Dave Smith wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> > I have a second fridge freezer because I vegetable garden as a
> > *hobby*... there is definitely no monetary savings in growing ones own
> > veggies, I do it only because I enjoy gardening. �Growing my own costs
> > at least *ten* times as much at buying at the stupidmarket... anyone
> > says they save money growing their own is either lying, a pinhead, or
> > both. �I've been growing veggies too long to think I'm saving money...
> > when I first started some 55 years ago I truly believed I was gonna
> > save money. �I spend more on gardening supplies each season than any
> > ten of yoose spend on produce all year.
>
> If you have the land to spare for a garden and good soil and a few hand
> tools that you would need anyway, seed is relatively cheap, especially
> if you buy it in bulk. However..... most people would rather buy a
> rototiller than dig up a garden by hand and hoe it. �I haven't seen
> vegetable seed in bulk in years.

Places like Agway sell vegetable seed in bulk, even mail order like
Burpee sells bulk seed. But for home gardening buying bulk seed is
wasteful, seed doesn't store well.


My new neigbour decided to put in a
> garden this year. He paid $850 for a used rototiller for his tractor, a
> good deal, but like you say, a lot more than he would pay for fresh
> vegetables.

That's a lot of money for a used rototiller for a home garden. When I
first moved here and ordered my tractors (I won't even mention the
price of tractors) I ordered a 5' rototiller too. I soon realized it
way too big for my garden... my tractor won't fit in my garden... so
there that $2,400 tiller sits in my barn, never used. So then I
bought a 7 horsepower Simplicity rototiller, $700. It's fine for
busting virgin soil but is way overkill for secondary tilling... don't
you believe those TV ads where you see some 70 year old 90 pound
granny operating a tiller with one hand... that 7 horse monster drags
me around, gives me a real work out. I used it two seasons and then
got wise, I bought one of those little Mantis tillers... don't let
it's size fool you, that thing works beautifully, and only $300. So,
I have $3,500 worth of tillers... how much salad will that buy at the
market? And tillers are only the tip of the iceberg. There's no end
to what gets spent on gardening... all those trips to the nursery just
to buy soil ammendments... bags of top soil, peat moss, etc, ain't
cheap.

> My parents always had a vegetable garden. �My father used to dig it up
> by hand and my brothers and I weeded it by hand. �We always had enough
> fresh vegetables to keep us going for the year and my mother froze
> enough beans that we had them several meals each week all winter. It was
> a lot of work, but those fresh vegetables were really tasty.
>
> It is a lot of expense for most people and it is a worthwhile hobby that
> gets people outside. The big reward is the freshness and flavour.

For me most of the benefit is in doing something rewarding outdoors.
Just remember that home gardening is a hobby like any other, it's not
to save money... golf is a hobby too, gardening costs as much. I
think of the cost of gardening as the price of my gym membership, but
I get a much better workout in far nicer suroundings, and no nekid
preditor Duh'Waynes ogling my Jolly Green Giant zuchinni in the
shower.