A post over at Path to Freedom got me thinking. My gardening has honestly not "saved" us any money in a strict sense of the word. (I refuse to equate the word saving as it applies to "look how much we saved" when it comes to buying things we would not otherwise buy.)
Gardening has not reduced the cost of eating fresh (or home preserved) organic produce one iota. Gardening forced us to eat fresh (or home preserved) organic produce. Society may give lip service to living "green" but if you follow the money, its not where our priorities lay. For mainstream america, living lightly is an expensive proposition. I simply pulled price out of the equation.
I suspect I am not alone in the sense that I do not depend on my garden for economic survival, but for spiritual, healthful, and global survival. We must be prepared to accept the fact that many, in fact much of society views our arcane gardening practice as a luxury. Primarily one of time. The most common response I get (and I'm sure I'm not the exception) is "I wish I had the time for that."
Second confession. I don't have the time. By sunset I have been pulled in 50 different different directions trying to get all the little projects, appointments, and routine this and that done. But I make the time, because in a life where so many things are beyond your control, its nice to have a moment when your time is your own. So for us the cost of eating organic is time.
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4 comments:
I certainly don't depend upon my garden for economic survival (thank goodness). I'm much like you. It is good for my mental and physical health. I enjoy the work. I enjoy the accomplishment. I enjoy the very fresh food. I'm happy that I'm treading lighter on our planet.
I suppose you could call me lucky right now. I'm a crafter. The economy is bad. People aren't buying as much. So right now I have the time. Lots of it. When I didn't have time for it, I still gardened. I did the quick and dirty gardening. I put in things that would last all season and stayed away from things like lettuce that needs successions. With just one weekend in the spring and once a month to weed, I could get lots of food from the garden with very little time.
I'll agree with you completely. In the past couple of years I think my actual cost for produce is about 10x the cost in the store for the cheapest ones. Mostly that is because I've got to build it, create it and adjust it..all of which takes initial output.
Of course, the cost will amortize out over time.
For me, like you, it is the non-financial aspects that really appeal. A bigger percentage is that I keep in practice and get better at gardening and the storing of the food that comes from it. In a really tight financial pinch, the investment I've made could stretch for many years with minimal funds and slightly more work.
That is like savings to me..in so many ways..not just economically.
Great post. I garden for the joy of it, not because I have to. And part of that joy is the freshness of the produce....well, you just can't put a price tag on that.
Happy Gardening!
Okay, I'm kinda on the fence with this post...I don't garden because we'd starve otherwise BUT, I feel, as a stay at home mom, anything I can grow and preserve is a contribution to our home economy. In fact, my husband said he preferred me to stay at home because I'm more productive at home than if I had a 'real paying job'. That 2 dollars in bean seeds produced at least a hundred dollars in beans that I canned for winter. We ate those beans all winter and didn't need to buy as much produce. Ditto for tomatoes.
A penny saved is a penny earned, right?
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