The Does it pay question...
 

I have been canning vegetables and trying to get everything else done at the same time. Dh and I had a conversation Saturday, about whether it pays to can and garden. He thinks that the labor, the investment, the water and gas for the stove, make it a costly thing. I told him I get joy from it, and the taste is so much better. Once things are done, you can sit back and enjoy the FRUITS of your labor. I'm not at all sure how much longer I can handle the intensive work in the garden though. Maybe it is time to give it up and sit on my patootie, and wonder what to do with all my free time. Jeez.....maybe then I'd have to give up this forum too as I wouldn't be a homesteader. Would I? Does anyone else think its too costly to do this? Just wondering.....

I believe that produce you grow from seed,harvest from a tree, gather from a field or forest, or gain from barter is well worth canning.It may be very costly if you purchase the raw product or grow them from boughten started plants.We use to buy peaches and can them years ago as we can not raise them here.We have not done that for several years now.A crate of peaches is $22 here today.That would make for expensive peach sauce.

nope. i think its wonderful no matter what. if for nothing else. its what we do. i get to look at these jars of harvest and know what i have done and know they are excellent i have a great feeling inside when i am done and i get to share the bounty with everyone. one way or the other, call it self pride if you want. but i am proud of my canning at any expense.and nope i wouldn't give it up. we eat alot better than the stuff in the store. i am a stay at home. i quit my job in april to get this farm up and moving. and i have alot of work in front of me. but i have managed to put it on its feet .till a week ago when a mini tornado came threw, my corn laying on the ground trees down everywhere, but i look at this and say its just another day, i have done polish dills so far dilly beans,dill pickles preserves and getting ready for the big one, tomatoes i have 75 plants, im ready. plus the whole farm to do. its hard work but thats where i get my most comfort,

My dh is alot like that. He says it is more expensive when you add your time gas etc. I say pooey..lol At least I know what is in the food and where it came from. I too have had bum years..like this one :( but I enjoy the work so it doesn't seem as bad.
Hre corn is 2.50 - 3.00 a dozen and canning tomatoes are 20.00 a bushel.So maybe I will save some money even if the garden was a flop. Every little bit counts .

wwubben, I *WISH* we could get a crate of peaches for $22!!! Last year, at the begging og my DH for home-canned peaches, I paid $60 for a crate of them that had been shipped in from BC -- the very valley in BC that we used to live in and pick the peaches off the trees ourselves!

When we lived in southern Alberta, several of us "moms" used to go together and pay the gas and expenses for a woman to make a trip to visit her parents in Vancouver. On the way back, she'd fill the back of her van with crates of peaches, and we'd have a canning party -- it was relatively inexpensive (it worked out to about $10 a crate), the woman who took on the trip got the added benefit of seeing her family, and we got the superior product that you get with home canned.

For home-grown, I don't think it makes sense if you're figuring in your time as an expense. Few things worth doing are worth doing ONLY for the financial aspect -- it's also what you get from it personally. For me, it's assured nutrition for my family, the family time spent DOING this, the pleasure I give others when I "gift" them with a jar of home-pickled beets or dills or jam, and not the least, the exercise and fresh and and sunshine that *I* benefit from after my hours in the garden.

Suz -- you say you don't know how much longer you'll be able to keep it up, but have you considered that you might not be able to do it NOW if you hadn't been doing it all along? The exercise and activity probably keep you more active than you might otherwise be, and eating the canned "equivalent" from the grocery story may well have had an adverse affect on your health already, if you'd gone that route.

Is it financially better? As a previous poster said, probably not if you're buying everything, but if not? How can the labor of putting things by NOT be a sort of financial security?

I will quit gardening when you pry the tomato from my cold, dead hand!!

My love/need of gardening is multifold and it satisifies something deep within. I grew up watching the granny women can and put up, so to me, a woman isn't a woman until she is putting up and planting.
I feel that I am doing the best for my family.
I know the nutrition is better.. I can tell by the taste:)
It is a great practice to get into if TSHTF.
Money is only part of the issue.

