Do you actually save money growing your own food? I tracked everything.
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Can you save money on your groceries by growing a garden? To answer that question for myself, I tracked everything I spent my first year starting a garden and recorded the value of all the produce grown. While I wasn't profitable my first year, I think a backyard garden can be well worth your time and money once the bulk of the capital investments are made.
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For the mental health you get while gardening and the nutritional benefits for being fresh and not transported... definitely worth it!
Yes, the benefits go way beyond the money saved
I started gardening like 15 years ago and started market gardening about 10 years ago. The initial setup is expensive for a garden or a farm, but once you have the infrastructure in place it's fairly easy going. Fencing is a must for a garden/small farm. I had to purchase $5,000 dollars worth of rabbit fencing and another $1,000 worth of a nylon deer fencing to keep the critters out of my quarter acre garden. I bring in about $20,000 PROFIT from just those two gardens a year. I also sell potted plants of all fashion and that draws about $10,000. I work a fulltime job and manage to do this. Once you build a clientele list, the produce sells itself.
Best job ever.
That is awesome and honestly what I hope to build out in the future. I’d love a native plant business and grew up selling at farmers markets, which I miss. I loved talking to customers about the food I grew and the general atmosphere of an early morning market.
I live in an area with a ton of hungry garden munchers (deer and rabbits are prolific). I have no fence around my garden and it never gets eaten. I planted a very thick row of comfrey all around my garden. Anything looking for food stops and fills up long before it gets to my garden. Not to mention the tremendous benefits it offers in so many ways to the garden itself. It's the one plant I wouldn't go without. If I had to, I wouldn't garden. Fences come in many ways, what you need is something to stop animals from eating what you grow and if you can achieve that by growing something for them then that's even better😊
I grow for food security and for health. Fresh food honestly makes me feel healthier. I'm disabled with multiple health conditions so I pay attention when something helps.
This was GREAT, btw. Thank you for making it.
Thanks! Security and health are also a big driver for me. I have migraines and arthritis and what I eat directly impacts how I feel. Wishing you the best 💚
Absolutely yes!!! The health benefits from the food and the joy of gardening outweigh this initial cost. As a new business the financial benefits are on the way as you gain more and more experience. Way to go!! Thanks for the detailed breakdown. So interesting. Hi from South Africa 🇿🇦
Much appreciated and agreed! The physical and mental health benefits have been so great. Hope all is well in the southern hemisphere.
There are good years and bad years in gardening just like everything else. Te gardening season before last I couldnt get enough vegetables to do much of anything with. Last season I ended up throwing some in my compost bins because I couldnt get rid of it all. Last year was an over the top bumper crop in my garden, other times you woukd starve if thats all there was to eat. Thats just gardening. Ive been gardening since the spring of 89' and good and bad years are just gonna happen. As Red Green would say, "Hang in there, were all in this together".
I did something similar last year - and there are great things you can do to save even MORE money. For instance, 25 bare root strawberry plants might be $25. But out of my 30 sq ft of strawberry bed I harvested 17 pounds of strawberries last year. Even if you catch them at a good price of $1.50/lb the first year pays for itself. The plants will last for a few years and provide runners that can be captured and used to replace the original plants when they get old and tired. Strawberries are also often found to have high levels of toxic pesticides on them as well.
Using strategies like that, and the seed saving you mentioned, can make food gardening not only an enjoyable hobby, but healthy for the family.
Totally! I'm starting strawberries this year and other perennials. Getting those established will really help drive down the cost even more. Happy gardening!
I grow greens for a hobby, I mostly give it away to family and friends. I feel great when out in the garden. Obviously it's a small garden
I totally understand that. When ever I'm feeling frustrated or a little off, stepping into my garden always helps me reset.
Good vid. It shows that even with startup costs like fencing and bringing in soil you'll be making a profit after 1-2 years. If you garden for 5, 10, 20, 30+ years its a no brainer.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to it getting better each year.
This is the most interesting video I've ever watched on the subject of gardening, it's absolutely worth the time and expense
Thanks and agreed! I'm looking forward to year two with this garden. Already have plants started. Happy gardening!
I loved seeing this breakdown. It is something I’ve been thinking about doing for my garden at some point just to see how it does. Not that the answer will stop me from gardening, just to much fun.
Ha, I totally get that. I could have spent more and produced even less and I’d still be planning next year’s garden.
