Growing a Vegetable Garden Saves You Money

By Paul Gardener
Published on June 14, 2010
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Digging in the soil is good for your wallet, as well as your physical and emotional well-being.
Digging in the soil is good for your wallet, as well as your physical and emotional well-being.
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What tastes better than sun-kissed tomatoes fresh from the vine?
What tastes better than sun-kissed tomatoes fresh from the vine?
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Plant potatoes and more to keep your grocery bill low.
Plant potatoes and more to keep your grocery bill low.
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Produce fresh from your garden tastes great and satisfies more than your appetite.
Produce fresh from your garden tastes great and satisfies more than your appetite.
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Teach your children the joys of gardening and the wonders of producing their own food.
Teach your children the joys of gardening and the wonders of producing their own food.
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A raised bed, stuffed with vegetables, helps everyone with rising food costs.
A raised bed, stuffed with vegetables, helps everyone with rising food costs.

I love growing a vegetable garden. It’s a simple enough thing to say, but I really, really love home vegetable gardens! The simple act of placing a seed in fertile soil, watering it and harvesting its fruits is almost a personal revolution. It’s a way of declaring my independence and providing healthful, fresh food for my family. And I always assume we save some money, but just how much?

When Grit Editor Hank Will posed this question, I didn’t have an answer. I live in the suburbs and cultivate food on most of my quarter-acre lot. I was certain that my family ate better with less expense because of our gardening efforts, but I never actually did the math. So I decided to make the calculations and give Hank an honest answer. Here goes. 

Building the spreadsheet

A few years back when we moved to our new home, I had the opportunity to start a garden from scratch. The soil I was stuck with was soil only in the sense that it was on the surface of the Earth, and it had things growing in it – lots of weeds. Because of that, I decided to build my garden in raised beds. I could have purchased wood, but because of all the construction around me, I was able to get a lot of scrap 2-by-6s for free. It took more time, but the cost savings was worth it to me; making calculated decisions should always be a part of the garden, whether it’s buying supplies or deciding when to plant.

For my planting medium, I went with a soilless mix. Each of my five 4-by-6 raised beds was started with a mix of 1?3 each compost, peat and vermiculite. Buying all that growing medium and the hardware to build my beds cost me nearly $200 – it would have been substantially more without the free 2-by-6s. 

Running the numbers

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