It is not about money. Gardening is not about money. Life shouldn't be about money.

No commercially processed poisons in the food and flavor that is second to none not to mention the joy and peace of being in the garden.

Could anyone possibly expect more?

I'll leave the garden when I am dead.........maybe.

Is the question, "does it pay?" or, "does gardening and preserving cost more".

I think this is different for every family. If you are choosing between growing a garden to save money and getting a job to earn money, I think the garden will lose. Since I have no desire to go out and get a paying job, I don't count my time in my calculations.

Some families will expend the least they can on seeds, trays, etc. They hunt for bargains, finding free produce, jars, etc. They develop relationships with others they can barter with etc. Their costs are way lower than other's costs.

Some look at the garden and harvesting as an investment in the future, so it might not actually pay today, but later on, it will.

It is all in the way you look at it.

I spent $250 on fruit trees, grape vines and blueberrie 2 years ago. This year, my first harvest, I got three peaches, two apples and two pears. But over their life time, they will turn that profit many times over. My garden soil is getting better each year. I am learning skills that also improve each year. Does it pay to do it? Yes. Does it make me money? Not yet.

I totally agree with Jeff. It's more about what is NOT in your food. I can because I don't want the preservatives and additives in my food.

I grow it all organically...I compete with the bugs sometimes in the garden but it's a small price to pay for great food.

I find complete enjoyment in canning what I grow... I managed to get 6 quarts of peaches canned off my young peach trees this year..it was very exciting to me...guess it doesn't take much!!

Suz, you could always pay a big monthly fee and go to Curves. :)

I am a "when you pry the hoe out of my cold, dead hands" sort of gardener. It is something I hope I never have to give up. Have I downsized, yes, but I still raise most of my fruits and veggies and put them up either canning, freezing or deydrating. How do you put a price on safe food? Can I put a price the the feeling I get in the dead of winter eating all those goodies I have grown? How much is the view of my full pantry worth?

When I see the price of the food in the grocery store that is all laden which chemicals and preservatives it might be a little cheaper per can than mine, I don't know. I do know that the organic stuff is way more expensive than mine costs to produce.

Suz- th e local produce stands put out bags of overripe vegies weighing 6-7 lbs for $2 (u from 99 cents years ago) That was a major source of MY canning veggies years ago- esp tomatoes!
I enjoy canning very much. Listening to the "pings" as my jelly sealed last week- well, canning HAS been a source of distress to my husband, but I realized that in totally giving it up not only did it not make him happy (and in fact he started denying it had ever been a source of stress to him) but it left a void in my soul unfulffilled and contributed to my overall dissatisfaction with life.
I have given up a lot for him over the years and I still don't think a full pantry and the satisfaction of it would outweigh the distress of a divorce...but I think I will resume putting up, albeit on a more limited scale.

We had a discussion this morning about breakfast and by calmily repeating myself about a dozen times (I would really like to MAKE corn muffins for breakfast) I finally diverted him from running up to the grocery store to buy premade at the bakery. I got discouraged and wanted to just give in more than once, but finally broken record and no emotions got through to him.

Does it pay? For us, absolutely!

We can put up a quart of organic, all natural grape juice for around 43 cents. I don't even know how much we would have to pay if we bought the juice in the store- that's if we could even find organic grape juice around here. We haven't planted grapes at this farm yet, so we have to go and pick them at a commercial vineyard- once we have our own the cost will be even more negligible.

We picked our first couple of tomatoes of the season over the weekend and the taste was unbelievable- no way could we buy tomatoes that taste like that, no matter how much we were willing to pay. We will be making salsa, spaghetti sauce, taco sauce, tomato sauce, basil-tomato sauce, and maybe tomato paste if we have enough tomatoes. We will also dry some of the tomatoes- sun-dried tomatoes from the store are not in our budget! With any luck, we will not have to purchase any tomato products for the next year.