The biggest benefit I see is that it increases the probability that you actually eat the healthy thing. You can have the exact variety that you want, even it is difficult to find in a store. If you grow herbs indoors, you can have them 24/7 available in arms reach. Always fresh. When producing things we tend to focus on doing everything right for that thing and then we forget the human. The human is the most valuable part of the process. If you're willing to put up elaborate setups to improve the environment for you crops, that should also apply to the human.
It's heaven! Planted herb fennel out of curiosity without the intention to actually eat it, but when I tried it, it was fantastic. Also I found a tomato variety that they sell very rarely. I saved some seeds. If I manage to grow them it will be totally worth it. DELICIOUS.
Agreed! I love spicy peppers and grew several types that you’d never find in the grocery store. They allowed me to make lots of great fermented hot sauce.
Oh, and have to made tomato soup with fennel? Worth a try 🥣
@@TylerLloyd Only had fennel in tea. I missed out a lot. That stuff's amazing as an herb.
I have just started to invest in better lighting and a proper indoor set up. I still have random lights and leftover bits here and there of old growing containers, tools, etc. I love that there are always pieces of my journey here and there to remind me how far I’ve come while I dream of going further.
Happy Gardening! Really appreciate the video. Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love that. I hope you and your garden flourish this year 💚
Another benefit that is hard to account for in economic terms is what you are learning each year you garden. Over time, you become familiar with which plants and which varieties perform best in your garden, and you discover the gardening techniques that work best for what you're trying to grow, so your production tends to increase. Also, I'm not sure which variety of carrots you were trying to grow, but I've had good luck with the Shin Kuroda (or New Kuroda) carrots here in central Ohio. You really need pretty loose soil for them, without rocks, wood chips, and other things that will discourage root growth. It also helps germination if you can cover the seeds (cardboard works very well for this) until they sprout.
Thanks for the carrot tips! And yes, I look forward to learning each year and figuring out what works best for my garden.
I've been gardening for half a century - yep, 50 years. When I watched your video, I noted several things I would have done differently, but this isn't a teaching response or a detailed analysis. Just a few thoughts on some key points.
The fence is good to keep out deer and other large critters, but it won't do anything to stop rabbits or groundhogs as both of them are expert diggers and live in below-ground burrows. They will dig back and forth under that fence and devour the garden. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. Once they decide they want it, they will dig in.
When you priced the value of your produce, did you use the weight *as picked* or the edible portion? Most veggies have tops and bottoms that need to be removed. Insect-damaged areas need discarding. Peels and cores need to be removed, etc. Up to 30% of homegrown produce can be lost due to these factors.
You need to include the costs of electricity to run your grow lights/fans.
Also, if you have a water and/or sewer bill and used water, capture those costs as well.
I garden because I love it. It enhances my endorphins and raises my serotonin levels. The beneficial bacteria and probiotics taken in by eating something such as a fresh-picked, unwashed carrot or an unwashed beet give me many healthy benefits. I stopped keeping track of the costs years ago. The therapeutic benefits I get from working in the garden are enough reason for me. Some years will be bountiful and satisfying, and other years will be a complete loss, leaving you disappointed and frustrated.
Good luck!
Good points! The fencing actually goes a foot and a half out and down from the base to help prevent digging. While not impenetrable, it would probably stop many attempts. Also, it helps that my yard is filled with native plants and lots of other delicious things for wildlife to eat, so they don’t feel the need to go out of their way and get into my garden. I’ve seen that issue with deer in gardens in suburban settings where the garden is the only edible thing around, so you can’t blame the deer for hoping the fence and enjoying the free buffet when they’re hungry.
When weighing my produce, that was mostly useable weight and equivalent of how it would be weighed at a farmers market or grocery store. I strip any tops and bug eaten parts off and into the compost bin before taking them inside. Lots of scraps got turned into stock and then back to the compost. As much as I can, I try not to let anything go to waste.
As far as water and electricity, that’d only be about $15, thanks to energy efficient LEDs and living in a place with very cheap electricity and water. I’m currently expanding my garden and adding drip irrigation. When I calculated how much it would cost to water the garden in a total drought, it would only be $5 a month (calculating one .62 gallons a square ft per week). I still want to build out rain water storage as it is good to slow runoff, but it won’t really save money with how cheap my water is. But it may not always be this cheap.
Lastly, yes, I totally agree that there are so many benefits beyond dollars saved. Dollars are just easier to track 😊. I’ve got about 30 years of gardening experience (I’m only 36, but grew up gardening and selling at farmers markets). Hopefully I’ll have another 50 years or more gardening and enjoying all the benefits it brings.
