I was in the same boat as you this time last year... just moved into a new house and needed to start from scratch. My wife and I spent approximately $1,000 to build 5 raised beds, each 3' x 12'. That figure was our total start up cost for the beds, including soil, fertilizer/amendment material, seeds, plants, pest control, and any other miscellaneous costs. I would say it's a fairly high start up cost simply because I am something of a craftsman, and the aesthetics of the garden matters quite a bit to me. We kept track as best we could of the value of the food we harvested, and came up with a figure of around $800 over the course of the 6 or 7 months we had a harvest of one crop or another. Food is pretty expensive in my neck of the woods, so take our estimate with a small grain of salt. So, we didn't break even on our first year. However, if we had been frugal about the initial investment, I believe we certainly could have come close to getting back our investment. Don't know that our experience would've translated into the "worth it" that you mention... but thought I'd share our experience with you. Now, this year it'll be a far different story. I estimate our investment in the garden will be no more than $250, as we're growing entirely from seed and we will be far more ambitious with our planting. I am hopeful that the retail value of our harvest will exceed $1,000 once our canning is taken into account. I have been gardening fairly intensively for 10 years, which allows me a certain degree of confidence that we will in fact get a significant harvest... it wasn't clear from your post whether you are an experienced gardener or not, so if there is any learning curve in play for you and your family you should consider that as well when you are figuring what you will reap vs. what you sow. I wish you luck, regardless. I'm sure you'll have great success whatever the size of your endeavor ends up being.

It needn't be expensive. I started my first garden with a shovel and a pair of gloves and some seeds. Thirty years later I have some raised beds and a few more tools. A canner and jars were a later investment. I've never regreted it. Go slowly while you learn and discover the satisfaction, the biggest of which will be that your kids will be turned on to gardening and that will stay with them for a lifetime.

It depends on a number of things. In no particular order:

1) skill level
2) soil quality
3) time you can spend on it.
4) predator pressure and defenses. No deer fence, no crops in many places.
5) can you find free mulch and free manure?

Time is related to how good the site is, and what you want to eat. If the site is not good, it is going to be work to amend it. Time is also related to which crops you want to grow. Frankly, some of the crops that can really make a dent in your expenses are reasonably easy, things such as cabbage, pole beans, beets, lettuce, carrots. But people will not grow them because they want the much fussier tomato and peppers, which here in Michigan typically produce for 6-8 weeks. You can not make a dent if you do not eat from the garden every day.

Obviously if your SO does not like cabbage you start at a disadvantage. A garden gives you vitamins in the form of Vit. D (95% of americans are deficient), even if you never produce anything, it is more than a hobby, and unlike stamp collecting it has its demands. So make sure you get into it with your eyes well open. You may work a lot, and then a deer ruin it all in one night.

If i start calculating my cost vs. my production probably my results will be in red. My idea is not profitable production it is self satisfaction I play tennis and golf and i am not good at either one but i spend a lot of money on the two activities. I Look at gardening as another costly activity. My 5 years old grand daughter is bragging all day to her teachers and the kids in her class that my grand pa can make food, I assigned to her collecting vegetable and fruit from my trees and she loves the job.. Another added benefits it keeps me in good shape and it is far better than going to bars getting drunk and chasing girls.
Abe

I had to build raised beds due to prolific gophers in the area, so that and filling them was a start up cost. We started with a couple of beds and usually add one every other year or so.
If you start composting, checking freecycle/Craigslist or habitat for Humanity for cheap/free materials, compost, soil etc you can really cut the costs down! (start reading the composting/soil forum and you'll get an idea of what people do to make compost! LOL)
All of this does take some time and effort! If you work 60 hours a week and have a family to take care of, you might want to start with a small (4x8) bed with a couple tomatoes, a couple peppers and a couple eggplant (or whatever you like) to start and see for yourself if it's "worth it"
If you have kids, get them involved! Look at Foolish's response! He "makes food"!!!!
If this seems like a chore to you, you might want to join a co-op or some other way of getting fresh veges. You might even want to try a community garden for your first foray into vege gardening! Very little set up besides adding some compost to your plot and planting!
Good luck and happy gardening! Nancy

