September 28, 2024

VIDEO: Too Expensive to Grow Your Own Food?


So “they” say growing your own food or building a raised bed vegetable garden is a waste of money and too expensive to be worth it? Well, I disagree… 🙂

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Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane – the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let’s get into it! Cheers, Mark 🙂

30 thoughts on “VIDEO: Too Expensive to Grow Your Own Food?

  1. Food security is priceless, and over the last couple years more and more folks are realizing that very fact as they see grocery store shelves that are spotty or even empty at times.

  2. its not always about money. My tiny garden is therapy for me. I get such great joy watching things grow and pottering about making it as nice as I can. I dont have money so I get free, very cheap, cuttings, or items in the reduced pile 🙂 . The excercise is good for me with my health problems its important to do gentle excercise. Im so inspired by watching your videos Mark, Im about to try a few veg I already put in a few seedlings, cucumber, capsicum and eggplant and Im very much open to hints and tips and there are so many in your videos. Growing your own fruit and veg is SO much more than money. Its the joy of gardening, enjoying the fuits of your labour, sharing with friends and neighbours, eating more healthily. Making friends , healing the soul and spirit and being out in the air and dirt ……cheaper than therapy!

  3. I think we all need to do exactly what you do and be as balanced with the earth as you are!!!!
    I appreciate all of your tips and as a daughter of a mom who always worked her yard, I am learning née things from you and Kevin (Epic G)…
    You are making a difference…
    THANK YOU!

  4. I know there are a lot of people, particularly in the U.S., that would cringe at the mention of it, but you seem to have hit the nail on the head when it comes to the idea of being in control of your own production. This is a battle Marx had been fighting for a couple of centuries. Control of the means of production. I recall some of the arguments corporations would poo poo, one in particular, is the NIMBY argument where they'd justify doing destructive things for the "benefit" it would bestow. But the benefit always had a downside. And the benefit was only for them. Well, in my back yard, I don't need no stinking poisons. The capitalists are always trying to find the dollar amount to apply to something without really grasping the value. I actually had a boss who understood there was a difference between the cost of something, and the value of it. Value is personal. Cost is corporate. Thanks for this. I really appreciate it. And, from what I'm reading, so do many commenters. You've shown me some interesting ideas. Thanks.

    I thought I'd add, I'm now retired at age 64, and have been working on composting, and getting trees growing. I just got surprised by a crop of some 10 potatoes, and a few onions I only haphazardly dropped into the soil in a spot. It encouraged me for next spring. I'd like to do a food forest, but there's only so much you can do with a backyard that's only about 50 by 50 feet. I live in Canada at the Western tip of Lake Ontario. Not the tropical location you have. I still have some tree pruning I need to get done this winter. Doing a lot of thinking on how I'm going to approach this come spring.

  5. Everything u said is so true. I suffer bad anxiety from ptsd and growing my own herbs and veggies have been great for my mental health as well as feeling a wonderful accomplishment of eating what u have grown..

  6. After being outside the USA for a year and a half I went to a supermarket… The fruit and veggies were actually a little scary…
    All the same size… No blemishes!!!!! Yikes!!! And I'm not a vegetarian for sure. This is a great awesome presentation!!! Relaxing to just listen to him. I need to watch more of this type of show and stay away from the political crap…. Gracias!!!!

  7. The reason why I think for many it's not worth growing food in the backyard is the size of the backyards now. Like 300msq blocks… you basically don't have a yard. Yes you can grow a vertical bed, but it's not going supply all your fruit and vegetables. I still garden and still buy from the markets. But I like knowing that I provided independently for my family even if it only be for 10% of our food

  8. I think anyone that says having a veggie patch costs too much and doesn't end up cost effective has never spoken to people from older generations.
    My poppa grow most of their vegetables, my mum has said on many occasions that it was because of him growing their food that they had enough to eat. My nanna had only a certain amount that she could spend on food, but it wasn't enough without the veggie garden. My poppa worked hard all his life and always grow veggies and was an avid fisherman. Some of my fondest memories with him was when I was young going into the garden with him and eating fresh beans, peas, tomatoes and radishes, he grow a lot more (the spinach wasn't a favourite, but we all got to eat it at dinner time). I think it was his love and pride in his garden that gave me a love of gardening, I'm not as good at growing veggies as he was though, but I keep trying.

  9. Years later you argument is glorified, as the price of food and Covid has completely ruined those peoples argument towards growing food.

    Good on ya mate, fighting the good fight!

  10. Can you tell me, for your raised beds, do you buy in long or for the turning places at the ends, is that possible to buy them round?? It was my first year with tomatoes and cucumbers: I had so much so I gave to family and neighbor!!! And it taste better that the one from supermarket!!

  11. My veggie patch brings me so much joy! To see the seeds germinate and grow, and then have the benefits of eating something I’ve grown myself and share excess with family and friends… money can’t buy that feeling

  12. Is playing basketball skiing bowling shooting guns and thing people do for fun cost effective no. If you enjoy gardening labor does not count you do it because you enjoy doing it and get to reap the benefits.

  13. I've never grown plants before, just killed them. I'm going to try growing potatoes and random pineapple tops in grow bags/old grocery store cloth bags to start with then try a raised bed with corn and tomatoes next.

  14. I love growing my own food but the arguments for it represented here leave me bemused to say the least. Comments are not about cost, but about health. If the arguments are solely about health then there are fair points made, however the arguments are not really financially based, more emotionally health driven.
    I gave recently installed a tomato patch. The cost is as follows.
    Raised beds, $ 100
    Filling the raised beds with modified soil, including cow manure, $ 80
    Slow release fertiliser, $40
    Time taken at least 20 hours so far
    Water, at least 10 killilitres over the season

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