A dollar saved is a dollar earned

They also taste way better than store-bought ones.

Honestly, with my raised beds, between compost, seeds and fertilizer I probably lose money compared to buying tomatoes from the store. Home grown garden tomatoes are 10x better quality than grocery store tomatoes.

Gardening is a hobby. You don't do it to get cheap fruits and veggies.

The results speak for themselves though, and you absolutely cannot beat a tomato right off the vine.

For real though, you don't plant your own tomatoes to save money, you plant your own tomatoes because your crop is going to taste so good that you'll be chasing that flavor any time you're stuck buying them from the store. Just so far beyond storebought.

It's the one crop I keep coming back to every year - the effort is worth it.

That's definitely from someone who never tasted a home grown tomatoe or waters theirs a lot too often, you can buy tomatoes but they taste like literal shit in comparison! ;)

Home-grown fruit, like tomatoes (and especially strawberries!) are, like, an entirely different fruit than store-bought. They are SO freaking good! It is like opening Pandora's Box, because you'll never enjoy store-bought again.

Home grown taste like a real tomato, the super Market once taste mostly like water

But they taste SOOOOOO much better than the flavorless ones from the store

But store-bought tomatoes are nearly tasteless...

Most small gardens are not profitable. But it is therapeutic and the food tastes better.

1.33?

I can easily go through a tomato a day. The only thing limiting me is the cost. if I grew my own I would definitely go through at least 2 tomatoes a day.

I also get to avoid slave labor in the supply chain, so...

Waste of time? You know, you can do other stuff while the tomatoes are growing. I have a job and a kid and a house and a social life. I also have some tomato plants. The latter doesn’t take away any time from the rest.

Growing weed saves a lot of money tbh

It'd potentially eventually pay for itself and save you a $1.33 or much more over a lifetime, but actually when you factor in all the costs of the gardening supplies and water and just all the associated costs with setting yourself up to grow them it's going to take a lot longer for you to save that $1.33. Hope you like tomatoes, you'll need to eat plenty to make it worthwhile.

It's not about the money!!

the system depends on you only being able to do one thing effectively, and needing to pay other people to do all the things you need but can't do. When you do that, you have to go through several layers of government and corporate bureaucrats who all squeeze you for a little bit extra just because they've positioned themselves between you and what you need to live. To be self-sufficient is to cut all of these middlemen out from between you and the necessities of life. Gardening is a revolutionary act, it's propaganda of the deed writ small.

any tips for a beginner gardener? my tomatoes are always tiny, and how do i keep bugs from eating my leaves??

I’m tired of zombie tomatoes from supermarkets

Do they think they have to sit and watch them grow?..

If you're getting into a hobby for monetary reasons, chances are you aren't going to enjoy it in the long run.

glad to see my fellow humans have a voice here that think that making the earth make me food is freaking incredible.

i grew indoor potatoes, got 3 small ones in 3 months. juiciest potatoes i ever had!

I tried home grown runner beans. They're lovely.

I just got out of a water conference. The big takeaway was for me was that where sewer spills happened, tomatoes grow later.

Tomatoes are too fickle as far as I'm concerned. I grow all kinds of stuff, but never have luck with tomatoes. The flowers don't pollinate without vibration, they need temperatures in a tight range to fruit, basically every pest on earth destroys them, just not worth it to me anymore. Which is a shame because I love them, but I'm basically over growing tomatoes.

This is why I just grow my weed. Fill my jar and start over which by the time I'm close to done with my cured bud my fresh batch is ready to dry.

If you're concerned a out time either get faster growing species or plant a larger amount and properly store them until needed

Sure seems that way. Now try chili.

Beats taking care of a flower, all the work and you're not even supposed to eat it?

Maybe it would be a good idea to collaborate with neighbours or friends or such, economies of scale and whatnot.