)

    Great post.

    lei

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you lei! I have wanted to post about this for a year now, so I appreciate the compliment. In one week I had 50 tomatoes. 50! I had to freeze some and gave a lot away to neighbors. One neighbor remarked "they just don't taste like this in the store." Some things I cannot grow, cukes don't 'like' my garden for example. We live and learn don't we?

      Delete
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