Happy gardening! 👨🌾 🌱
Awesome - you did all the things for the long term success 😊.
I planted a thick wall of comfrey all around my garden like a fence. I live in the suburbs but have wetlands behind me that is full of hungry critters. Any approaching animal gorges on comfrey and gets too full before entertaining my garden.
Comfrey is the one most beneficial plant every garden should have IMHO. It has so many amazing uses and benefits. Unfortunately I live in the state with the highest electrical rate in the nation and our water/sewer is expensive. I now have rain catchment so I've eliminated that cost😊.
Good luck on the upcoming growing season. Not sure what zone you're in so I don't know when that will be.
Thank you. Very interesting breakdown.
Thanks! It was interesting to track and reflect on everything that went into and out of the garden.
I think did extraodinarily well. If this was a business investment there would be some serious amortization happening down the line. You wouldn't expect to pay off the business expenses in one year. You did great and not everything even went well for you. You're going to do so much better over the coming years. People who have done this kind of thing for decades have had a horrible gardening experience this year. As for not paying for your time, You didn't have to go out and spend that $1000 plus at the grocery store, you as good as printed money. Ask what it costs a golfer to do his sport. And IT doesn't feed his family. You got fresh air and exercize and didn't have pay for a gym. You did a wonderful job of record keeping, I would love to see a yearly report over the next decade. This was an exciting video. You will have new expenses, learn what varieties grow best in your area, you will make changes as you go. I am happy for you. You made the right decision to start your garden.
New subscriber, thanks for this video. Makes so much sense!
Awesome, thank you!
One thing either left out or I missed, if you do this right, when the grocery store shelves are bare and the population is slowly starving to death from their sole reliance on a failed food distribution system, you will be popping the lid off a quart of excellent ratatouille for tonight's dinner. The cost of food is highly relative. Sure, when food distribution is reliable and competitive, a home-grown tomato will most always be more expensive. When there is no food to be found your neighbor will be offering-up his wife and children for one of those tomatoes. There is more benefit to gardening than a one-for-one comparison to store-bought produce. Times are good and food is plentiful. In the course of human history this is merely a blip on a long food-deprived timeline. Anyone who thinks the supply chain is infallible simply isn't paying attention.
Totally. There is typically only a three day supply of goods in the pipeline. So there doesn’t need to be a zombie apocalypse to break things but just an extreme weather event.
Loved the breakdown! Makes me think I should do that whenever I get a place and start a garden (more to keep me in check because I can forget how much money I put into things)
I was actually surprised that I didn’t spend more! I will definitely keep track for a few more years, especially as I expand and improve. It will be interesting to see when I hit a monetary break even point.
I've been in the biz for decades and don't have a fraction of the gadgets I see pushed out. Another thing that chaps my ass is "influencers" pimping out grossly overpriced fertilizers and 'super foods' for plants. It gets overcomplicated, expensive, and unnecessarily stressful for people without experience. Recycle, reuse, repurpose, stop buying everything new unless you have to, learn composting, ask your neighbors for their bags of leaves and grass clippings ( san herb/pesticides, dog poop etc.) So many ways to be successful so much cheaper.
I appreciate your words of seasoned wisdom. We had people in our neighborhood bring bagged leaves to our house. They were happy to get rid of them and I didn’t even have to rake.
Wow, you didn't lose money! I was expecting a big loss but the loss you show isn't a true loss. First, you can't put a price tag on learning what your land is capable of producing. Second, You hinted at it later in the video but all the infrastructure you put up can be spread out over it's expected lifetime (ex garden beds will maybe last 4 or 5 years or more, all the tools could be spread out for a base 10 years etc.) If you spread em out I bet you could even add in the time you worked in the garden and nearly break even! Kudos!
I agree! It has been great studying the land and seeing how certain areas perform, how the light changes throughout the year, the way water moves. Gardening really connects you to a place. Setting both literal and metaphorical roots.
yes good health and peace of mind .
Yes! the benefits are far beyond monetary.
Loved the video! Do you have a breakdown/walk through of the garden? I'd be very interested to see what planst struggled for you and why you think they did, I run a market garden my self and could provide some useful tips to increase yield for you :)
I do, but I may not give enough detail: ruclips.net/video/CY9j174Ix8Y/видео.html. I appreciate the offer though. I was wondering if I got a batch of compost with persistent pesticides, but some things did well so I don’t think that’s the issue. Any suggestions welcome!
