In your quiet home garden, there is no cause to worry about Corporate Social Responsibility. Diversity, equity and inclusion are not part of the equation when you are raising kumquats in the back yard. Environmental, social and governance factors matter in the business world, but they have no place in your garden paradise.
Your home garden is a place of escape, your own little piece of heaven. Job stress, business stress, and personal issues all fade as you plant tomatoes or dig up radishes. Gardening is hard work, but it is the kind of relaxing work that leaves you with a sense of accomplishment, especially when the harvest of basil, cucumbers, or that famously over-producing zucchini comes in.
Home gardening is not only a fun activity. It is also good economics. Home vegetable gardens are often promoted as a way to cut household costs by providing low-cost access to fruits and vegetables.
An analysis of published data suggests home vegetable gardens are profitable, if the fair market value of garden labor is excluded from the calculation. On average, home vegetable gardens produce $677 worth of fruits and vegetables, against $238 worth of materials and supplies, according to research published in the Journal of Extension by Gail Ann Langellotto of Oregon State University.
An earlier estimate found the average vegetable gardener in Newark, New Jersey, could expect to net $475 worth of produce on a $25 investment, according to a 1991 study by Patel. Those figures were estimated rather than rigorously tracked, but the direction is clear.
Home gardening is big business, too. The urban farming market was valued at $213 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow 2.8% each year through 2026.
If you are starting from scratch, you will need to buy equipment, seeds, fertilizer, and everything else that goes into building and maintaining a garden. Like any hobby, it can cost tens of dollars or hundreds, depending on what you choose. You may need purchased soil if yours is not rich enough, plus shovels, tillers, raised-bed materials, trellises, and hoses. Buying basic materials second-hand can save a significant amount.
Once your garden is established, annual costs continue. You will need seeds or seedlings unless you save your own, along with fertilizer and any pesticides. Growing heirlooms, saving seeds, and setting up a compost bin to make your own fertilizer all trim those recurring expenses.
You cannot simply throw a few seeds in the ground, hope for the best, and expect a crop. The value of growing food depends heavily on whether you choose annuals or perennials.
Annuals provide a single-season crop and must be replanted each year. Tomatoes, lettuce, peas, and corn are common examples. Perennials produce a crop every year without replanting, depending on your climate zone, and often require far less work. Rabbiteye blueberry bushes can produce up to a bushel of fruit in a season and grow for as long as 40 years. Oregano, chestnuts, apples, and rhubarb are other perennial options.
If you garden organically, compare your costs to the price of similar-quality organic produce at the store, not conventional produce. Organic fruits and vegetables often cost significantly more, which makes your homegrown version compare far more favorably.
For some, a backyard garden is a lifeline to nutrition, especially when grown organically and when economic times are hard. Vegetable gardens let families produce their own food organically, a real benefit for those who value organic food but are wary of grocery-store prices, according to research by Raab and Grobe.
Gardens may be particularly valuable for low-income households, who sometimes do not treat fresh produce as a staple because of perceived costs, according to a 2007 study by Parker and colleagues. Extension professionals have noted a resurgence of interest in vegetable gardens, likely tied to economic downturns. The term “recession gardens” has become the modern version of the wartime “victory gardens.”
A few statistics to share over a plate of your homegrown vegetables:
So what do you do when your garden is too successful? You can rent a stand at your local farmers market to sell the excess and boost your profits. You can donate to a local food pantry. You can even trade vegetables online through sites such as VeggieTrader.com. Most likely, though, you will foist that surplus zucchini on friends and family just to get rid of it.
Either way, you will spend relaxing mornings and hardworking afternoons raising your plants. You will put fresh vegetables on your table. Your family will get more nutrition. And you will save some money in the process.
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References:
Gail Ann Langellotto, “What are the Economic Costs and Benefits of Home Vegetable Gardens,” Journal of Extension, Oregon State University, April 2014.
Patel (1991), vegetable gardening economic value estimate, Newark, NJ.
Ross Robinson, “Top 35 Gardening Statistics,” Today’s Homeowner, April 21, 2024.
“The Economics of a Backyard Garden,” Forbes, Aug. 29, 2011.
Raab & Grobe (2005); Parker, Pinto, Kennedy, Phelps & Herman (2007); Miller & Arnold (2012).