I had to build raised beds due to prolific gophers in the area, so that and filling them was a start up cost. We started with a couple of beds and usually add one every other year or so.
If you start composting, checking freecycle/Craigslist or habitat for Humanity for cheap/free materials, compost, soil etc you can really cut the costs down! (start reading the composting/soil forum and you'll get an idea of what people do to make compost! LOL)
All of this does take some time and effort! If you work 60 hours a week and have a family to take care of, you might want to start with a small (4x8) bed with a couple tomatoes, a couple peppers and a couple eggplant (or whatever you like) to start and see for yourself if it's "worth it"
If you have kids, get them involved! Look at Foolish's response! He "makes food"!!!!
If this seems like a chore to you, you might want to join a co-op or some other way of getting fresh veges. You might even want to try a community garden for your first foray into vege gardening! Very little set up besides adding some compost to your plot and planting!
Good luck and happy gardening! Nancy

I don't keep track of it, so I can't give you a specific number. I'd probably be in the red currently because we put in raised beds and have only used them a couple years. In my previous home, I literally cleared some rocks out of the way, plopped seeds in the ground and watered them with my UGS...... very little effort, and it produced lots of veggies. So, some of the costs depend on what you want or need to make your garden convenient. Some of the costs depend on the soil condition currently, how you obtain and pay for water, what pests you have, etc... It's going to be different by area. You should go to your county extension office and talk to a master gardener. They'll know what grows well for your area, what the soil is like, etc. Someone above made a comment about tomatoes and peppers being fussy for them; that is not true at all for my zone/area.... I am still eating the tomatoes and peppers from my garden (that were frozen or dried) from last year. They are extremely prolific in all our sunshine, while lettuce was the biggest pain for me.... Point is that each area is very different, and it will benefit you to know what would be easy locally

Something to consider is that, to me, there are benefits from having my own garden that isn't as simple as a $ amount. One reason is that I have fresh vegetables without having to regularly go to the store. This makes my (rurally located) family more likely to eat fresh produce regularly, saves time and (gas money) from not driving, etc. Another reason is knowing exactly how my produce was grown (lack of chemicals).. it's hard to put a dollar amount on that, but it is important to me.

Hmmm.... Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think what I'm hearing is, "If you're new at this, and you're only looking at the cost benefits, look elsewhere." Is that the truth?!
Last year was my first "real" garden at a rental home (I've tinkered some in previous years), and, although we had some problems with drought, squash bugs and powdery mildew that year, it was a great produce. I have high hopes for upcoming years, and I learned a lot last year.

My whole reasoning behind gardening was to be able to feed my family fresh fruits and vegetables without having to spend a lot of money to buy them. Just like someone would make their own laundry detergent (which I do) because we need it, and it's a way to cut costs. I was hoping that gardening would be a way to financially benefit my family. But, from what I'm hearing (at least for the startup year) it would not be.

This makes me a little sad... and I am kinda hoping that someone will comment and have a different story.

IB Please don't be put away from gardening from these posts!
You can just turn over your soil with a shovel and plant some seeds or buy a few plants and put them in the ground!
Give it a try either way! Nancy

I am sorry, but IMO "...a very tight budget for the next 6 months." and "...would have to start from scratch..." are not going to mix very well, especially if you want to grow enough produce to make a dent in the food budget for a family of five. If you have limited experience, that will work against you initially. If you have limited time available for all the labor that is going to go into creating a startup garden from scratch and maintaining it through the season, it will be even more problematic for you.

I want you to succeed. Cut corners and you will fail. A tight budget is going to force you to always be trying to cut corners, which is totally understandable under the circumstances but the wrong way to go about it. Perhaps now is not the time to be investing in a full-blown veggie garden. Maybe dig up some sod and hand spade a small plot to sow some seeds. Put a couple of tomato and pepper plants in your flower gardens bordering your house or somewhere. Put up a pole bean or cucumber trellis against a garage wall. Grow some herbs in containers. Look at options for this year. Think outside the box.

