Can A Garden Really Cut Down Your Grocery Bill?

How to save money in your garden so you can enjoy high quality vegetables at a low cost.

2 cabbage heads growing side by side

I didn't begin growing food in my backyard with the intention of saving money, I just wanted to try something new and I ended up falling in love with the process. But cutting down my grocery bill has been an added bonus, especially lately as I've watched the prices of food skyrocket. Anything that I can avoid buying because it's already growing in my backyard is a win. The problem here is that gardening isn't free, so does the cost of gardening outweigh what you save in rising food costs? Well that depends on where you live and how much DIY you're willing or able to do. Starting a garden usually has a few upfront costs, but can be maintained fairly cheaply. Read on for some of my money saving tips to help you keep the garden costs low, and the yields high.

Location Matters

Unfortunately, where you live can play a pretty big part in the cost of your garden, which isn't something that can be easily remedied for most of us. If you live somewhere that has great natural soil, then you can grow directly in the ground, and your upfront cost might be no more than a few tools and some seed packets. If you aren't that lucky, like me, you will have to add a few things to that shopping list.

I live in the Mojave Desert, where the soil has more rocks than nutrients, and to combat this I almost entirely rely on raised beds. If I wanted to grow directly in the ground it would require a lot of labor to dig up the bad soil and mix in nutrient rich compost. So I choose raised bed gardening as a solution, and I have found some great ways to keep the price low.

DIY or Recycle Your Garden Beds

My upcycled raised garden bed made from an old dresser

If you're handy, you can make your own garden beds using reclaimed wood or even pallets. You might even be able to ask around to get some pallets for free from local retailers. I'm not very handy, so this is not something I have done myself or can give advice on, but there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube that make it seem so easy that even I could probably figure it out. Since I'm not handy, I went another route and chose to use recycled furniture. I had this old dresser that was falling apart and collecting dust in my garage, so I put it outside, turned it on its back, and filled it with soil. Some may not like the aesthetics of this, but I was just happy to find a way to make a free raised bed.

Don't Fill the Whole Bed with Quality Soil

Most vegetables have pretty shallow root systems, so you really only need about 6 to 12 inches of good quality soil in your beds. If you have a 2 foot tall bed, don't waste your money on soil to fill the entire thing. Layer the first foot with garden waste and kitchen scraps. I always start with a layer of cardboard, and then I throw in as many leaves and sticks that I can get my hands on. I'm lucky enough to have a large tree in my yard that drops leaves and sticks all year around, but if you don't have that then ask your neighbors or friends for theirs. I'm sure they would be happy to have someone help with their yard cleanup. If you have access to wood, then that is also a great option for the bottom of your bed. I always take my time when I get a new bed. As I pick up more yard debris and as I accumulate more kitchen scraps, I add to it until it is full up to the last foot. Only then do I start adding the expensive soil.

Make Your Own Compost

If you're willing to make your own compost, you will save big on your garden budget. Backyard composting is not complicated at all, and has the added bonus of being great for the environment. All you need is a large, food safe plastic tub. To make sure it's food safe, just look for the recycling number at the bottom. If it says 1, 2, 4, or 5 then you're good to go.

What you need to remember with compost is that it requires these components: Air, moisture, carbon (browns), and nitrogen (greens). Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by ratios of browns to greens, I just keep mine at approximately 50/50. Throw a layer of dead leaves at the bottom of the tub, then add a layer of kitchen scraps or freshly pulled weeds, then another layer of leaves, and so on and so forth. I like to keep browns as my top layer because that will help to keep down any smell. Add water; don't let it completely dry out, but don't keep it saturated either. You want the material to break down, not rot. And about once a week, using a shovel, turn everything around as best you can to create air flow. And that's it, overtime (it can take up to 6 months depending on the temperature) the material will break down and you will have a tub full of nutrient rich compost for the cost of a large plastic container. Using good, quality compost will also act as your fertilizer. You can add fertilizer to give your garden an extra push, but if your goal is to make your garden as budget friendly as possible, good compost will do the trick.

Buy Garden Tools Second Hand

If you buy your gardening tools, pots, and raised beds second hand, you will save a lot of money. You don't need a lot of tools to get started, I recommend having a trowel, a hand rake, clippers, and a full size shovel. All of these can be purchased second hand, either at local thrift stores or online on websites such as OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace. Just make sure you are using caution when buying from these sites if you are meeting the seller in person.

Participate in Seed Swaps

Seeds are probably the least expensive, yet most important part of gardening. You can usually find the basics for around $2 or $3 per packet, and most packets have dozens of seeds. But to keep saving even more, check your area to see if there are any seed swaps that you can participate in. The expectation is that you would bring seeds to trade, but gardeners tend to be generous people and would probably be happy to give a newcomer some free seeds.

Learn to Preserve the Food You Grow

One of the most overlooked aspects to gardening is making sure you can use everything that you grow. Sometimes you will get more tomatoes than you can eat before they go bad, and you can't just let them go to waste, so you need to learn to preserve them. You can make them into sauce and can or freeze it to use as needed so you never have to buy pasta sauce again. You can hang your herbs to dry so you never have to buy seasoning again. You can turn your strawberries into jam so you never have to buy jam again. You see the point. You need to make sure that you are using everything that you grow in your garden so that it is all worth it in the end. And for things that are harder to preserve, like lettuce, you can give to friends and neighbors to help them save a bit on their groceries too.

So, Can a Garden Really Cut Down Your Grocery Bill?

If all of the right elements are in place and you're following some of my money saving advice, then yes, I think it can. The upfront cost might be high, but over time, as your garden becomes more established, things will grow more easily and you will find yourself with more food than your family can keep up with. Don't think you need to purchase brand new tools and fancy garden beds to get started. Focus on growing the things that your family actually likes to eat, and think about what is most expensive at the store. If you like to cook with fresh herbs, for example, they are very expensive to purchase, but very easy to grow, so make that a priority as you get started. You will be amazed by how much you can grow, even with a small space and a limited budget.