Carrots I have had some improvement with making a water and cornstarch slurry. So boil water add tablespoons of cornstarch stir till thick. Let cool. Put in zip bag add carrot seeds mix cut corners of bag add to garden.
Thanks for the tip! A piping bag of carrot seeds 🥕
We need to go back to basics. Our ancestors didn’t have all these “fancy” things. They had the ground and seeds. Sticks to make stakes for tomatoes and such. My memaw use to tie old used disposable pie tins tied with string on posts around her garden and that helped keep the critters away. Granted I’m going to be using containers to try my hand at gardening this year mostly because I don’t want to dig into my backyard. I want to sell my home in the next year or so.
Agreed! I’m starting a new garden plot and I’m using a hand hoe. No tiller needed, just sweat and muscle!
You can also learn to save your seeds to reduce how many new seeds you need to buy
Yes! I saved a lot of seeds from my first year. In addition to saving money, the seeds you save will slowly be from plants best suited to thrive in your garden.
its much cheaper to use drip irrigation and plastic mulch if you're looking for coming out way ahead on money. that is, if you have the space for the long rows.
Grow enough for all the animals around you, your family and then some.
I have 10 rows 50 ft long each, all on a watering timer and inline fertilizer. after I put my plants in the ground the only thing I do is look for pests and pick my produce. literally
Now that’s the dream. I will be putting in 9 30ft rows with irrigation this year. Looking forward to that next stage of my garden.
Nice. miracle grow makes a nice inline fertilizer called liquafeed. Just hook it to your faucet. you can also pop top top off of the fertilizer bottles if you want to mix your own fertilizer to save even more money.
Did you succession plant your carrots and other root vegetables?
I did, but definitely learned how to do it better for the second year. Still fine tuning my timing and quantity. Right now we’ve got lettuce coming out our ears because the different plantings caught up with one another as the weather warmed.
I found this analysis very useful! We are on year 2 of gardening in Iowa for a family of 4. We grew winter squash last year and saved at least $200 on spaghetti squash alone. They don't require canning or freezing. In February, we still have 15 squash remaining in the garage.
That’s awesome! I plan to grow a whole lot more winter squash this year since they keep so easy. I hope each growing season is more fruitful than the next. 💚
You may lose money in the first year but the gains everywhere else more than make up for it….eating more fresh fruit and veges, fresh air, physical exercise, better for your mental wellbeing, greater quality sleep, grounding yourself, good lessons for your children, better community if you are swapping/giving surplus produce to your neighbours. The benefits are endless.
I couldn’t agree more! I hope that this year is more productive so I can do more giving. We’ve gone to a few gatherings recently and it has been great to bring homemade salsa and pepper jam.
I quit watching one minute in when you added in the cost of building a fence. That is why i make money. I know shit from reward. Gardening is no different.
So you don’t spend money on things you enjoy?
@@TylerLloyd I do. I don't make videos pretending to be "educational" about them. I bought 2 acres. I am not adding that into the cost of operating a garden. That is overhead. Not operating costs. Same with a fence. I bought a car....I will add that into the cost of operating a garden. Right?
@@davidstick9207 😂
@@davidstick9207 I'm confused. . . Oh, so what you are saying is that Tyler should not have added the cost of his fence in with the cost of his garden and that you quit watching the video because of that? Also, you stated that you know the difference between making money, shit, and reward. So, I'm gathering that a home garden is not a reward. Did I get that right?
2 mins in and im already stressing out from all these high numbers you're mentioning $$$
A lot of people can get away with not having raised beds or bringing in soil. I got a friend started using just 25 cent seed packs from Dollar Tree. Green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, peas, swiss chard, lettuce, cilantro, and basil are all easy to grow from seed.
I'm not trying to put down his garden, just saying it's possible for some to start cheap. Common reason for people quitting gardening after first year is because they spent so much.
I totally agree that it can be done for way cheaper and dollar store seeds can be a great way to start.
Your change is really cool. Just binge watched a few dozen videos. I’m Arizona born and raised and I’m planning on moving my family out to Kentucky to start a more rural life. Any tips?
Awesome and congrats! If you are on Facebook, I would recommend the group Kentucky Homestead Coalition and the Kentucky Homesteading in the Hills groups. Using the search function you can find answers to lots of things and start connecting to others trying to living closer to the land.