Then do some research, planning, layout, and cost estimates with the intention of making your new garden next year, and try to budget for the expected costs after you get over your tight financial period.

IMO, people posting replies are not being negative to be hurtful, they are giving you very realistic opinions and sound advice. Nobody here wants to chase away a new gardener or destroy anyone's dreams. Gardening is a commitment and needs to be done properly to succeed. Anything less breeds disappointment and failure.

Wishing you success,
-Tom

"My whole reasoning behind gardening was to be able to feed my family fresh fruits and vegetables without having to spend a lot of money to buy them"

This is the difference between these "hobby" gardeners that will spend unexplainable amounts of money to do things that are not needed, and sometimes quite comical. But I can see many on this vegetable forum are very practical being we all grow to produce food, not something just to look at.

No you dont need to spend much to grow. I found that crop protection is my huge expense. Lets see-40 bucks in deer fencing material, and some bamboo sticks and zip ties. Thats more than I want to pay, but it ensures the crop. If you dont count the fencing, being it is only a one time cost, fertilizer and seeds are the next big cost. It took less than 2 dollars worth of fertilizer to grow 60 pounds of jalapenos for me ;) I could have did better though!

If your native soil is good, then just till some rows, like conventional farms do, and plant either your seeds or starts. Dont go and make raised beds, and buy soil if your soil is good enough. I add nothing but very little composted horse manure and till it in. Maybe 4 bucks a year for many many rows. I could just till and add nothing but crop residue and use synthetic fertilizer and be fine.

Edit:

All in all, I spend a few bucks on seeds to get a summer long of endless harvest of fresh produce. You can get a lot of seeds for 10 bucks for example. If you do not need fencing, like some urban gardens where there is no animals in sight, then there really is no cost but seeds and fertilizer. You could get started for like 10-20 bucks for the whole season if you have a shovel already :)

I think I saw a article called the 1 dollar garden. Not counting the fence cost they used the 10cent seeds from walmart and grew a nice sized garden for one dollar.... Now a few dollars could really give you a lot of seeds to plant. :)

This post was edited by TheMasterGardener1 on Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 3:06

I think if you are careful and frugal, you'll be able to do it. Look thru Craigslist for free composted manure (make sure it's already composted). You might have to pay a small amount for the owner to load your trailer. We pay $15 to fill a good sized utility trailer with his tractor bucket. You can find places where you can do your own shoveling for free. I use old 5 gallon dry wall compound buckets for a variety of garden tasks - the big kitty litter plastic pails are great, too. See if friends can save some for you or ask on Freecycle.

For tools, a good spading shovel, a trowel and good hand weeder (cobra head style).

You can probably find the original Square Foot Gardening book at a used book store or borrow from the library. You can skip his soil formula but pay attention to seed spacing. You can get plenty of information on lasagna gardening on the internet. Some people call it sheet composting. I love this method. You don't have to dig anything. Just start with layers of wet newspapers on existing ground/lawn. Start layering grass clippings (make sure no lawn chemicals) and old leaves. Top with composted manure. My first bed was started with grass clippings I got from a relative. He had a huge pile. It helps to have time for a bed to get settled but last year I started a squash bed. Dug holes and filled with good compost where I wanted to plant and did not put compost over the whole bed (economized).

I buy too many seeds so if you can restrain yourself, it will save you a lot of money. Beans and sugar snap peas are easy to grow. Try to figure out how much to plant without having a big surplus. I wouldn't bother with canning and freezing your first year because of equipment costs and time. Perhaps if your family really like spaghetti sauce, you can borrow someone else's canner and buy your own jars but you can also just put whole, cored tomatoes in a freezer bag if you happen to have surplus. I love zucchini but you might have people donating zukes to you in the summer.

Be smart about meals. If you do have a surplus of green beans, cook the extra and make a bean salad for another meal with the leftovers. You can make refrigerator or freezer pickles with extra cucumbers but try not to plant a lot.

I have trouble growing good tasting lettuce but if your family loves salad, it might be worth the effort to grow it early in the season before it gets hot or late as a crop to follow something else.