Saturday night we had homemade basil pesto- a real luxury, one which we would probably never indulge in if we had to purchase the basil, especially organic basil. We have just started harvesting our garlic, and we are looking forward to a few 40-clove chickens- how many times a year could we afford to use that much garlic on one meal if we had to buy it at the store? Not too many, I'm guessing. And herbs! We priced organic herbs at $6-8 a jar not long ago. I am drying up PINT jars of herbs right now for next to nothing.

I know that it seems expensive when you are purchasing canning equipment from scratch. But think how little the actual cost is once it is amortized over the life of the equipment. Our jars cost so little that I can't even calculate the cost. Some of the jars might only get used once a year, but others will be used 3-4 times every year. If a jar costs 40 cents new, how much does each use cost over the course of 20-30, or even 50 years? Not much.

I think canning is a win, win, win situation. The best possible food at a price we can easily afford. I only hope that we can still garden when we are in our 70's, 80's, and maybe even our 90's! Personally, I am trying to build up my karma now. I try to offer what "excess" I have to others- if friends and relatives don't want it, I offer it on freecycle. Maybe someone will remember me when I am too old to grow a garden myself, lol.

Does your DH ever go fishing? Like so many others,I enjoy gardening and every once in a while it makes more than enough veggies to use so I (AFTER SHARING) try to save them for those" every once in a whiles when it don't" kinda years. Eddie

Cost is moot. Quality, quantity, enjoyment, self-satisfaction, etc. are what matter. It is also interesting to note that I've seen and read more places than I can recall in the last few months about food shortages in our future. Who would you rather depend on .gov? grocery store? or your garden/canning? That is a no-brainer for me!

When I stopped canning all but salsa I gained a lot of time each week. I freeze almost everything now instead. I'm not using a lot of energy for the stove, not killing as many nutrients and eating crisper foods. If the power is out for more than two or three days we can plug the freezers into the generator once a day.

If you need to give up gardening can you find someone(s) to barter with? I'll trade vegetables for grass fed meats and labor.

It's not the money...
 

I do plant what I need. I did not plant cucumbers b/c I have enough for the yr but next yr I will. We have baby peach trees. I started canning peaches when I was pregnant. My son will be 21 this yr...he's never ate a store bought canned peach! My sister just bought 2 bushels of cucumbers for $30 each...she said I can't eat store pickles! I'm going Wed to get peaches...I'm sure the price will be high. We made a joint family decision...buy them to can!

Is it more expensive? Yes, it is. However, in my view, self sustainment is what is all about. When a product is no longer available or is over-priced, then it becomes economically feasible to produce and prepare it yourself. The side benefit of course is that home prepared product tastes so much better and is much healthier in my view.

Pickling cucumbers are $2.00 per pound here right now. Pickling cucumbers are one item that I can grow much cheaper than that!!!

Tomatoes by the box today were $44.00 (about 40 pounds a box). Carrots were $35 per 50 pound bag. Potatoes are averaging $20 per 50 pound bag for #1 large potatoes. Corn is $5.99 a dozen. These prices overall about double what I was paying last year.

Depends on what you're preserving. When green beans cost less than 50 cents a can at the store, it may be more trouble than it's worth!

I'm selective as to what I grow (for instance, potatoes are so cheap, I don't bother!) and when I can, I usually stick to stuff like jelly, salsa, spaghetti sauce, pie filling, pickles and relishes. They're more fun to put up anyway! :)

It is kind of funny that my Mom and I were just talking about this topic.

I think alot of this topic deals with:
1. The size of your garden, how much it yields, and how much produce is used.
2. How much you are able to can or freeze at a time.
3. How much you value the food you grow for your table.
4. How you value your money and time.

Don't forget that it isn't just about what you can or freeze. Some of my family's favorite meals are from the garden only...green beans, tomatoes, sweet corn. Those are some pretty cheap meals.

