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Let's talk about gardening and if it really saves money....


SparklyUnicorn
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I like to knit, and I spend more on yarn and patterns than what I make is worth when it's done.  But I get exactly what I want, and plus I enjoy it.

 

I think gardening is much the same.  You can spend a lot of time and money on it, and get exactly what you want, but not at a market price.  So the question then becomes, do you enjoy it?  So what would bother me about the OPer is that her DH is self-indulgently complaining about it all the time.  That would certainly make me question the whole enterprise. OTOH, around here the wait for public garden plots is years long, so maybe he just feels a little stuck now that he has them.

 

For me, I like the idea of a homestead type lifestyle a lot, but not so much being restricted to it.  And I don't really enjoy gardening for its own sake like some people do. So when I was home, I had some veggies planted, and we really enjoyed them--several kinds of tomatoes, green beans, arugula, and one year we tried artichokes pretty successfully.  But my longterm strategy has focused on hardy, expensive, easy stuff like fruit trees--those we only have to prune every few years, water semi-weekly during the summer heat (we don't generally get appreciable rain in the summer), and harvest when appropriate.  I try to select varieties that hold well on the trees, like Fuyu persimmons and Meyer lemons.  Rosemary and lavender are almost as easy care as trees, and we had those for a long time, but pulled them out as they got leggy--replacing them with 4 little dwarf citrus trees that have been much more useful. 

 

If I ever retire and stay home a lot, I'll probably put in some more veggies, but nothing that requires planting in long rows and hoeing weeds every other day.  I just don't think it's worth it to me.  But it's worth it to some people *as an enjoyable hobby* and I think that's great.

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He did them once and they worked well, but it takes a lot of room to do them.  You don't get much for the space.  KWIM?

I loves spinach, but yeah half the garden of spinach for enough spinach for like 2 meals.  Just not worth it.

 

I don't know what to make of the rock hard squash either. 

 

Hmm. I always thought we got quite a generous quantity per plant, and the space is vertical. 

 

Agree on the spinach. Sadly. 

 

Yes, gardening is a hobby. If it helps the grocery budget that's a bonus, but I think primarily people do it for the joy and the challenge. 

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No actually this happens when there is too much water.  And that's something we can't control at all. 

 

Anything that makes a plant think it's soon going to die will do it.  They quickly rush off to producing seeds rather than taking their time on it.  We (humans) tend to prefer eating our veggies at a less developed stage than final stage.

 

I'll also suggest talking with a local Master Gardener as they tend to know both general growing knowledge and any local specifics.

 

Or of course, let your DH know it's ok to give it up if he wants to.  There's no law that says one must have a garden.  It's just a tasty bonus for those of us who enjoy it - with some of us saving money too.

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When you have almost no gardening space, not really. I don't think there is anything wrong with drainage either way. Some summers we just get too much rain.

 

Plus, it's not our land. The plot is located on a hill though and I have never noticed water pooling up or anything like that. So I don't think there are major drainage issues.

Technically speaking, you can tile. At farm stores they swell long tubes with holes in them. You would dig beneath your garden plot, bury the tile, and the water would drain more rapidly away from the area to another area. It's what farmers do when they have low lying areas and they are growing crops that don't like to gave wet feet.

 

The other solution is to dig out the bed or have a raised bed with a truckload of sand beneath for improved drainage off the roots. They are labor intensive but once done, they are done. ;). But yes, added work, added investment.

 

DH is tooling one corner of our garden I'd the build up doesn't improve the drainage. And our raspberries have a sand layer beneath them to make them content. We just planted them though and they are rather sassy. They look a very long way from content right now and they are the most spoiled plants I have.

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I didn't read all the replies but the best thing that has saved us money is our peach tree - We make bottled peach jam every summer and over the last 15 years I've rarely had to buy jam. With a teenage son that seems to live on peanut butter sandwiches that is a lot. The peach tree has been easier and more productive than my gardening attempts.