I think my best economy tip would be to plan when you can start a second crop. In zone 6B you should be able to do a planting of green beans to mature in September, carrots that you can leave in the ground (cover with straw so the ground won't freeze - a bale of straw costs $8) so you can harvest in November, December, etc. I like the flavor of Swiss chard after it sweetens up with cold weather. You'll be able to pick until the first really cold spell. I also have spinach under straw. Last year it wintered over. The leaves died without protection but it started growing again and I was picking spinach in April. (I'm in NH) If your family likes kale, that's something else you can pick until the cold gets it. Figure out what you can still get out of the garden in the fall and early winter where you live.

I think the outdoor time and fresh vegetables will be worth it for your family. I would also put in a small herb garden. The perennial herbs don't need full day sun. Annual basil likes sun and a couple of plants might be plenty for you. Chives will start growing as soon as the snow goes and can be cut several times over the season. Think about what you might need for salads and make your own salad dressings.
Until I had more sun and garden space, I grew tomatoes in big plastic pots. Encourage kids to snack on cherry tomatoes instead of cookies. I would grow one paste tomato for sauces and cooking, maybe two other varieties for fresh eating depending on how much your family likes tomatoes.

My DIL borrows my canner and uses free zucchini to make enough relish for family and gifts. It's so good, it's not unusual for the family to eat half a pint jar in one sitting. I make a curried cherry tomato sauce (more like chili sauce) from surplus cherry tomatos and enjoy it spread on breakfast sandwiches. A friend's family loves salsa.

Good luck to you.

IBsmilin, I took your initial question to mean that you want to stop buying vegetables and instead grow them yourself, primarily as a means of stretching your food dollars. If your goal is more complex than that, if you simply want to augment your grocery shopping instead of supplanting it altogether, the equation gets a lot easier for you. And there's no question that the food you grow yourself is both a treat and a healthy option for your family. Even farmstand vegetables can't compare to the amazing crop right from your own backyard. Taken at face value, your initial question "Is it worth it?" is an unequivocal YES... but for so many more reasons than just the dollars and cents. You can certainly grow a lot of vegetables with just a shovel and some seeds... but growing the quantity and diversity to forgo the produce section at Stupid Stop and Shop is going to require significant investment. Investment of time or investment of money... it doesn't have to be both, but you need a lot of one or the other! We were able to grow 95% of our own vegetables last year, the first for the new garden, because we put so much time into the planning. We still buy bulk onions and potatoes, but everything else we grew ourselves. I hope our experience is helpful as one of many possibilities as you consider your options. Above all... please don't be frustrated or disappointed where gardening is concerned! It should be fun, relaxing, satisfying... in no way disappointing or stressful. I wish you great success with your new garden.

Where I live, (rural WI) there are many many small farmer's stands selling in-season produce. I know it would be less expensive for me to just purchase it at the stands than to grow it myself - especially if you are counting time/labor as $. This will be my 4th year with a vegetable garden and I am sure I havent broken even yet, but I keep expanding it, so I have additional "up-front" costs every year.

A very important question is whether your family is enthusiastic about eating lots of vegetables and whether you will also have the time to prepare them creatively.

I teach - so I am off work most summers, allowing me to spend 3-4 hours every morning in the garden and plenty of time in the evening to cook. - both of which I love. If my gardening time was limited to evenings and weekends it might all seem like yet another chore. It seems to me that if you are doing it with the idea of it being profitable to your purse, and your "sweetie" is against it, its going to add extra stress to what should be a pleasure.

If you keep it simple so that your new garden doesn't eat up all your time and money, it can be profitable in all the right ways. Kitchen herbs are easy and give a huge return. The kids could grow a patch of potatoes. Once summer hits sweet potatoes are a no-brainer. Butternut squash are pest resistant and easy to store, too. In future garden space, plant buckwheat and flowers. Gardening should be fun.

Simply put, YES you can definitely plant a garden and save money on produce!
Mostly, thats what gardens are for. Some people choose to go elaborate, but that's their choice.

