"GrlIntrpted" wrote in message
...
My husband and I are in the midst of a heated debate. He disagrees with
me
that growing your own produce is cheaper than purchasing it.

Besides the health benefits, and obviously the better tasting produce I
would be very interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on the subject.

Is it cheaper or more expensive to grow your own crops?


IMO, most gardeners will tell you it/s matter of value more than whether
it/s cheaper or more expensive to grow your own food.

I value going into the back yard for a few qts of strawberries more than a
trip to the supermarket to get them.
I value picking a few zukes right before dinner more than buying the
shriveled ones @ the store
Most of all, I value sharing the surplus.

As just one example, consider the cost for one head of romaine lettuce...

At the grocer
Cost: $2.00
Quality: fair to good
Convenience to acqui high
Freshness: picked at least a week ago
Value: good

From the garden
You can raise at least four dozen heads of fresh, tender romaine lettuce
with a retail value of $96 and enjoy some every day for three to four weeks
in the spring and again in the fall for less than a nickle per head.

Space required for 48 plants on 1' centers: 48 ft^2 (4' bed width x 12' row
length)

Pack of 1000 seeds from Wally-World: ~$1.00
48 transplants (minimum) per 100 seed sown outdoors: $0.02 / plant
Fertilizer: one side dressing with 5-10-10 = ~ one-half cent / plant.
Irrigation: electricity to run pump 4 - 6x for ~80 - 120 mins total time =
$1.00

Sub-total: $2.25

Cost: $0.05 / head
Quality: good to excellent
Convenience to acqui low
Freshness: picked daily
Value: good

From my own experience of keeping a garden for the past 30 years, there/s
enormous satisfaction that comes from eating something homegrown. You can
grow a lot of food in a relatively small area without a whole lot of effort
if you do what needs to be done when it needs to get done. The value (to
coin a phrase) comes from enjoying the fruits of your labor.

That just one seed grows into a plant that can produce hundreds of new seeds
is the beauty of the gardening / agriculture economy. There's no better
return on one/s investment than growing your own.

---
TQ