The Economic Garden
VermontCathy Posts:
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October 5
There are many reasons to have a garden. It's relaxing, it produces food even if you can't buy it elsewhere, the food you grow is healthier than many of the atlernatives, and so on.
In this discussion, I'd to specifically talk about the "saving money" aspect of gardening. This is the direction I'm moving as I try harder to make the garden pay for itself.
I have not run detailed financials on my garden, but I know from looking at expenses and rough estimates of what I get back that some crops are paying their own way and others are not. As the global financial situation deteriorates, I'm more interested in focusing on the stuff that makes economic sense.
My garden choices are also influenced by the small space I have. My native soil is poor clay, so most gardening is done in raised beds, and building beds and stocking them with good soil adds more costs. So I am looking for maximum productivity per square foot, not just per dollar.
Potatoes -- not worth it, at least not if I purchase certified disease-free seed every year. I have found that I can reseed at least one year without disease problems, but it's still very expensive for the yield I get. This year I spent over $80 on potato tubers, plus more on grow bags, and the total amount I got was about one shopping bag worth. I can't justify it any more.
Carrots -- seed is cheap, but they tie up garden space for the entire season. I often grow them under tomatoes, which works, but sometimes they remain very small. It's probably worth growing a few, but I don't see them as a major calorie crop, even though they have a lot of potential.
Lettuce, spinach, mustard -- cheap seed, grows easily, provides nutrients and roughage but few calories. The last couple of years I have planted too much of these crops because they are so easy and productive, and I get more than I can use. They also don't store well.
Tomatoes -- excellent source of vitamins, but few calories. Great product to provide umami flavor and body to sauces, salsa, and similar items. Plants tend to sell for about $1, or you can start them from seed with a lot of time and effort but very little cost. Some years I get a good crop, some not. There is a lot of variation in yield between different varieties. Next year I am going to experiment with a wide variety of different tomatos types and find out what works best. We eat a lot of tomato sauce, and if I could grow enough tomatoes instead of spending almost $60 for 10 lbs in canning season it would definitely save money.
Onion bulbs -- I had a terrible return on onions when I started gardening here. It's hard to get onions started from seed and get them big enough to harvest bulbs in one year, and if it takes two years, it's tying up space that could grow other things. I switched to buying transplants online, which worked, but was expensive and the resulting bulbs were still small. Only a few types of onions are available as sets, so I never liked that path. Eventually I discovered multiplier onions, including walking onions, potato onions, and shallots. Every year I plant some bulbs, let them multiply over the season, then harvest some and replant some for next year. I still don't get as many onions as I use over the course of a year, but now the ongoing cost is very low and I do get usable onions.
Scallions or green onions -- These are far quicker and easier to grow than bulbing onions, and we use them heavily in many dishes. Seeds are cheap, which is good because onions are biennials, making it hard to produce and save your own seed for next year. The stalks of walking onions, shallots, and potato onions can also be used as scallions. Spring onions (Syboes) are perennials, and can also make good scallions.
Cucumbers -- We grow these mainly for pickling. Seeds are cheap, many varieties are available, and making pickles is quick and easy. But you do have to buy a significant amount of canning supplies, including vinegar in bulk, so you have to take that into account. I will continue to grow and can them, but I can't really call them a staple.
Peas -- Cheap to buy seed, and can save seed once you get them going. Yields are decent, certainly enough to make them worth growing. They stop producing in the heat of summer, so you can pull them and grow something else the second half of the year, even in a short season climate like mine. We freeze as many peas as possible for winter.
Beans -- Probably the single crop that produces the most pounds of food for us at the lowest cost. Seeds are cheap, many varieties are available, and they can be eaten fresh, water bath canned with acids, pressure canned, or frozen. We eat them as green beans and also as shellies or dried beans.
Strawberries -- Cheap to buy initially, not as cheap as seed, but for $25 you can buy enough plants to create a solid bed. If you manage them properly, they will produce for many years, sending out runners that create new plants. We love strawberries and strawberry jam, so the amount of garden planted in them has slowly risen over time.
Raspberries -- Delicious, but not very produce per plant. You need a lot of plants to do much, they are more expensive than strawberries, and they take longer to spread. But they are perennials and will keep producing once established. Each year I get a few more plants coming up on their own and a little more yield.
Apples -- We inherited several apple trees when we bought the property. Some are good cultivated varieties, other are wild and produce small fruit that is less sweet. We use them all, making apple jelly, apple chutney, applesauce, apple pies, apple dumplings, apple turnovers, apple cake, and more!
What crops do you grow to improve your financial situation? What would you like to grow that would pay for itself? What crops have you found don't make financial sense for you?
Grow Your Own Vegetables Team 
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Avoid mold, disease, and bugs with proper airflow
Supercalifragilistic Seeds: On Day 1, join Stacey for a guided visualization and the 5 things that can kill your magic garden before it starts.
Wonderful Water: On Day 2, discover the magic of water and the importance of a positive mindset.
Magic Micro-Heroes: On Day 3, learn about everything in the soil that is working for you and your garden.
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