If you have the time to can or freeze, you can also consider the cash savings towards cash flow. With money being tight for alot of HT families, a garden could be considered great. If you were saving just $5 a week with your canned items, it would total $260 in a year's time. If money is super tight, this could be a substantial cash flow increaser.

Don't forget to compare apples to apples when shopping. Sweet corn at the super market is 8 ears for $2. They are much, much smaller ears than what most grow at home.

A 76 cent can of green beans is not the same size as the quarts you are putting up. You are getting a far bigger bang to your buck when canning at home.

I saw some sweet corn at Walmart recently that was labeled "Product of Brazil". Who knows what they could have sprayed on that field?!?!

I also think the feeling of better preparedness should hold some value after you have canned.

I bet you could write a book on this topic.

Clove

I use to can because I thought it saved me money (it didn't). I do it now because I like my veggies and fruit as chemical/pesticide free as possible. Plus, I think it tastes better than the tin tasting fruit/veg you buy in the store. And what satisfaction in knowing you have a pantry full of goods. I also use my jars as gifts. One year at work I brought in a dozen jars of blackberry jam wrapped with a pretty ribbon to give to coworkers for Christmas. A big hit for sure. It definitely is NOT about money.

And I'd prefer to freeze my produce but my freezer is full! And I'm always leary that the power will shut off (we went without power for about a week after hurricane Fran in '96)...no generator here. Don't have to worry about power once you've canned.

If I add up the time I'm driving to and from the grocery store, the time it takes for me to shop, the gas it takes to drive there and back and the price of the food itself, it probably IS more expensive for me to buy it than it is for me to grow it. Afterall, I'm only paying a couple of pennies (if that) for each seed, the time spent growing and harvesting, and the time spent preserving it all, plus the cost of electricity/gas needed to do so. But I'm getting much more than food out of the deal. I'm getting a work out with the hoe and rake, I'm out getting sunshine and fresh air, I'm putting up chemical-preservative free food, and I'm getting a feeling of accomplishment that money simply can't buy. I guess it's the hunter-gatherer thing. Providing for ones-self brings with it a feeling of security and satisfaction you just can't get any where else. At least, for me this is true.

Does the fisherman figure his hourly wage in the pounds of fish that he catches? Does the hunter figure in his hourly wage per pound of meat harvested? Probably the answer is "no".

At the same time the person that makes $10.00 per hours thinks that they really make $10.00 per hour and use that as the figure to help compute the cost in the canning/gardening situation. When their actual pay is probably more like $6.00 an hour after you take in taxes, insurance, travel expenses, total time away from home for the job, monies spent for clothing, tools, etc.

So does it save money. If you look at every detail, then the base conclusion is "yes". Is it worth it? Each person must decide. How do you compare working in the garden to watching TV, setting on the front porch, being bored, doing nothing?

Pickles and jellies - I do can those. I do put pickles and jellies in jars. I'm thinking frozen pickles wouldn't be very good! :p

In the first few years of canning,yes,it can be expensive acquiring all the items you need but we've been canning for 40 years and think my equipement is paid for by now! Still using the same Kerr jars I bought back then, same All-American canner, same Squeezo.
You can't put a pricetag on your health and I know what is in my jars and freezer bags...and it is all organic produce. I'm pretty sure my qts. of tomatoes are cheaper than the store since several pkts. of seeds have produced over 100 qts. of juice and stewed tomatoes already and plenty more to do. The new patch of beans is ready to pick and I know I can get beans at the store but mine taste soooo much better. Check out the price of a jar of Smuckers strawberry jam and see if homemade isn't cheaper! Eat your heart out, Mott's "five kind of apples from apple land"....my applesauce is begged for by my kids...they will even remember to bring back the jars if Mom will give them more!

Over the years we've given up doing alot of items like pickles as we just don't eat that many but still will make green tomato relish or salsa. Venison stew from deer harvested off this place,grape juice,pears,plums,peaches from the orchard planted with our own 4 hands. You couldn't find a better way to eat. DEE