Bi And Large

I wrote this elsewhere recently as a response to the question of whether or not backyard gardening was a good way to cut grocery costs:

Growing your own veggies is incredibly rewarding. I would recommend it to anyone! We have about 1/2 of an acre and we grow everything from tomatoes and cukes to raspberries and blueberries, melons, eggplant, apples, calendula and chamomile. It's one of my favorite things about summer!

HOWEVER...

Growing your own edibles in a garden is neither cheap nor easy. You will save a ton more money buying fresh organic locally grown stuff (that tastes just as good as homegrown) at the farmers market than you will ever save by growing it yourself. A couple containers on the balcony are relatively cheap, sure - but you're going to get maybe a half dozen tomatoes over the course of the summer from them. The investment of $20 - $30 you put into pots and soil and plants and trowel and fertilizer and a watering can (unless you need to spend more on pesticide or fungicide, if you run into a problem with those) is going to yield about $4 worth of tomatoes. If you dig out an actual plot in the soil, it's scaled up again. Topsoil, good tools, stakes, mulch, quality plants, watering systems, peat manure and compost, all these things cost a LOT of money. And it takes a lot of your time and effort, every day, all growing season. Let the weeds get the upper hand just once, and you're lost.

Is it worth it? A resounding yes! I love to garden, and again I would suggest anyone try it. It is so rewarding and really fun. It feeds your soul. But I wouldn't suggest it as a money-saving technique. Like any hobby, you'll find more ways to spend money on it than you ever dreamed.