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It doesn't save us money so much as bring us veggies.  To keep costs low, I just buy less (or not at all) when prices fluctuate.  So for $2 or $3 for a 6-pack of transplants, I can grow loads of bell peppers compared to what I would buy in the store.  But we have a 400ish sq. ft. garden in a big backyard, two dogs (critter deterrents), and my dad tills for us (and brought us compost this year).  So we just have to plant, weed, and water to get something in return.  I don't typically fertilize because it costs money.  I'm raising chickens now which I hope will be able to start composting for me in the near future, and till and fertilize my garden next year.  To really live off gardening, there's some know-how involved, as well as a flexible palate...or a decent greenhouse.  I did start ours wanting to never buy produce, and that certainly hasn't happened, but I enjoy having a garden.  We didn't put one in last year and it was sad.  

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It seems like what it comes down to are growing what you eats and would cost you money to buy, and skill at doing it. 

 

I really agree with those who suggested looking more into your quality issues - they could be fixable.  It isn't just amount of water either, but regularity - we get a lot in the spring and first part of summer, but I tend to have to water daily in August or we get quality issues.

 

With sewing - quite a few people I know who say they save money with sewing are doing things like remaking clothes that they buy thrifting, or they are not sewing clothes at all much but instead things like curtains, cushions and such. 

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I don't garden well.  I don't even do houseplants well.

 

But my suspicion is that you will have more success if you grow things that are native to your area, or at least native to your climate and elevation.  When we lived in MO my best friend and I once planted a very small garden of carrots, peas, green beans, etc.  The next morning. there was a torrential rain and a small river flowed over the garden in the backyard, presumably washing everything into the ditch.

 

Lo and behold, 2 months later, up came the peas and the green beans and the carrots (we had abandoned the project after the big rain, so they were kind of hard to pick out from the grass and weeds).  

 

I think stuff grows in MO no matter what you do to it.

 

Here in CO, though, it is a bit harder.  Even the dandelions seem sort of delicate.

 

Yes it does! We have lived in MO for a year now and I'm surprised at how well things can grow here. May sound silly but we moved here from the south so I wasn't sure if the midwest would grow things as well with the different climate and weather. I actually have beans growing off my back porch. Mind you this isn't because I *planted* beans. No no no.... I stupidly soaked beans and forgot about them so I tossed them out back door. There are now beans growing LOL

 

But skills like sewing and gardening do pay off over time. If ONE of your children does theater and you sew costumes you save a HUGE amount of money by sewing. And gardening in a good location with good skills will save a lot of money once you have good infrastructure. The issue is that basic skills take time to develop. You are not just born with a green thumb, you have to work at it, and no one just sews up designer clothes, it takes practice. Those skills have real value in the right place and time. My grandparents gardens probably saved them a huge portion of their rather small incomes and made their travel possible.

 

ETA: I just remembered a woman I did Bible study with who sewed all the bridesmaid dresses and hipster suits for her dd's wedding. It took her a week and a half, but she saved thousands of dollars. She sewed for a hobby for probably 20 years before she realized that savings, though. She had the skills when the right occasion presented itself.

 

Definitely can save money in specialty markets. I don't sew our daily clothing but I have saved money with odd items. I put together or sew all the kids halloween costumes and I've also altered/sewn pageant and other formal dresses. Heck just the one pageant dress I made for dd was worth the cost of all the sewing supplies over the years. 

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It seems like what it comes down to are growing what you eats and would cost you money to buy, and skill at doing it. 

 

I really agree with those who suggested looking more into your quality issues - they could be fixable.  It isn't just amount of water either, but regularity - we get a lot in the spring and first part of summer, but I tend to have to water daily in August or we get quality issues.

 

With sewing - quite a few people I know who say they save money with sewing are doing things like remaking clothes that they buy thrifting, or they are not sewing clothes at all much but instead things like curtains, cushions and such. 

 

No watering issues.  Definitely not.  Other than issues we cannot control such as too much rain.

 

Eh...I've just let the thoughts go.  If DH wants to waste his time on that stuff...fine.  I'm done with it. 

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I think it's going to vary depending on your conditions and what you try to grow. I actually don't feel like it saves money UNLESS you are considering special conditions and the same goes for most DIY things like this.

