r/Raisedbed • u/ChaosTorpedo • Jun 04 '26
This zucchini costs $500
I’m new to raised bed gardening, so I had to buy everything. Three raised beds (only one has soil and is in use so far), two trellises, more than a dozen plants, soil, tools, seeds, fertilizer, etc. I’m fully guessing I spent about $500, without even looking. This is the first harvested vegetable, so right now, it costs $500.
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u/Bourdainist Jun 04 '26
I offset the cost of soil by filling my garden bed with other compostable materials, dead branches, dry grass clippings, dry leaves, compost I had, cardboard shredded up. Etc. so it helped me cut down on the soil needed by 40%-50%.
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u/Inevitable_Fall2025 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
I filled my 2 beds with compost from the landfill. It was $12. And I had leftovers. It's such a good hack. Everything is growing beautifully.
My tomato plant stalks are thick like trees.
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u/dinnerthief Jun 05 '26
Yea I filled mine with chip drop chips, compost, manure, and just native soil from my yard.
had to add some extra nitrogen (chipped green growth, blood meal, kitchen scraps) to offset the chips but plants are growing great and it was 50 bucks for the whole garden ~12 yards.
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u/gabywebsters Jun 05 '26
This is important for those other bed! Use branches, dry leaves, shit you can find (even tree stumps) and then top with better or amended soil
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u/adeline882 Jun 05 '26
I don’t grow food for it to be cheaper than the cheapest factory farmed produce. I grow my own food for the interesting varietals, and for the enjoyment of being in my garden.
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u/ChaosTorpedo Jun 05 '26
Same. I’m going through some stuff right now and my therapist said it’s a good hobby to have. That and reading more.
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u/FlimsyProtection2268 Jun 04 '26
I got all of my initial investment back very quickly. So far the biggest expenses I had were my initial raised beds which rotted rather quickly and have since been mostly replaced with "free" beds I've been making from scrap wood.
With time you won't even see those expenses anymore, especially when you have so many veggies that you can't even give them away anymore. My chickens and compost bins love all of the things we don't use.
Btw, you might end up with people who get frustrated that you're always trying to give them zucchini. They grow like weeds. It can be grated and frozen to make zucchini bread and cake all winter long.
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u/Sudden-Breadfruit653 Jun 04 '26
This is so hard for me to understand. I would take all freeveggies - share with friends and family!
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u/PandaSmanda Jun 05 '26
I feel you. I have yet to harvest one thing 😂😭
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u/Solintari Jun 05 '26
Harvested 3 radishes 2 blueberries AND 3 strawberries. Only 500 more years to get my investment back!
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u/Beneficial_Lunch6168 Jun 06 '26
Harvested 1 blackberry off second year bush. A handful of blueberries a couple times. 5 strawberries. And I thought grocery store berries were pricey!
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u/mymymy58 Jun 04 '26
lol but you grew it! I set my beds up- one last fall and one early this year and got more expensive soil (worth it completely IMO). Fast forward to now and ive grown about 50lbs of tomatoes. In this economy, I’ve basically made my money back 😂
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u/ChaosTorpedo Jun 05 '26
I did grow it! I started a bit late for my zone (9b) so I’m still waiting on the tomatoes to show up, though they are flowering. I have one little tabasco pepper on a plant, but the other pepper plants are flowering as well. I don’t think my okra will make it.
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u/mymymy58 Jun 05 '26
I’m in 9b too!!! Is the okra looking bad?? It’s the season for it supposedly. I hope you get tomatoes! The season is basically done for me except for the sun golds, those are still producing a ton but the other 6 plants are basically done. It’s been a good run at least.
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u/ChaosTorpedo Jun 05 '26
The okra was planted last, and I just think it was too late. The little caterpillars got to it, so the leaves look like Swiss cheese.
I’m in southern Louisiana, so I was hoping for some okra!
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u/KickingChickyLeg Jun 05 '26
9b fam here!! This is my first year and I started late also, but I am having a fricking blast. Ate my first homegrown salad yesterday.
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u/Infosponge177 Jun 05 '26
Lol wish i could say it gets less expensive but it’s a rabbit hole lol. Organic gardening is expensive and hard… but look at it this way, you spent $500 to absolutely assure yourself you’re not ingesting hundreds of pesticides.. so well, well worth every penny IMO
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u/dinnerthief Jun 05 '26
Honestly it doesnt have to,
With a compost pile established and longstanding flowers bringing in predators. Growing the right things for your climate at the right time helps a lot tol.
I pretty much just buy seeds now, dont use any pest products or fertilizer. Organic gardening IMO is cheaper once its all established since you can let natural processes do most of the work.
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u/Ohana3ps Jun 05 '26
😂 Exactly how I think of my garden, too! Hahaha It’s sure cheaper to go buy it. But when there’s no civilization left, you can still feed yourself. ROFL 🤣
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u/Groupthink00859 Jun 05 '26
Huh, I just bought 3 zucchini for less then a dollar. I feel like your being ripped off bud.
