I haven't been gardening long enough to calculate the costs of purchasing gardening supplies versus the financial benefits of the vegetable harvest, but in my second year of growing on a hobby level I have definitely learned that I need to be more conscious of the money I spend on supplies because it's easy for the out-flow of cash to out pace the in-flow of edible food that is actually possible from a small plot garden.
I took a quick walk through the produce department of the local grocery store tonight and quickly noticed that some vegetables cost a lot much more than others. For example, tomatoes, egg plant, green peppers, bannana peppers, jalepeno peppers, and poblano peppers were on the upper pricing tier ranging in price from $2.99 - $3.99 per pound. One particular out of season vegetable - okra - labeled as "a product of Honduras" was even higher at $4.49 per pound. In the normal growing season okra would likely sell for a much lower price point. The okra illustrates the economic benefits of planning your family's meals around "in season" vegetables. Squash, green beans, and cucumbers were at the lower end of the pricing tiers ranging from 75 cents per cucumber, 99 cents for an entire package of squash, to $1.49 a pound for green beans.
In the two minutes it took to scan the vegetables and prices in the store it became clear that small garden plots increase their chances of breaking even or becoming profitable if higher value vegetables are grown rather than lower value vegetables. I'm not sure we'll ever dedicate space for green beans or squash in our garden because both take up a lot of area in an above ground growing bed.
I'm still not convinced that my small garden plot will ever break even in the short run, but perhaps my chances will improve by maximizing use of space and improving soil quality.
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