Which vegetables and fruits are cost-effective to grow?

Since many, if not most, of us in this forum are successful part-time (or more) gardeners, we know the expense in time and sweat equity it takes to prepare the garden beds and fertilize them (natural or otherwise). Over the years, I have gravitated into growing crops that both grow well in my location's climate and can be done economically, especially considering what they would cost in a supermarket. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, raspberries and blackberries are some but not all of the crops that I grow regularly because they meet the criteria above.

Has anyone chosen to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs based on this criteria and, if so, which of these crops do you grow based on your climate, soil quality and personal tastes

 

Watermelon! Watermelon grows in the middle of nowhere with next to nothing around it, it's such an amazing fruit. On top of that, a huge watermelon is this perfectly healthy + tasty treat, it stays on the vine for quite a bit of time (can't cut it and let it ripen though, ground fruits do not tend to have the need to ripen on the ground because the chance of them "falling" is so much lower, fun fact). Plus you get like a billion seeds per watermelon, give or take.

 

Keith is absolutely correct. Grow the veggies and fruits that will grow well in your area. Otherwise, your plants will not produce well and you will have wasted your money and your time. Secondly, grow what is best for the season in which you are planting. For example, in my area of Texas lettuce and okra grow much better in the fall as the heat in the spring and summers is too harsh for them. These two tips will go a long way to help you supplement your groceries or to be self sufficient.

 

Anything that you can grow yourself, and gives you seeds. If it gives you seeds to regrow it, then it becomes insanely efficient. But besides that, just know what's good for your area. You can't grow a winter plant in the summer, and you can't grow a plant that's normal habitat is Russia in Mexico. All plants have a basis of what they need for life, as long as you meet that, your plant will generally be efficient.

 

Seeds for most vegetables and fruits aren't that expensive. You may need to try growing lots of different vegetables to determine which of them will get you the higher yields per square foot of land or save you more money.

For me though the vegetables I choose are the ones I can eat every day. There's no need to grow something if you'll be eating it only once or twice a week unless you intend to sell the produce.

 

Dude, that is my dream.
Absolutely impressive.
I'd love to leave the city and be able to do that.

I grow what I can season to season, and to an extent I'm certainly still a learner.

As for the topic at hand, I think it depends more on the way you're growing your Vegetables than just doing so in general as to how economical a thing it is to do. For example buying seedlings or new seeds on a yearly basis is anti-economical, but buying seeds once and letting a few go to seed so that you can replant next season is a fantastic way to do it.
Storing seeds in a post-SHTF world is another thing though, yeah?

 

Unless you build a greenhouse. Stick with the vegetables or fruit crops that can grow easily in your current environment and season. Avoid headaches trying to sow fragile crops.

 

^ We definitely need a greenhouse thread going. I'm very very interested in enclosed growing, it seems like there's gotta be a ton of ways to do it but the information just isn't as floaty as it could be, if that makes sense. I have seen a few resources but they never do many comparisons between different options

 

Cost-effective isn't really a proper way of determining if a crop is worth growing or not, I personally measure "worthiness" in terms of how long it takes for the crop to grow and how much I'm going to get from it. Things like tomatoes, potatoes or apples are good example of efficient crops while grapes for example can take a while.

 

^ The only problem I have with apples is that I don't like to eat a lot of them at once, it's just a snack. Also, what do you mean apples as efficient? Doesn't it kinda take a whiiiile to grow an apple tree?

 

After a few years of trial and error we realized that growing corn in our area was not cost effective because we have to water it so much and it is just cheaper to buy it in my local market. With that said, we are growing tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and basil. We quit growing parsley because it tasted so bland.

 

Our main crops now are cassava and corn. The corn is to be harvested in 2 months time while the cassava will have to wait until December. It is not for the money but for the joy of harvesting. In fact, we even pay someone to prepare the garden for planting because that is the difficult part of pulling the weeds and digging the soil for cultivation. We also have sweet potato but not really as a crop but for small consumption only.

With fruits, we have 2 mango trees that recently gave us a harvest of 3 sacks. Our star fruit is also fruiting nicely and harvest is in a week or 2 maybe. I saw a bud in the dragon fruit that would be a flower next week. We also have sugar apple that is imported from Thailand. Not to forget our lemon tree which is also fruiting all the time and the smaller kumquat, another citrus. I almost forgot our banana which is the Thailand variety that is prolific.

Even if it's only psychological, our harvest are the best in quality especially with the fruits that we never forget to share with the neighbors and relatives.

 

In my country, there is an abundance of fruits and vegetables that are cost effective to grow. Pertaining to vegetables, tomatoes, hot peppers, sweet peppers and green leafy vegetables like pak choi and callaloo which are not expensive to grow and they produce in a short period of time. There are so many different types of fruits that mostly self-sustain themselves and produce year after rear without requiring a great deal of attention. Fruits like mangoes, ackees, jackfruit, breadfruit, papaya to name a few, however, some of these will not begin to produce for a number years after they have been planted.

 

That's easy E="lonewolf, post: 9506, member: 363"]only grow what is expensive to buy, we don't grow carrots because they are cheap here.[/QUOTE]
Mmm I'd grow strawberry peas purple sprouting marrows

 

Gardening is not always cost effective by the time one figures in the cost of water. But when you grow your own veggies at least you know if any pesticides were used. I choose not to use any there by insuring mine are healthier than the stores.

 

I think aloe vera, mint, corn and many types of semi food and herbs are worth keeping. I think a lot of depends on your weather and the soil. For example, i have struggled with the sunflower seeds. So not sure if it can work out there. So in your case you have to check that out. Not all the fruits are possible in some soil.