As others have stated, start small and grow larger.
Grow high-cost produce that your family eats a lot of.
Get used tools and free materials, and follow advice here on how to keep costs down.
Don't wait, you have a lot to plan and learn to get growing amazing, fresh food!

-Mark

Thanks for all of the wonderful, so helpful replies. I like the idea of putting a few tomato or pepper plants in the already existing landscaping. That could help with the cost involved in building a bed and fencing it in. I also think the animals would be less likely to find it, and it would help me to see how much sun is really needed to help these guys thrive. It's not a shaded area, but all the bushes were cut back before we moved in, and I don't know how much they'll fill in over the summer, and also, growing vegetables against the house, it's just less likely to get as much sun as an open space in the yard would. But this could be a free lesson for me since I already have seed from last year that would go bad if it wasn't used up.

I'm going to have my husband sit down and read over these replies (they really are so helpful!), and I may come back with some more questions, but for now, just Thank you! You guys have really helped me to think some things through. Being still green at this, I'm glad there are experienced gardeners out there who can lend several year's worth of knowledge and experience and help give me some perspective and wisdom. Thank you guys!

The link below will give you some facts and figures from research that has gone on about money saved by having a vegetable garden. Yes, it is profitable, even in the start up year. How profitable depends a lot on your region and what you need to do to the soil. If you notice in the studies cited, even in an arid region where water is precious and expensive, the garden saved some money. I found this information fascinating because I had always felt that I saved a bunch of money by gardening but didn't realize how much was possible. Enjoy.

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: How Much Does a Vegetable Garden Cost/Save?

My 2 cents. Is it worth it depends so much on what you put into it, and time versus money is an important factor. You can break new ground with a tiller(expensive to buy, cheaper to rent, free to borrow if you know someone) in a few hours, or over several days with just a shovel (free, unless you don't own a shovel). Heck you can take the entire spring, summer and fall to get your garden to the size you eventually want it by hand, while still growing things in the parts you started on the earliest. That's how I started my first garden. You will not need a gym membership. :)

Another thought is raised beds. They seem to be the thing these days, though I am not sure why. In some cases, they may be necessary, like in a wet spot or ground that is very poor and rocky, but unless youhave access to cheap material, they are quite expensive to fill. If I wanted to be frugal I would skip the raised bed at first.

You don't mention how much space you have, nor how large you expect your garden to be. Space helps you to decide which method of gardening you might favor. I have a lot of space, so I have a large garden and give plants a fair amount of space with a lighter amount of fertilizer than I would if I were in a small space and trying for an intensive growing method.

I tend to think that if you really are interested in saving money, there are things to consider- which vegetables your family prefers to eat, how willing they are to eat other vegetables that may be easier/more cost effective to grow, and how you will preserve your harvest to have it available in the non-growing season. For example, you can save all the money you want on growing bell peppers, but if you only eat one or two a week but go through tons of potatoes, then grow potatoes. They are a bulk food, can be stored in many forms, and are relatively easy to grow. Animal pests are a minimum for them, and insect pests can be dealt with fairly handily.

Tomatoes are not a good money savers to start with, in my opinion. They are more finicky, prone to more problems, need more water, more constant harvest in season, need to be specially preserved to last out of season... Don't get me wrong, I love my tomatoes and I put the effort into getting a good return out of them, but in the beginning they were a fresh eating specialty, not my focus. Beans are good, though many things like to eat the plants, winter squash are easy and nutritous, but not always a family favorite, carrots can be a hit or miss crop; collards and kale I would recommend over cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli, and their main pests can be dealt with reasonably inexpensively (unless you have a serious deer problem)... Goodness, I could go on and on and on.

The shorter answer is it is worth it to me, but if you wish to save money first and foremost, then you need to plan accordingly. I harvested 600 lbs from my garden last year and my main expense was various organic pest controls plus a large round bale of hay for mulch. Also, there is no contest to the price organic produce in the store and the price of my own. So you can increase the quality of food without raising the price too much, which is another way of looking at it. Cheers!

