Garden Roundup - How Much You Can Really Grow In a Small Garden?

Plus, what I learned from a tomato 🍅 SHOCKED me

Oct 29, 2024

Three years ago, I put our name in to gain access to a small plot in a bustling community garden. It’s located on a farm given to the city by the original owners, to be used by the community as a place for educational opportunities. There is so much going on - they grow food for the food pantry, have 180 organic community plots they offer to residents, offer cooking and gardening classes, offer a children's program throughout the year, and have an ever-popular clematis garden that is gorgeous to walk through.

The first two years, we gardened on a half-plot. The 180 organic community plots are 20’x20’ in size, and to make room for even more gardeners, they split some of them in half, offering 10’x20’ plots.

When full plots become available, they offer them to half-plot gardeners. When I received an email this spring, I jumped at the chance.

I’ve learned a lot from my full plot this year.

Why consider a community garden …

Plant-based living is a journey, not a destination. Along the way, you start caring more about the quality of your food.

That’s why, three years ago, when I learned about our community gardens, the idea became intriguing. I live in a townhouse in the middle of our community. I love it - it’s close to everything, and I can walk everywhere. I have a front porch and a back patio. But it’s not conducive to growing food. I’ve tried tomato plants - not enough sun. I’ve grown herbs - it works. But food to put on the table? There simply isn’t room.

So, the community garden idea finally moved to the forefront of my mind three years ago, and I put our name on the waiting list. Maybe it was a pandemic thing, but I really started wanting to grow more of my own food.

And now I do. I garden for so many reasons:

To grow organic food
To be outside in nature
To be a part of the community
To grow food … and flowers
To learn more about growing food
To relax and have a meditative activity
To save money on food

I don’t have a history of growing food. I’ve planted flowers, hung baskets on my porch, and enjoyed fresh flowers in my home since I bought my first home. Growing food? This has been new to me.

But everyone has to start somewhere. And the last three years have been so much fun.

As we moved to a full plot this year, I also thought it would be interesting to see if it truly does help us save money on food. So we started tracking.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

Getting a plot of land takes on a life of its own. We started dreaming. Researching. And buying. Seeds. Books.

I planted seeds in a little tray to start them early. But the thing about the Pacific Northwest - there’s not a lot of sun in March and April, especially coming through any of my windows. So I bought a grow light for $10 on Amazon. And I used the trays I got from a class at the community garden.

I had a little success, but not nearly enough. An heirloom tomato plant took hold. But little else. Most of it died once I planted it outside.

It’s something I’ll be working on next year.

Plot costs

As a resident, plot fees are very reasonable. A 10’x20’ is $87 for a year, and a 20’x20’ is $110 per year. We also have to donate four volunteer hours around the farm as part of the fee. We typically spend a Saturday morning doing odd jobs - fixing a rain gutter in the children’s garden, weeding the apple orchard, adding new mulch to the walkways, putting up scarecrows in the fall. It all depends on what’s needed at the farm. Some of it’s fun. Some of it’s hard work - you quickly gain an appreciation for farming.

Food Costs

Here’s my weak point this year. I didn’t get the full plot until March, and didn’t decide to track costs until May. So I’m a little weak on what we spent to put in our garden. Next year …

Yet seeds cost $3 to $7 per packet. Plants cost roughly $1 to $10, depending on the plant and size.

Here’s what we decided to grow this year:

Arugula
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Cucumber - lemon
Eggplant
Flowers
Herbs - sage, rosemary, basil, mint, chives, thyme, oregano
Kale
Poblano
Pumpkin
Pumpkin - pie
Serranos
Spinach
Squash - acorn
Squash - butternut
Squash - delicata
Squash - pan
Squash - yellow
Tomatoes - heirloom
Tomatoes - large
Tomatoes - medium
Tomatoes - small
Zucchini

Based on how much we grew, and the prices we would have paid at our local supermarket, we shaved $1,378.54 off our food bill this summer! Amazing, right? Even if I spent $100 on seeds and plants (I didn’t), that would still be a $1,300 savings. I’m happy with that.

And it wasn’t only food. With a bigger plot came my desire to plant flowers. So in went zinnias, dahlias, and globe amaranth. I had a “bad” start where nothing grew, so I “dumped” my leftover seeds in one section just to see what happened.

It exploded! 🥰

So I’ve had fresh-cut flowers all over my house since August.

I love flowers, and usually have one or two bouquets in my house at all times. Now, because I’m growing them myself, I put one in every room in the house.

My local Whole Foods has small bouquets for sale throughout the year, which are priced at $10. Mine are comparable to those. I estimate I placed around 35 bouquets in my home throughout August, September, and October. So, $350 saved by growing my own.

Could it lead to something else …

As I was cutting a few bouquets one weekend, a woman walked by admiring my flowers. She LOVED them and asked if I sold bouquets. I do not. I gave her flowers to bring home without paying … but it did create a “hmm” moment in my brain as she walked away.

And that really is the lesson learned from my garden. Again, plant-based living is a journey, not a destination.

I never - NEVER - would have predicted I would be growing food and enjoying the process way back when I first opened up a vegetarian cookbook.

But that’s life. It led me to my Gorgeous garden, where food and flowers are abundant.

Where I can walk around and look at 180 plots of land to see what other gardeners are doing.

Where I can talk and laugh with all of my neighbors, who are doing what I’m doing out at the farm.

Getting fresh air and vitamin D, as well as growing food and saving money by growing my own.

(By far, my biggest savings came from the tomatoes - $637.53! Who would have guessed!?)

I already have plans for my 2025 garden. I’ve been making notes all season, things I’d do differently, resources I’ve learned from other gardeners.

I guess that’s a gardener’s winter job. 👩🏻‍🌾 And I can’t wait to get started.

p.s. Did you like this message? It would mean a lot to me if you’d press the ❤️ below if you liked it, left a comment 💬, or shared it with a friend. I’m trying to grow this publication, and I depend on people like you to do so!