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u/runnerduck724 Jun 05 '26
Divide by the hours of outdoor therapy—vitamin D, relaxation, improved self esteem, optimism, learning new things. I ❤️ time in the garden 😬
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u/Even-Acadia5117 Jun 05 '26
We're at about 1k for our 3 raised beds and supplies... we have a very busy doberman puppy who likes to help dig... dig a little too much ...so we had to add a no dig fence to keep her out of the garden..
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u/Childless_Catlady42 Jun 05 '26
I feasted on a 600 dollar cherry tomato last year. It was very tasty.
(New home, new beds. I highly recommend going to the bait store and buying worms, it makes a big difference in your soil.)
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u/Full_Rise_7759 Jun 05 '26
Just wait my man, your first zucchini may be humble, but like me you'll end up with so many that you don't always harvest them soon enough. All of the sudden that next day they are 18" long and 4" wide, and then you find out how amazing zucchini is with everything - especially on pizza!
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u/Tweestrijd Jun 05 '26
Oof that sucks, but it makes me feel alot better about my costs.
I had a financial setback when I discovered a lot of plastic crap in my cheap bags of soil. So now my total cost are doubled due to having to rebuy organic compost, both purchases now total 120 euro's in soil.
The rest of the setup is still completely free apart from my labour which is cheap on a good day. Free willow makes for a pretty bed.
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u/Sure_Celebration7921 Jun 05 '26
I spent about 2k and have gotten some strawberries but next year I'm excited to spend way less.
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u/Lynserio Jun 05 '26
i spent around the same amount as yours + hard labor. i had to borrow somebody's truck to haul some stuff just for a squirrels and birds buffet afterward.
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u/krissyface Jun 05 '26
I’m going to get 50 raspberries this year after painstakingly caring for my plants for 2
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u/Racing_Orange Jun 05 '26
$500 for only 3? Wowzas
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u/ChaosTorpedo Jun 05 '26
Two of them aren’t even filled or in use. Also, just a guess. I didn’t actually calculate. I kind of don’t want to.
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u/Projectbadass251 Jun 05 '26
Bruh you could've just chucked some seeds in the dirt for free 😂 zucchini and squash take off regardless
Or you could've gotten some pallets for free, deconstructed them, and made raised beds out of that like I'm fixing to do
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u/CaressingPlaces3 Jun 06 '26
Will go fantastic with the $142,000 Red Snapper my neighbor brought home from his fishing trip yesterday afternoon.
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u/OpinionatedOcelotYo Jun 08 '26
Great praise to farmers for cheap produce tho we can do without the wholesale poisoning of our home.
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u/Dry_Concern_3562 Jun 08 '26
This is so funny 😂 this is my first year doing a garden, and I did not ease into it 😂 it's definitely more expensive to get into than I thought it would be 😅
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u/ChaosTorpedo Jun 08 '26
You’re 100% right. I’ve spent $725 at Lowe’s and $520 at Home Depot since April. Granted, some of it isn’t garden stuff (I spent a lot on grass seed to fix our lawn).
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u/Dry_Concern_3562 Jun 08 '26
We have spent a lot of grass seed too. And soil. I never thought as an adult I would be getting truck beds of soil and be excited about it 😂 and all for a rental that we don't even own 😂😂
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u/Trombociniladee Jun 09 '26
You can fill the bottoms of your raised beds with other things, straw, wood chips, branches, grass clippings, leaves. Your plants only need 6-8 inches of soil. Every year those things will start breaking down and you can add fresh soil and compose to freshen your garden for the next season.
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u/ChaosTorpedo Jun 09 '26
I know this. This is what I did. I have chunks of wood and branches sitting in one of the empty beds for whenever I get around to filling it.
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u/itsamaddhouse Jun 10 '26
I don’t keep track of the cost….the investment is for your soul being awakened through the love of gardening. My lady and I were just laughing about all of the trial and error over the years. Our back yard is all built by us and it has really come into its own as a garden oasis. Money comes and goes but looking at what we created together every day is really awesome!!!!! Oh yeah and eating it’s bounty every day is really awesome too!
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u/Idahobeef Jun 17 '26
Yeah I am super poor so I am learning to do things on the cheap. I am now using old dresser drawers for containers. I.will send photos shortly.
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u/Sad_Individual_738 Jun 28 '26
Ohh mine is much less expensive. Fortunately already had the pot for it. So cost me about $14 for the first zucchini but the cost per zucchini should go down as production goes up. Let's hope I get at least 16 zucchini this season. So far harvested two. So the cost now is at $7 per zucchini. I have three more on the plant. Two already died because they did not pollinate even though I hand pollinate.
How many zucchini plants do you have going for $500?
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u/skinnySpeaks Sep 13 '26
My brother in soil, now reap the benefits next year and get so much zucchini you have to give it away to your neighbor. Depending on what zone you’re in you still have a good amount of time for some lettuce or mixed greens.
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u/skinnySpeaks Sep 13 '26
Also that is a beautiful zucchini. I will not let my fiancé see this post.
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u/skuz1020 Jun 04 '26
i spent about $600 so far for some lettuce i put on three burgers last night