Challenge Accepted: Proving the Value of My 'Little' East Side Garden Plot

So way back in the day, probably circa 2015, 2016, I had a colleague who remarked to me that I was probably spending more on my garden than the veggies I was growing were worth... I thought, challenge accepted.

I’ve had a vegetable garden almost every summer since I first moved to St. Paul’s East Side. At our first house, I set up one each summer between 2014 and 2017. I skipped 2018-2021 because we moved out of state, but when we moved back to the East Side in 2022, I doubled down on my gardening game and started taking it very seriously.

So, getting back to the 'challenge' — around that time, I built a spreadsheet to track every expense—seeds, soil, fertilizer, and equipment—against the harvest’s grocery-store value.

While I don’t have those spreadsheets anymore, I did the same in 2022 when I started the new Phalen Plot. I skipped using the spreadsheet in 2023 & 2024 after it became obvious in the first summer that I was easily breaking even. But last year, I fired up the spreadsheet again and kept track of most of the season.

While it’s not 100% scientific, I’ve attached both spreadsheets as PDFs at the bottom of this post.

A few quick explainers with the data. One, I tried my best to estimate the increase in my water bill for the two seasons. St. Paul bills residents for water use on a quarterly basis, and for 2025, I broke down the increase on a monthly basis by comparing it to the average rate for November - April. For 2022, though, I just went back and likely overestimated by saying my water bill went up $40 flat for the season.

Two, with regard to the value of produce and how I calculate it: I basically scoured local prices at Target, Cub, Hy-Vee, etc., and went with whatever had the lowest price per ounce/pound/unit, etc. Those prices are reflected by date on the spreadsheets. I then used a kitchen scale to weigh everything I would harvest.

Also, I calculated the cost of recipes the same way–breaking down their ingredients by cost per recipe for everything from pesto to pickles to zucchini bread. And for storage (freezer-safe baggies, vacuum baggies, etc.) I broke down the cost per unit and kept track of every one I used. No joke.

Lastly, in 2025, I stopped keeping diligent track by around early September, but didn't tear the garden down until October. It was still cranking out peas, lettuce, arugula, and even tomatoes until then. So the harvest value is definitely underestimated.

A bit in the weeds, I know. But it's pretty awesome to think that I make more than my money back on what we grow every season!