Grow pest-resistant varieties. Indeterminate tomatoes. Plant garlic in the fall. I definitely think it is worth it. I am zone 6 and I garden year-round.

Are there community gardens in your area? If there are you could rent a plot, usually a very small yearly fee (in our town about $25.00 per year which includes water. Then you could give it a go without tearing up your yard and also have other gardeners around to give you advice.

I advise you to start small. No need for raised boxed beds. I've been gardening for 35 years and I've never had a boxed bed. I started with a shovel, rake, hoe and seeds. Do not raise anything you do not like to eat.

Good things to start with are a couple of tomato plants-get them already started from a nursery or a friend, Green beans are super easy to start in the ground from seed as are bush sugar snap peas (which kids love) Squash are easy to raise. A zucchini plant or two and a winter squash plant or two, a cucumber plant or two. They can be started in the ground after frost from seed. Carrots and beets are almost foolproof once they come up but they can take several weeks to germinate.A little lettuce and a little swiss chard (wonderful plant-it laughs at heat, cold, frost, drought,etc and if you cut it back to a few inches it regrows so you can cut it again and again). If you have kids, a little kohlrabi (the vegetable from outer space) is fun. It is easy to grow from seed in the ground, quick, almost foolproof.

You could do all this in about 100 square feet, certainly in 300 square feet.

I recommend you do not try to grow any more than 300 square feet. i work with a community gardening association and we found our beginners become completely overwhelmed with any more than 300 square feet.

nothing is free, Your gonna wat a garden sooner or later. May as well start now.
It can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.

I like sweetquietplaces answer! Go slowly for the first time around. Just pick a spot, pick up a shovel, and plant some seeds, but be sure to keep them watered. The rest will come in time! Dont' try to put too much into it at first or you will get overwhelmed and hubby will be too! lol Start with the "kiss" method. "Keep it simple stupid"

'Worth it' varies dramatically by which vegetables you are talking about. And which is which depends on your local climate :).

>some of the crops that can really make a dent in your expenses are reasonably easy, things such as cabbage, pole beans, beets, lettuce, carrots. But people will not grow them because they want the much fussier tomato and peppers

It's almost exactly the opposite where I live. I can buy local, organic vegies on the first list for cheaper than I can grow them. But tomatoes I can buy in a gallon pot for $3.50 or a six-pack for $2, stick in the ground, water three times per summer, and they produce mountains. Peppers don't grow here at all, without a greenhouse.

Ask local gardeners which plants are 'worth it' where you live. Here, the first things that come to mind are potatoes, sunchokes, tomatoes, raspberries, apples, summer and winter squashes, cooking herbs, and edible flowers. They are all 'stick it in the ground and forget it' plants for me, but where you live they might be completely different

Some poor gardener tips:

- Did you know you can buy seeds and starts with food stamps? You have to go to a store that takes food stamps -- so, not a nursery, but maybe a big box store.

- As mentioned above, you probably don't need raised beds and can get composted manure for free.

- Scope out fruit trees in your neighborhood that are going to waste. Vacant lots, alleys, etc. are good places to look. You can make a lot of applesauce, pies, and jam from free fruit, and feed your kids on them all winter :).

- Your time is valuable if you could be making money somewhere else. If you have a job, or the option of one, it's question of whether you would rather spend your time gardening, or spend it working and making money to buy food. If you don't have a job, then what have you got to lose?

- Post on craigslist that you would like any old vegie seeds (they will still sprout even if many years past their pull date) and fruit/veg plants that [people are throwing out. Those of us who grow berries, for example, have to thin our plants this time of year. And that's how I first got my berry plants, many years ago :).

Good luck and have fun!

I am a stingy gardener.

Seeds? Gardeners are generous, any who save seeds have extras. Beg for them. Many here on GW will send you seeds for no cost, if you just get a self-addressed, stamped envelope or bubble mailer to them.

At minimum, you need a trowel, a spade & a pitchfork. Borrow them from your neighbors and give them some cucumbers or something.

You can do slightly raised beds without any wood. Stones or logs work for edging, too.

