# Garden Start-Up Costs



## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

Wow! My Territorial Seed order is going to be over $400! It's a mix of small amounts (sampler packets) of vegetables in two 4x8 Square Foot Garden boxes. I do have 30 tomato plants in 3 other boxes, a 4x4 of strawberries, 10 rapsberry bushes and 2 blueberry plants. 

Does this seem like an excessive price? I can't imagine this will produce over $400 of produce. I'm looking for some reassurance that this tight-wad is making the right financial move! What do you guys usually spend on your gardening?


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## taylort5 (Nov 6, 2008)

hawkmiles said:


> Wow! My Territorial Seed order is going to be over $400! It's a mix of small amounts (sampler packets) of vegetables in two 4x8 Square Foot Garden boxes. I do have 30 tomato plants in 3 other boxes, a 4x4 of strawberries, 10 rapsberry bushes and 2 blueberry plants.
> 
> Does this seem like an excessive price? I can't imagine this will produce over $400 of produce. I'm looking for some reassurance that this tight-wad is making the right financial move! What do you guys usually spend on your gardening?


Holy!!! Cancel that order man!' That is unreal to me unless you are getting bags of different seeds.
I saved seeds from last year, picked up some at lowes, and even found a great deal at dollar tree. 4 packs for a buck. I only spend about 75.00 to 100.00 a year. That includes everything I need. If you got that kinda $ to toss around on just seeds and stuff. You are better off than most!! Jus sayin
Peace to u


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## smaj100 (Oct 17, 2012)

Yeah, I'd cancel that. Our local coop/rural king farm store has seed packs on sale buy 1 get 1 free, and has been for a month, and will be according the manager for ever, they had a metric ton she said.

I picked up one of everything for about $35.


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## DJgang (Apr 10, 2011)

Wow. Is it the bushes that are costing so much?

I've got bags and bags of seeds and probably have 20.00 in them all.

Are you buying garden boxes too? I got a catalog here and the biggest item I thought about buying was open pollented non GMO corn to try out this year and it's 30 bucks. 

A cotton farmer can plant over an acre on 400.00 including cost of heavy machinery and fertilizer and spray during the year. 

Sum um aint right.... :scratch


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I have ordered from Territorial Seed more than once and they are a nice little place to get "hard to find seeds". (and my beneficial insects.)

Looking at your order ... 30 tomato plants @ 3.75 or if you went grafted 7.95each. I guess it depends on what you want and if you can get the same plants local. (I would order "seeds" and go from there but I'm not you ... 

10 rapsberry bushes and 2 blueberry plants (18.00 each) ... I would rather get local. In my area I can get both in gal. pots for about 10 bucks each. (and no shipping cost.)

Happy Gardens ... :flower:


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## Indiana_Jones (Nov 15, 2011)

hawkmiles said:


> Wow! My Territorial Seed order is going to be over $400! It's a mix of small amounts (sampler packets) of vegetables in two 4x8 Square Foot Garden boxes. I do have 30 tomato plants in 3 other boxes, a 4x4 of strawberries, 10 rapsberry bushes and 2 blueberry plants.
> 
> Does this seem like an excessive price? I can't imagine this will produce over $400 of produce. I'm looking for some reassurance that this tight-wad is making the right financial move! What do you guys usually spend on your gardening?


It seems to be a very high price but you're not very clear on what you actually purchased. What did you actually buy when you say 4x8 garden box? And what is a 4x4 of strawberries?

If the garden supplier is shipping you two 4' x 8' raised bed garden frames made of 2" x 12" lumber and all of the seeds for veggies as well as a 4' x 4' raised bed frame made of the same material with lots of strawberry plants - well then $400 might not be too bad if it includes shipping all the way across the country. I certainly wouldn't do it but - - - different strokes.

For the past 5 years I have been slowly changing all of my veggie, fruit, and mellon plants over to open pollinated heirloom varieties so that I can save the seeds and never have to buy seeds again.


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## Oneshot (Oct 8, 2012)

Ouch!  Way to much! IMHO ! 

I tend to take *Andy's & Indiana Jones's view on the seeds and plants.

Just a thought. . . You can make containers out of most anything that can hold dirt. That will cut the price also.
Good Luck on your gardening


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

I'm betting the fruits are the bulk of the total but still Territorial is pretty high priced it start with.

I would NOT start with that big of an order. You could find yourself very easily overwhelmed. It doesn't do you any good to have it all if you can't keep it all watered. Once you have some of it started and established then start some more.


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

Oh. Things like tomatoes are crazy expensive from places like this.

You'd be way better off, price wise, to buy your tom plants locally at Menards or Wm or the like.

If money is a consideration and obviously it is since you are asking you should start your own toms if you want certain varieties.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

With all you purchased, and shipping, it sounds about right. It is easy to get the price up there.

I spend about $100 a year on supplies and plants. I like to try a few new varieties and then there is the Pyola, blood meal, dolomitic lime and such.


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## siletz (Aug 23, 2011)

If you have a good local nursery, I think you would be much happier buying the plants there. That way you can pick out the bush you think looks the healthiest instead of what they give you, and you don't have to pay shipping. Territorial is one of the companies I buy from, and they are great, but I stick to buying seeds from them, and get my plants local.


