These are the amounts I am using to calculate how much the food we grew would have cost if we would have bought it at the store. I got the majority of these numbers by pricing organic produce during May and June 2010 at the Whole Foods Market in Town and Country, Missouri. It would probably be more accurate if I got the numbers based on when these vegetables and fruits were at peak season, but it should be a pretty fair estimate of the actual cost. Some of the items are still blank because Whole Foods was not stocking them at the time I checked prices…so I am hoping by the end of June I should have everything filled in. There are a few items like currants, gooseberry, Jostaberry and serviceberry that I have never seen at the store…so I think I’ll just guess those to be similar to the blackberries and raspberries. Click here if you would like to see the food growing totals for 2010 to see how much we have grown and the value of that food. I am surprised at how fast the savings adds up and I expect that by the end of the year we will have saved quite a lot of money by growing our own food, although my numbers don’t reflect the amount I invested in the garden, but as I said before, I am a gardener, so if I wasn’t planting food, I would have been planting flowers.
| Fruit | Cost/Pound if bought at the store Organic |
| Serviceberry | $13.00 |
| Apples | $2.00 |
| Asian Pear | |
| Blueberries | $13.00 |
| White Currant | $13.00 |
| Jostaberry | |
| Pink Gooseberry | |
| Apricot | |
| Nectarine | |
| Sour Cherries | |
| Sweet Cherries | |
| Plums | |
| Blackberries | $13.00 |
| Raspberries | $13.00 |
| Strawberries | $5.00 |
| Nuts | |
| Hazelnut | |
| Vegetables | |
| Beans Fresh | $3.00 |
| Beans Dried | |
| Garlic | $6.00 |
| Radish | $3.00 |
| Chard | $3.00 |
| Tomatoes | $3.00 |
| Zucchini and Summer Squash | $3.00 |
| Carrots | $1.00 |
| Basil | $4.00 |
| Asparagus | $6.00 |
| Eggplant | $3.00 |
| Peppers | $3.00 |
| Beets | $2.00 |
| Cauliflower | $4.00 |
| Cabbage | $1.50 |
| Cucumber | $3.00 |
| Lettuce | $3.00 |
| Misc Herbs | $4.00 |
| Green Onions | $6.00 |
| Onions | |
| Sweet Potatoes | $2.00 |
| Peas | $3.00 |
| Sweet Peppers | $3.00 |
| Potatoes | $1.50 |
| Corn | |
| Shitake Mushrooms | $15.00 |
| Artichokes |
Growing food at home can save you money, and is a sustainable practice for the environment, whether you are living in the suburbs or practicing urban agriculture. The food tastes great, you don’t have to use chemicals by using organic growing techniqes, and your garden can be both a source of pride and a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
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