According to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Neal Templin, growing our own vegetables is cost effective.  The article “How much Green Can Growing A Vegetable Garden Save You?” (4-16-09) highlights the ability to achieve a sizeable return on your investment.

“The nonprofit National Gardening Association just produced a study — sponsored by ScottsMiracle-Gro Co. — that found the average family with a vegetable garden spends just $70 a year on it and grows an estimated $600 worth of vegetables.  George Ball, chairman and CEO of seed giant Burpee, can rattle off the savings for dozens of homegrown crops. Green beans will generate $75 worth of crops for each $1 you spend on seeds, Mr. Ball calculates. Even the lowly potato will generate $5 of spuds for each $1 you invest in seeds.”

The trick is keeping your capital costs down. Lori Bushway of Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture says a garden can be as simple as digging up a few square feet of your lawn and sprinkling lettuce seeds in the dirt.

Most anywhere grass can grow, lettuce will grow, she says. What about fertilizer? Not needed. What about weeds? Plant the lettuce tight enough, and there won’t be room for any. This simple garden will fill salad bowls for about six weeks. Ms. Bushway advises planting four square feet of lettuce per person in your household.

“You can easily triple your investment,” she says. That’s better than any of my mutual funds have done lately. Break out the olive oil.

Spring in the garden

The link to the article is at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123983924976823051.html