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this post was submitted on 22 May 2025
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My grandfather was an avid gardener and would always say "gardening is the best way to overpay for your tomatoes". It can be a fun hobby but there's no way you're growing food cheaper than farmers.
Edit: if you think you can produce food more efficiently than professional farmers, you should quit your job and do it professionally yourself! We can all use some cheaper food!
For me it's not about have cheeper food, its more about food independence. I love being able to just go out in the garden and pick a carrot and eat it right there.
I don't understand how you get downvoted so much. Right now tomatoes are in season and are like 1.39€ per kg. Within a walking distance of 15 minutes I have about 5 supermarkets.
If you have a lot of free time and don't calculate labor costs for this time and you have an acre at your hand like someone's poor grandparents in the other comments, like, ok, feel free to plant tomatoes. (Actually, feel free to plant tomatoes even if you don't.) Minimum wage is about 12€ here. Seeds, soil, buckets (not sure of the English term) also cost money. I only got a balcony, with limited sun exposure too. Like, I still decided to try and grow some crap this year, but it is definitely not worth it moneywise.
You don't need an acre of land. You can grow tomates in pots and keep them on your balcony (if it gets enough sun), even in a relatively northen climate, as long as it is the season. You will need to water them and prune them occasionally, but it is not really a lot of work. And it will keep you in tomatoes for several months. That is definitely cheaper than anything professional farmers can produce.
It will not replace storebought produce, but it is a very nice supplement.
I think you are missing the point. You spend months of "not a lot of work" for 1-2kg of tomatoes (If your harvest is good)?
At this scale, is nothing but a hobby where you get some nice food at the end, if you are lucky.
It doesn't take months of active work, though. The plant does the work and you just check on it now and then, and grab a tomato when you need one. And as long as you save a tomato, you can keep going basically forever.
Some people just like downvoting. Thanks for the reply!
The real reason to garden is for higher quality or because you simply enjoy the activity.
Had a brief glimpse of tomato heaven thanks to my neighbour’s backyard Eden. Now I’m back in hell, forking over my dollarydoos for tomatoes that taste like disappointment and microplastics.
I'd disagree, my grandparents were very very poor, but they grew up in farming country and had an acre. They wouldn't be able to have had a garden if it meant putting in more money than buying.
Even with my own gardening expirence I've put a lot of money in personally for longevity and ability to move my garden in the future, but I 100% could have tilled up soil and planted some tomatoes for very cheap.
Sounds like they already had something that dramatically changes the cost/benefit analysis, compared to someone considering gardening from scratch.
Someone with a few raised beds isn't going to be able to compete with the economies of scale of a full acre of farmland.
I mean they didn't farm the whole acre, their garden plot was maybe 10 x 10 ft.
More than I can do in my town home, but not crazy.
Also economies of scale is a poor argument when it comes to farming. Prices on many crops is fixed by the Government. So yes they can produce food much cheaper, but they fix the price to be higher. If it wasn't for the government corn at our current rate of production would be nearly free, but it's artificially inflated.
I wanted to come back and address a few things in an edit. It seems like you're trying to imply they weren't poor and I'd like to address a few things. Firstly in the deep south, especially 50 years ago when they got the property, land was cheap and available. Many people owned some land and not much else. Hence the concept of "land rich" "cash poor". Plus selling your home is not a smart way to pay the bills. Secondly, they got the land after my great grandparents died the land was generational anyway. Thirdly, sure they had a house, but that didn't stop them from having to pick and choose between food and medicine. That didn't change the fact that my grandfather had no shoes for a period. I bought him a pair when I found out, but that's how he was. He'd rather do without than ask for help.
To adress the second part of your attempted "gotcha" yes having space to garden is a prerequisite to gardening, then uh yeah it is. The other option is leasing some land for a small garden, and yeah of course that's going to be expensive
My grandparents also had a garden plot of food plants, and my parents too. It didn't take much money or work.
It's cheaper and easier to get higher quality by gardening for some veggies, like tomatoes. It is, however, more work than buying from a store. Part of the reason being the varieties and practices required for centralized, commercial agriculture. Mainly, varieties chosen for durability in transport rather than flavor or nutrition.