The Organic Gardening discussion list has been talking about whether gardens save money. Most of the participants seem to accept the idea that it costs more money to grow food than buying from the market. Could this be right?
The whole thing bothers me. First, how does one evaluate gardening costs? I don't think it is possible to include health benefits which save money in medical expenses. Then there is the tax situation. Do some people pay for lawns and landscaping that could be used for gardens? How can we evaluate things like edible landscaping? >From reading comments by gardeners i know they don't always try to grow economical crops. They like variety and trying to grow new crops. They grow what tastes good. They experiment with different techniques. Often they ignore some of the most economical crops. For example, we don't put any money into our tree crops (apples, pears, plums, mulberries) and they produce year after year. Another frugal group is herbs. Many herbs are perennials and many reseed each year. Neither the herbs or tree crops require much water. I just can't accept the idea that gardens are not economical. It must be the gardeners that are not economical. Anyway, i read about an idea that fits well with small orchards. Rather than mow the grass plant areas in the following cover crops: 1. comfrey 2. horseradish 3. chives & clover together Both the comfrey and radish has to be controlled somehow. If this is possible then they become useful plants that have many uses. I've already tried comfrey with bamboo and it that works. Anyone know of any lists or groups that talk about frugal gardening? About the only groups i've encountered are the various Permaculture lists. jeff