 

Sewing, knitting, crochet - It doesn't save money compared to thrift store clothes but it does for special things like formal dresses, etc. It also gives custom, high quality items for much less than ordering custom made would be. So generic store < homemade but homemade < custom ordered. 

 

Chickens - If you only eat a dozen or so a week or buy cheaper eggs then getting chickens would be silly. If you want organic, free range eggs or eat a lot of eggs it makes sense. When we're buying eggs in store we don't eat many but if we had chickens we'd eat 4+ dz/wk. That would save a lot of money!

 

Gardening might not save us money compared to what we currently spend on groceries but it does improve our diet and saves money if you consider the cost of the better diet at the store. We are selective in what we grow choosing based on what we can grow in the area plus what we eat. Cherry tomatoes, berries, and bell peppers are a few items that save money to grow at home or that we can eat more of if we grow ourselves. Herbs are always a good one. 

 

One other big benefit for gardening for us is convenience and availability. If I have a garden then the veggies are in the yard and I can access them easily. This means more fresh fruits & veggies without me having to drive to the store constantly to have fresh produce. Of course this doesn't apply if you have to drive to a community garden plot but this is a factor for those that grow at home. The gas costs of the saved trips to the grocery store count into factoring the savings.

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Yes it does! We have lived in MO for a year now and I'm surprised at how well things can grow here. May sound silly but we moved here from the south so I wasn't sure if the midwest would grow things as well with the different climate and weather. I actually have beans growing off my back porch. Mind you this isn't because I *planted* beans. No no no.... I stupidly soaked beans and forgot about them so I tossed them out back door. There are now beans growing LOL

 

 

Definitely can save money in specialty markets. I don't sew our daily clothing but I have saved money with odd items. I put together or sew all the kids halloween costumes and I've also altered/sewn pageant and other formal dresses. Heck just the one pageant dress I made for dd was worth the cost of all the sewing supplies over the years. 

 

Beans are kind of amazing.  One of my kids dropped some down the sink in our upstairs bathroom, which is rarely used, and when I went up to clean they were growing out of the drain.  It was a little creepy.

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Broccoli has been very good for us this year (typed after I just came in with a bountiful amount to freeze later today).  We ate some before we went on our last trip this past week and we froze 5 meals worth last night too from some of the earlier plants.  There will be more to pick this coming week before they are all finished for the season.  We've already made money and have super tasty organic broccoli vs basic bagged or fresh(?) stuff from the store.  We don't plant enough for our needs for the whole winter, but what we get makes a nice treat when we choose to eat it both in and out of season and is definitely cheaper than buying it.

 

Beets are doing super well too.  Peas are well on their way.  Peppers and tomatoes look happy, but are a bit away from producing yet. This evening will be a planting night for summer veggies (lima beans, okra, squash/cucumber plants we started elsewhere).

 

The exercise from weeding also ought to help me take off the three lbs I put on during this last trip too.   :glare:

 

I'll admit to wishing everything grew as easily and quickly as weeds!

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If the zucchini skin is hard, he waited a week too long to pick it.

 

 

ETA: As a kid it was often my chore to go pick vegetables. I don't garden except to plant a few fruit trees at every house.  I was raised by an avid gardener, and would say what matters most is geography, and secondly it helps to have lots of land and never move.  It takes time to build up soil quality, and to figure out which heirloom varieties do best in your climate, and to learn how to save seeds, and to figure out which pesticides you like (the organic ones can be more toxic and dangerous than the chemical or mechanical ones).  The one time we tried to grow a garden in a giant raised bed in a rental house we were temporarily in the only thing that grew was DH's favorite variety of sweet corn, which just happens to be GMO.  When we mentioned it to the landlords they said, "Oh yeah, I forgot we put the 3-year roundup in that bed.  Nothing should grow there."  This was after we spent about a hundred dollars on heirloom garden seeds and I spent about a week extensively planning square foot garden planting plans for the next six months.  I was so annoyed.  Thirdly, if you don't have a couple freezers or a vast pantry of canning supplies so you can eat your crops year round, it's not going to help.  All of those things take time and money.

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