Updated on February 10, 2025 by Ruth
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You are concerned about the cost of food increasing each year, and your friends advise you to start a vegetable garden. Is this a good idea? Will it actually save any money? What if you don’t know very much about gardening? What do you need to start growing your own vegetables? Why do people struggle with gardening? What makes growing vegetables worthwhile?
Let’s take each of these questions in turn.
Table of Contents
Is it a good idea to start a garden?
Gardening is good for you in many ways. It gets you outside, you are physically active, you feel better when you are working with plants of any kind, and you get to observe the plant in many different stages. Gardening helps develop your observation skills, as you have to learn how to take care of the plants by observing small changes in leaves or buds. I recommend that everyone grow something, even just a single plant. You can see that there are many benefits to growing other than saving money.
Will having a garden save you any money?
This is tricky, as it is easy to get caught up in buying many packets of seeds that never get planted, or cute pots that cost more than you will ever get out of the plant, or you spend lots on raised beds, supplies, trellises, or accessories. If you grow the way farmers do, then yes, you can save money. Use what you have on hand, re-purpose everything you can, and buy as little as possible.
Remember that you will improve your gardening skills and tools each year. My family has been farming in this location for 193 years, and we seek to improve each year still.
Keep in mind that it is unlikely you can grow all of your food, so be sure to find source for purchasing those items you are not growing. It is a balance of what you are able to grow with your space and time.
What if you don’t know very much about gardening?
We are fortunate to live when information is readily available. Your local library may offer a class or demonstration—and if they do not, then request one! Your library definitely has books on growing with lots of great pictures. If you prefer live action with narrative, visit YouTube.
The summer vegetables tend to be very easy to grow. Give them a bit of soil, sun, and water, and they start growing. The best way to learn is to start.
If you have never grown vegetables before, then start with one or two of your favorite vegetables and plant those. It is important not to overwhelm yourself with too much new material at once.
What do you need to get started with a vegetable garden?
Vegetable plants need sun, soil, water, and time.
- Sunlight: vegetables do best in full sun, which is sun up to sundown. Scout out possible locations where you are. You can grow in containers on a balcony or along a driveway, you can add a few vegetable plants to a flower garden, you can prepare a 4X4 foot area for a variety of plants. It does not have to be a large space, but it does need sunlight.
If you are checking your space in the winter, remember that the trees will develop leaves and provide shade. Shade is great for cooling things off, but you will not get as many or as large vegetables in the shade.
- Soil: vegetables will grow in a lot of different types of soil. As long as there is some nutritional value to the soil, the plants will grow. Should you add fertilizer? Most vegetable plants need a small amount of fertilizer or compost, otherwise you wind up with lots of leaves and very few vegetables.
An easy and free way to add nutrients to the soil is to use dried leaves as mulch around the plants. The leaves help suppress weeds, help keep the roots cool, help keep water from evaporating as quickly in the hot parts of summer, and break down over the course of the year to add nutrients back into the soil. This takes time, but it is well worth the effort.
- Water: vegetable plants need consistent water. Let me repeat that, consistent water. Wherever you plant, you want access to water, unless you can count on getting a nice gentle rain each week. Plants take up water from their roots, so it is important that any watering is enough to get the soil damp to the bottom of the roots. Then, over the course of the next several days, the plant roots can access the water in the soil and transport it throughout the plant via the stem.
Just as you are thirstier in the hot days of summer, so are your plants. You will need to water more frequently on extra hot days.
- Time: vegetable plants need regular attention. Whether it is removing a weed or too, watering, propping the plant up, or harvesting a juicy tomato, you have to commit to spending some time with your garden.
Why do people struggle with gardening?
The primary reason why people do not achieve the garden success they dream of is not dedicating regular time to the garden. If you don’t visit the garden 2-3 times each week, then problems appear which get out of control quickly if untended. This is usually because the garden is too large. Start with a small garden, it will b e easier to keep up with the maintenance in the summer.
The next reason for a struggling garden is not enough sunlight for the plants. Remember, the vegetable plants want sunlight from sun up to sundown.
What makes growing vegetables worthwhile?
Keep your initial costs down. Buy as little as possible.
Grow the vegetables that you like. If you don’t like zucchini, then don’t grow it. If you love hot peppers, go for it.
Enjoy the growing process. If you do not enjoy the planting, growing, and harvesting activities, then you are better off supporting a local farm and seeing what bargains they have.
Harvest regularly to enjoy what you have planted.
Learn to freeze, dehydrate, or can any excess produce to use in the non-growing season. This is what helps extend the buying power of your gardening efforts.
FAQs
Q: Why don’t people save money when they have a vegetable garden?
A: It is easy to spend money on non-essentials, such as raised beds, trellises, supports, or gardening tools. Make it a goal to use what you have on hand.
Q: What if I didn’t get plants in the ground at the beginning of the season?
A: It is fine to plant after the beginning. Your plants will start producing later and then will continue for later in the season.
Q: Do I have to spray for bugs?
A: No, there are lots of ways to keep the bugs away without chemicals.
Q: Will my tomato plant grow with afternoon sun only?
A: The plant will grow, but you will not have as many tomatoes as if the plant received 10-12 hours of direct sun daily.
Q: What if I have never had a garden before?
A: Check out some books on gardening at your local library (free). There are lots of photos of both healthy and unhealthy plants so that you can recognize what is going on in your garden.
Q: Do I need to know what my growing zone is?
A: It is important to know when your last frost in the spring comes and when the first frost in the fall arrives, as those are the usual parameters for most growing seasons. Your growing zone will tell you how cold it gets in the winter.
Conclusion
Keep in mind, gardening is always a work in progress. Some years, the weather is uncooperative, and other years might see a lot of pests. These are factors beyond our control. What we can do is select plants appropriate for our area, make sure there is enough sunlight and water, and enjoy the process.
There are lots of tricks to making your garden productive, and you will learn them as you grow each year. Find the system that works for you. Look for information from University Cooperative Extension Service, Master Gardeners, local farms, and other sources where you can see how others are growing in your area.
I encourage you to start a small garden and see how you like it. As you learn more about the vegetables that you enjoy, then plant a few more seeds the next year. You will learn how to manage your costs and your time so that the garden produces a lot of vegetables and pleasure for you.
Happy growing!
~ Ruth
Additional resources
https://www.udel.edu/canr/cooperative-extension
https://www.udel.edu/canr/cooperative-extension/environmental-stewardship/master-gardeners
