Cost of a vegatable garden

Just wondering if any of you keep track of your garden cost compared to output.

Saw a sign in front of a house the other day.
Vine ripe tomatoes .... 50¢ lb; 20 lb box $9.00
Okra .... You pick; We split 50/50
Sure seems to me the outputs do not cover the inputs at those prices.

I am one that does it for the enjoyment; exercise; and the fact that I know what is in the things I eat so I do not keep track of cost.

We have a fairly big sized garden (approx 150' x 60') this year, we will can/freeze a lot but last year we gave a lot away and even with that we just now finished eating our green beans. when you see smiles on peoples faces for the produce you hand them it more than pays for the water and sweat. Plus sometimes pulling those weeds is better therapy than any doctor could charge for!! one more thought - in these times just how much is knowing what your eating worth to you??

I put in 1/2 acre of sweetcorn to cut and freeze and sell. We have a large garden 50ft x 175. I can alot of things and I usually get enough to pay for the money put in the garden and thats it. I like to see peoples smile also. Plus like said I know my family and I are eating healthy. This year I put in 200 tomato plants, 100 peppers plants, a few dozen melon plants and also a few dozen pumpkins. One thing I tried this year was to start my own plants from seed. I had to buy my peppers and tomatoes thats it. I have maybe 100.00 in our gardens this year. I can alot of specialy things for us.

For myself,cost doesn't matter that much. What matters is what one learns about growing things- the total activity, almost year 'round. I admire people who garden right up until their last year of life.
One thing a person can do in the cold Midwest here in Winter is sit near a South or West-facing window in the afternoon, sipping on a cup/ coffee, and looking through a colorful garden catalog. Winter is out of mind for a while.

You mean your supposed to charge folks for stuff out of your garden........ Guess I missed a chance to make some money ,lol.
Usually not much going to waste with the extended family I have.
How can you put a price on a REAL vine ripened Mater ?
Those crispy store bought ones make me think I am eating an apple.
I have already had several colesteral killer salads this year. Fresh leaf lettuce, 3 or 4 fresh green onions, 3 or 4 fresh radishes, about half a shaker of salt , combine items in bowl, heat bacon grease in a skillet till it almost smokes, then slowly pour it over the salad and scald the heck out of it..... eat and listen to the ole arteries clog up !!!!!
Been eating them for 30 years now, and no problems yet.
Picked my first squash today, fried them jokers up for supper...with some green onions of course.
My first batch of sweet corn is starting to tossle. Maters and bell peppers are blooming. snap beans and purple hull peas will be blooming in a week or so... Taters planted in the tires are about ready to bloom..... starting to get hungry again...
I think the enjoyment and exercise are more than worth it..... I did buy a new rear tine tiller at sears this year... wore out 2 Bolens rear tine tillers over the past 20 years.
Tyler

We've got six young children, so gardening is an excellent way of getting fresh, highly nutritious food on the table. Have you priced frozen vegetables in the store recently? Fresh veggies in the store frequently look ancient, so we don't usually buy any of those.

Our growing plan was to grow for maximum nutrition. Therefore we get the biggest bang for the buck. In addition, we grow those things which are difficult to obtain in the store.

That was in the past. Now we have an acre of market garden and eat the stuff that is not salable, yet still edible. We have found that there is an excellent appetite in our area for fresh, homegrown veggies. For example, we planted about a tenth of an acre of potatoes, most for our own table. We have been digging new potatoes for sale for the last week or so. So far the yield has been above average and the market great. We will probably triple the money we spent on seed potatoes just on what we make from the new potatoes we are selling.

I guess having just gotten up from a huge, entirely homegrown meal has me in a very optomistic mood.

Christopher

Well, inspired me to look through the empty seed packets, receipts, and my memory...

$212.63...probably add another $10 or so I forget when making that list (just remembered I didn't put the onions on it).

Over half of that was in a spreader load of manure, and 100' x 5' of Remay cloth...both of which will provide benefits for years. I have really poor soil so I use manure heavily to build it up.

See the link if you want the whole list
Poke here

I havent had a grden in 7 years.No need for one! I have enough neighbors give me so much through out the growing season, I didnthav room for my own veggies so I juststopped growing one, Plus the fact, what neighbors dont give me, I buyfrom the small local roadside markets.

another thing to consider with growing a garden is not the cost, but some people like myself have medical problems and like me must be absolutly sure of what is in their food, i cant have any kind of preservatives, ect, dang near kills me when i get some of that store bought stuff, also eggs, i can eat eggs from the farm all day without a problem, i get 2 store bought egges, [ even if i dont know theyre store bought] and im down for 3 days, theres more to a garden that just fresh food

You didn't mention one of the best benefits of all- those 6 younguns learning how to work, and reap the benefits of their labors.

I planted some "grandpa berries" this year- didn't much care what kind, the criteria were: no stickers, and taste good to little kids, right off the bush. Already have 3 blueberries and two clay-pot strawberries, so put in 2 boysenberries, 3 marionberries, and a half dozen red and gold raspberries. Put em right in the lawn by the house, with the space between rows just the right width for my riding mower, so the grand munchkins (3 on the ground, one on the way) can go grazing barefoot.

Life's too short to worry about whether everything "pencils out" (or whether it would get you on the cover of House Beautiful).

The most expensive vegetables you'll ever eat are the ones you grow yourself. But I plant a garden every year anyway. Looks like it will be a bumper zucchini crop again this year.

Garden costs vary depending on if you use and save your own heirloom seeds, start your own seedlings, etc.

Bother's wife says she planted the whole backyard to garden. Says this way she doesn't need to buy gas to mow!