Look for sources of free woodchips, mulch, manure & coffee grounds.

If you live in a climate where it rains regularly, you are lucky. Even in the desert you can catch rain on the roof.

There is a learning curve and it takes time to get started, but no question your garden can be very productive and economical.

My goal each year is to learn how to grow vegetables productively. I'm still learning by the year. You should start small. Choose the vegetable you like that is the most expensive. Grow as much of it as you can or want.

Start adding others as you start getting success with that crop. One year you will be very successful with one, the next you will be failing at that crop. An example of this is, one year I tried growing Radishes in one spot of my yard. I couldn't get them to bulb up. The next year, I had so many of them in another spot of the yard.

Failing and success is how you learn. You won't be guaranteed to be successful just because you put seeds in the ground.

I did not read this tread. I have been gardening 40 years. First if you don't have a lot of money that is fine. You don't need it. Whatever you do don't make raised beds. Just a waste of money. Fist year for you. Get someone to till it for you with a tractor with a PTO rear tiller. I charge $60.00 $100.00+ for gardens in my area. Cheaper than renting a tiller. Next buy 40 bag of 13 13 13 fertilizer and seed. A hoe and rake. Look on line for a book called garden way's joy of gardening by Dick Raymond. Or any of his books. Like home gardening wisdom. You can get these books used for 3.99 each “USED”. Best gardening books ever!!! 300 to 400 pg books. Look them up on Amazon.com Here a link below. You can grow a nice garden right in your soil like it is. for less than $200.00 and get 100's to 1,000's in food out of it. But don't do raised beds it just cost too much to get started. If you need help send me a email. Here one of the books used for $1.68+3.99 shipping below then check my next post for others. I have ordered these books from here many times you will get them in 4 or 5 days. You better order fast because they want last at this price with me posting this. He tell you step by step how to grow a nice garden plant for plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Way's Joy of Gardening

i just checked on the other book "Home Garden Wisdom by Dick Raymond" There are no used books at this time just keep checking on it. Another one of his books is Gardening Know- How for the 90's Here some for .01 cent + 3.99 shipping. That is what I paid for my book. Yes it's .01cent.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening Know- How For the 90's

Here is another of his books. Down to Earth Vegetable Gardening Know How. "USED" for $1.48 to $1.50 shipping 3.99 If you will buy these books you will thank my 100 times later. Dick Raymond was the best gardener and book writer I know. These books are by far the best ever printed. The last 2 books are under 200 pgs. All 4 books are GREAT!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Gardening Know How.

Yes, it is worth it, if you are going to be in one place long enough to recoup your investment. But, as someone else said, start small. Unless you have been gardening for years, you won't immediately know what climate and pest hurdles await you.

The first year you may want to grow some salad veggies in 5 gallon buckets, free for the asking from bakeries and delis. (don't forget to drill drain holes. If esthetics matter to you, paint them or wrap them in burlap tied with string.

In quantity, it's cheaper to make your own potting mix than to buy it. Recipes abound on the web, as do recipes for home made, organic pest control.

The best way to stay ahead of pests, however, is to cover your plants with white netting, $1.80 a yard my local fabric store.

Spend some time on the Frugal Gardening forum. You can grow tomatoes and peppers from seeds you save from storebought. Cucumbers are often greenhouse varieties, and may not grow from seed, so invest in a pack. Green onions will resprout from the white bulbs at the end. Same with lettuce and celery.

In the meantime, pick the area that will be your first bed. Plan to lay it out so that the rows run N/S. If you begin sheet mulching/lasagne layering now, the bed will be mature in time for your fall veggie garden.

If you have voles, burrowing critters which eat roots, you will first need to lay down some wire mesh, too thick for their short teeth to bite through, with openings too small for babies to squirm through. Then proceed by using whatever you can scrounge:

Cardboard: If your household doesn't generate a lot, join freecycle and ask to pick up their cardboard. Or go to a furniture store and pick up their boxes

Call tree trimming companies and ask them to drop off a load.

Starbucks gives away bags of coffee grounds.