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## sgtrunningfool (Dec 8, 2012)

I am much newer than most to the gardening thing but here is my two cents. Buying from a nursery in the begining is good because it estabilishes a relationship with someone you can get advice from. I found that my best seed deals come from my local farm supply/feed store. They were a lot cheaper than what I bought through burpee. Now the feed store did not have the variety that the seed companies do so I just bought the mainstays there and then augmented with seeds I found at HD. Good luck


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

Find a local gardening club or a local community garden. Lots of times they have seed trading programs, either formal or informal networks, sometimes they get old seeds from retailers, especially if they are some kind of non-profit group, and they can give away these seed packets.

Basically you'll be trading time and legwork in order to save money.

Even if you buy your seeds this year you shouldn't expect this to be an annual recurring cost for you should be saving seeds from every harvest.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

There is more than one way to look at it, most people spend more than $400/year on hobbies that will pay them nothing back. Many people enjoy trying different varieties of seeds and plants that are ready to produce.

From an economic perspective what everyone has already posted is correct. 
I can seed an acre of vegetables for less than that.
You can save money in a lot of different ways.
You can plant less varieties and buy in larger quantities, this will save you a ton. 
If you want to save your own seed it will be free but it is much easier to do this if you only have one or two varieties of each vegetable as this makes cross-pollination more manageable.
Started plants are exponentially more expensive than seed, you may find better deals locally. Starting your own will be cheaper still, especially if you use saved seed or bulk packages but even with the most expensive of seeds.
For the perennials, again like people have said you may find better deals elsewhere or locally. You might be surprised at how many people are willing to give away cuttings or divisions of their own perennials. You can also start most of these yourselves, though they may take awhile to reach maturity.

I wouldn't worry about that amount of money if that is what it takes to get started but you can save if you have the time.


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## squshnut (Sep 5, 2011)

i get about 9 pounds of assorted vegetable seed shipped to me for about $79. the only time I've spent $400 is when i built my green house, and another $350 for a tiller. 
I was lucky and paid for them by selling plants and produce to cover the cost.


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## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

Well this is the order I have sitting in my cart, ready to go (haven't placed it yet). I should have posted this in the first place. Any more ideas to save money, now that you can see my order?

*Accessories*
$9.95 - Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving

*Tomato Plants*
$11.25 - 3 Bambino Tomato Plants
$41.25 - 11 Grande Marzano Tomato Plant
$11.25 - 4 Indigo Rose Tomato Plants
$41.25 - 11 Kobe Beefsteak Tomato Plants
$7.50 - 2 Orange Paruche Cherry Tomato Plants

*Herbs*
$4.75 - Basil Plant
$4.75 - Christmas Basil Plant
$4.75 - Mammoth Sweet Basil Plant
$4.75 - Sweet Basil Plant
$42.75 - 9 Chive Garlic Plants
$18.25 - 3 Chocolate Mint Plants
$6.25 - Spearmint Plant
$6.25 - Mojito Mint Plant
$6.25 - Stevia Plant

*Vegetables: These are all "sampler" sizes unless otherwise stated*
$6.95 - Black Hawk Squash - 10 seeds 
$31.00 - 2 Bluecrop Blueberry Bushes
$2.65 - Cherry Belle Radish
$13.95 - Crimson Red Rhubarb Root
$3.75 - Dragon Radish
$2.60 - Flat of Egypt Beet
$2.35 - Pacific Pearl Onions
$3.75 - California Wonder Pepper Plant
$3.75 - Golden Star Pepper Plant
$3.75 - Wonder Bell Pepper Plant
$2.95 - Quickie Corn
$2.85 - Raider Cucumbers
$2.35 - Super Sugar Snap Peas
$3.55 - Superpik Squash
$3.55 - Thompson Broccoli
$3.10 - 2 Star Leaf Lettuce
$3.75 - Yaya Carroys
$2.50 - Yellow Crookneck Squash

*Fruit*
$59.00 - 2 Sets of 5 Bare Root Raspberry Plants
$49.50 - 75 Bare Root Seascape Strawberry Plants


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## squshnut (Sep 5, 2011)

If you want to do this hobby style and grow fancy tomatoes ect. go for it. Myself I grow a garden to fill our bellies and my collection of canning jars. 
So i order 1 or 2 kinds of tomatos in seeds not plants. and seed pks of any thing else i want to try.
Then i have a plant table with shop lights and recycled plastic pottery.
After that all you need some seed starting mix.
With what you save you could have a small home built green house.
But that's just me.
Lots of information on the web on starting your own plants.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

hawkmiles said:


> Well this is the order I have sitting in my cart, ready to go (haven't placed it yet). I should have posted this in the first place. Any more ideas to save money, now that you can see my order?
> 
> *Accessories*
> $9.95 - Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving
> ...


Looks like a 400.00 order to me... 

It comes back to if you can find what you want local or not ...

Happy Gardens! :flower:


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## PackerBacker (Dec 13, 2012)

$7 for 10 squash seeds?

I wouldn't spend a dime for a blue book.


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## twiggie (Jan 3, 2009)

Yeah the live plants are most of the reason your total is so high, if it were me I'd get seeds instead of plants if possible, and get the plants locally. My wishlist from them was almost 250 but that was all seed.


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## squshnut (Sep 5, 2011)

this is where I get my canning information, I printed out a few recipies and have a chart of the basic canning times in case for some reason there is no internet.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html


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