Chris Farrell: Payoff from home veggie garden isn't just monetary

Q My wife and I are near retirement. We live on an average-size city lot in St. Paul. How much money might we save in groceries if we use the back yard for a vegetable garden?

PETER

A After much research the answer is I've come up with is ... it all depends. One factor is the kind of grocery store or farmer's market you use to buy vegetables. Even more important are taking into account the investment you might have to make to get your vegetable garden going, how much you'll need to spend on maintaining it, and what kind of vegetables you grow. Among the vegetables that seem to pay off best are tomatoes, fava beans, carrots, bell peppers and the like.

Here are two articles that I enjoyed and dug up when I got your question. The first was published in Slate on March 24, 2009. Jennifer Reese looks into the economics of growing your own food in your garden in "The First Family's First Vegetables." She's skeptical. Her conclusion: "Of all the reasons to plant a garden, free food may be the worst." You can find a more positive perspective in a Nov. 15, 2009, article posted on www.veggiepup.com. In "Can You Really Save Money on Growing Vegetables?" the author argues that you can answer the question "yes" -- if done correctly.

Both authors agree that gardeners can't assume they'll save money in the short or the long term. It all depends on how they go about it. (Full disclosure: I don't have a back yard, but if I did I'd be reading the newspaper or a book. But I have friends who are avid gardeners, and I've been a beneficiary of meals cooked with vegetables they've grown. It makes me hungry just to think of those wonderful meals!)

Here's the thing: So far, we've only been looking at the tangible trade-off between spending money on vegetables at the grocery store and growing them at home. There are other factors to consider. For instance, the emotional payoff from gardening can be huge -- just ask most gardeners. It's a passion for many people. Gardeners value the time they spend outdoors and the exercise they get. Perhaps most important, gardening is also a community event in many places, with neighbors swapping tools, seeds, insight and knowledge. And this is how social engagement and money-saving activities can merge.

The bottom line: If gardening is how you like to spend your time, the "return on intangibles" can be considerably greater than the return on investment.