Local farms or find local chicken/rabbit growers will often let you have poo-filled bedding for the pickup.

Your local Master Gardeners and Extension Service websites will know where you can get free/cheap compost.

Mow the grass and use the clippings for the mulch.

Start your own compost pile.

Celebrate yourself! You are on your way to providing your family with healthy nutritious food and your children with knowledge and skill they will pass along to THEIR children.

Jan

Thanks. I'll take a look at those books. I've been working from Organic Gardening for Dummies. While I wouldn't say that I'm aiming to garden perfectly organically, the book gave a lot of very good info on pests, companion planting, and diseases per each plant type. Thanks again for the suggestions and offers to help. I think this year we'll put up a very small number of fruit trees and toss a few vegetable plants that I already have seed for into the existing landscaping around the house. We'll look towards next year for anything bigger. Thanks.

I too am on a very tight budget and started with a shovel and seeds. I talk about gardening alot and people started offering composted manures, grass clippings, use of tiller, etc. I only use items from people I know dont use chemicals, personal preference.
My first real success was last year. We produced lots of veggies to share with the neighbors and other people who had offered helpful items.
And we ate more than our share of squash, onions, and carrots. Plus a variety of other vegetables.
I love gardening even after the horrible first few years due to drought and inexperience. I am more confident now and really addicted to the satisfaction I receive.
Study here every chance you get. This is the best place I have found.
You do not have to spend $100's to get started just start with what you have. You'll love it.
Kim

Side question: so what do you do with the shredded tree trimmings?

IBsmilin:

You could make it as cheap/ expensive, difficult/hard as you want. I think you would save lots of money, and the food from your garden is so much healthier than the crap from the store. If anything, do it for your kids,they deserve foods without poisons on them! I would also plant some fruit trees.. Dont take that land for granted, I would kill for just a acre! Fruit trees are fairly cheap, 20-30 bucks. Again you could make it as easy and cheap as you want to.. Fruit trees make HUGE profits in the long run! My city has free compost, lookout for some free compost... Use woodash and make your own compost for cheap.. You would be surprised what you could do with a few fruit trees and a vegetable bed... Its the best investment you could ever make!

Grow on,

Joe

This Eartheasy article cites lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, winter squash, garlic, and broccoli as the most cost effective veggies to grow. If you like bell peppers, definitely give them a try. There's not a lot of peppers per plant, but even growing two peppers will recoup the cost of a seed packet. I was in the grocery store today, and one ripe red bell pepper was $1.65 (!!!). There are also some great heat-tolerant lettuces that you should be able to grow throughout the summer in your zone, like Nevada and Jericho. Cucumber plants and zucchini also produce heavily and are valuable per fruit; you will have to harvest these often, though, to make sure that the plants continue producing.

Otherwise, I might make a list of the vegetables your family eats the most and go to the store to see how much they cost. Determine which you are able to grow reasonably in your zone and choose the most expensive to grow for your family. It's also worth considering how easy/difficult the plant is to grow, and how long it will be until harvest. For example, although broccoli is on the list, it's more difficult to grow in my zone (8a/DFW), at least in the spring, because the cool season is so short. But in zone 6 it sounds like it would be ideal. How much time you have to invest is also an issue; if you are both working and have kids you want veggies that are relatively simple and hassle-free. If on the other hand one of you has some extra free time, the more finicky plants are definitely possible.

The original square-foot gardening method also does not use raised beds but digs into existing soil. To keep down costs this might be a good alternative for you. You may be able to find the first edition at your library; that's where I got my hands on it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Top 6 Most Cost-Effective Vegetables to Grow

Yes it has been worth it for me. After years of growing all sorts of vegetables, I now grow those I actually eat and don't get caught up in buying 30 tomato plants. I definitely come out ahead with fresher veggies at lower cost. I still buy because there are some vegetables that are cheaper bought at the store and others such as corn that I do not have good luck growing.

Here's a video about a man who doesn't fertilize, or even water his garden... The video is on the right of this link. It will change how you garden! It will save your wallet as well!

Best of luck,
Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: Sustainable Permaculture