Growing your own vegetables helps budget and health

Growing your own vegetables helps budget and health

Q: Is it really economical to grow my own vegetables?
-Diana Magallan, Paso Robles
A: Master Gardeners are frequently asked, "Does it really pay to grow my own fruits and vegetables?" Home vegetable gardening does pay, according to a series of university trials that coincided with recent recessions in the U. S. economy.


During 1980 for example, two Florida researchers named Stephens and Carter, along with the Jacksonville Urban Garden Program, developed a 20-by-29- foot garden in an abandoned parking lot. The garden was planted from seed and seedlings and produced 24 varieties of vegetables and six herbs. The total cost to establish the garden was just over $83. They tracked about 68 hours in labor, and with the minimum wage at $3.10 found labor costs of about $210. Based on the 1980 prices at local grocery stores the garden harvest was worth $416. So this garden, about the size of most American vegetable gardens, saved $122. While the minimum wage has increased about 2½ times since 1980, so has the retail price of many vegetables, including those in the Jacksonville garden.

Keep in mind that the value in dollars for a vegetable can reflect a high price per pound or a high yield of vegetables you eat frequently. Asparagus is one of those higher-priced vegetables, and the UCCE Master Gardeners can provide you with information on growing it in our local area.

Is all that work really worth $122, or $305 in today's dollars? Don't forget to add in the value of the exercise gardening provides, the connection to sustaining nature and the environment, healthy eating habits and fewer trips to the grocery store. As you start the new year, and your new vegetable garden plans, remember that the Master Gardeners are available to help you enjoy the direct benefits of growing your own vegetables, and help your health and budget as well..

Contact the University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners at 781-5939 from 1 to 5 p. m. on Monday and Thursday; at 473-7190 from 9 a. m. to 1 p. m. in Arroyo Grande; and at 434-4105 from 9 a. m. to noon on Wednesday in Templeton. Visit the UCCE Master Gardeners Web site at groups. ucanr.org/slomg/or e-mail mgsanluisobispo@ucdavis.edu.

Order Juice Plus+® TODAY for only $1.50 a day! Feed your family concentrated nutrition for their health and cheaper than a starbucks coffee!