Garden Planning 101: How To Set A Realistic Budget For A Backyard Food Garden
Like any hobby, it’s easy to get carried away spending too much on your garden. And let’s face it, one of the most appealing aspects of growing a food garden is to save money on groceries. Right? So while budgeting for the garden doesn’t sound all that exciting, it’s definitely worth it. This post will break down how much you should budget for your garden in 2025. Plus, what supplies to splurge on vs. save on. Let’s go!
I have likely spent thousands on our Zone 3 backyard garden over the last 10 years.
And this doesn’t include the costs of building our DIY backyard greenhouse.
Now looking back on it, I see all the areas where I could have saved. Which I share throughout this post!
So in the hopes of saving you some money too, I’m sharing what I’ve learned about budgeting for a backyard food garden.
*Note: This post includes gardening data on 2025 gardening costs in Canada as well as my own input and experience.
Is It Cheaper To Grow Your Own Food Than Grocery Shop In Canada
This is such a trending topic right now.
For obvious reasons — food is so expensive in Canada in 2025!
According to research from The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity, the cost of food has consistently been the number one worry among the majority of Canadians for the past five years.
But is it really cheaper to grow your own food than it is to buy it at the grocery store in Canada?
Well, there’s not really a straightforward answer to this question.
And this is because no two Canadian gardeners have the exact same;
- Financial situation
- Size and style of garden
- Grow zone/micro-climate
- Growing practices
- Hours of labor and time they’re putting into the garden
And those are just a few of the factors that influence whether a backyard garden is actually cheaper than the grocery store.
Statistics aside, here’s my personal answer to this question….
If you try gardening for one season with the hopes of spending less on groceries, you likely will not succeed.
However.
If you invest 3-5+ years into your garden, you will gradually begin to see the cost savings.
Your Garden Will Inevitably Cost The Most In Its First Year
You’ve heard of the 10,000 Hour Rule of learning something new, right?
Made popular by Gladwell’s book, Outliers: The Story of Success, the 10,000 Hour Rule states that in order to become world class in any field, you need 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.
This means 417 days’ worth of hours, or 3 hours a day for 3,333 days – a little over 9 years.
All this to say, you won’t master gardening in your first few years.
Nor will your garden save you much money on groceries in the first few years.
But gradually, year after year, you will notice a better return on investment from your veggie garden.
I had high hopes my first few years gardening, dreaming of serving entire meals straight from the garden.
In reality, I would end up at the farmer’s market most weekends. Plus didn’t yet have the skills to grow many of my staple kitchen foods here in Zone 3.
Yet now with 10 years of gardening under my belt, I often have more harvest than I know what to do with. And am gladly sharing with friends and family.
And I’ve found work arounds to replace some of my staple groceries with garden food instead!
Such as growing;
- Herbs to dry for tea
- Storage crops, like onions, potatoes and garlic
- Salad greens that can be succession planted every few weeks from early Spring to late Fall
All this to say, yes gardening can and will save you money on groceries.
But only in the long run!
How Much Does It Cost To Start A Backyard Veggie Garden In Canada In 2025
Again, there’s no “one answer fits all” for a question like this.
And the cost of your backyard veggie garden will depend on;
- The size of your garden
- The materials you use
- The supplies you invest in
- The types of veggies you want to grow
- If you direct sow vs. start seeds indoors
- Your gardening goals
In my opinion, the most effective way to determine how much the average backyard veggie garden costs in Canada is to look at the price of goods and multiple that by the amount you require.
Here’s a breakdown of the average prices on some essential gardening items in Canada:
- Packet of seeds — $3.99
- 6 pack of veggie seedlings from a garden centre — $4.99
- 2′ tall mature tomato plant from a garden centre — $15.00
- 1L bag of potting soil — $20.00
- 2 Cu. Ft. bag of potting soil — $120.00
- 1L bag of compost (if store bought) — $10.99
- 1L bag of organic veggie fertilizer — $20.99
- Seed starting kit — $50.99
- Grow light —$49.99
- Galvanized steel raised bed (my code SOILTOSOUL10 will get you 10% off Sproutbox Garden Beds) — $50.00 – $500.00
- Containers (I love these fabric grow bags!) — $25.00
- Large watering can — $29.99
- 100 ft garden hose — $40.00
- Impact sprinkler — $39.99
- Irrigation system (this is the one we use and love!) — $50.00 – $250.00
- Irrigation timer (we use the RAINPOINT brand) — $49.99
- Good quality gardening gloves (I like the VGO brand) — $30.99
- Stainless steel gardening spade — $15.99
- Shovel — $50.00
And that’s it from me…you’ll have to do the rest of the math from here yourself!
My Suggested Annual Backyard Garden Budget Breakdown
Okay, let’s get into some fun stuff!
Here’s how I suggest spending your gardening budget based on my own practices.
*Note: This does not account for initial start-up costs but rather reflects annual gardening costs. This budget also does not include the costs of watering a garden as they will vary greatly from one gardener to the next.
This will vary and look different from year to year.
However, the budget breakdown should always reflect;
- Little of the budget spent on seeds and plants
- The majority of the budget spent on soil and garden health
This is so important for an organic garden.
You need to feed your soil. In turn, it will feed you!
So make sure you budget accordingly for the following items in the ‘soil/garden health’ category:
- High quality gardening soil — I suggest the PRO-MIX brand if gardening in containers or a smaller space. Or for a larger, in-group garden try finding a local landscape/soil company that can deliver a large load.
- Compost — my go-to bagged compost brand is Sea Soil but ideally you can start making your own compost at home for free!
- Organic fertilizers — I like Sea Magic for a liquid fertilizer and use it from seed starting right through the entire gardening season. It’s really cost effective! And then PRO-MIX has a great all-purpose granular fertilizer for when plants are established to fruiting.
- Garden mulch (straw, wood chips, etc..) — if you’ve read my other blogs, you know I swear by HealthiStraw.
- Organic insecticides — I suggest Safer’s End-All.
Example Backyard Garden Budget For A Small 10×10 Garden
Here’s a sample breakdown of what you can expect to spend on a 100 square foot backyard food garden.
- Initial Set-Up (raised beds, containers, soil, tools): $250.00 – $500.00
- Annual Maintenance (seeds, transplants, soil, tools): $150.00 – $250.00
Example Backyard Garden Budget For A Medium 20×20 Garden
Here’s a sample breakdown of what you can expect to spend on a 400 square foot backyard food garden.
- Initial Set-Up (raised beds, containers, soil, tools): $500.00 – $1,000.00
- Annual Maintenance (seeds, transplants, soil, tools): $300.00 – $400.00
Example Backyard Garden Budget For A Large 30×30 Garden
Here’s a sample breakdown of what you can expect to spend on a 900 square foot backyard food garden.
Annual Maintenance (seeds, transplants, soil, tools): $1,000.00 – $2,500.00+
Initial Set-Up (raised beds, containers, soil, tools): $400.00 – $500.00+
What Garden Vegetables Provide The Best Return On Investment (ROI)
I love this question!
I have asked myself this for years and so started tracking average yields for a range of my veggie crops.
With my little data notebook, I decided to build my own ROI calculator, taking average yields of veggies that grow great in my Zone 3 garden and multiplying them by the amount of plants I want to grow.
Download my FREE printable ROI Veggie Crop Calculator here!
Remember, these are the average yields based on my Zone 3 garden. You may have experienced different yields.
So with that in mind, feel free to use this as inspiration and create your own ROI veggie crop calculator.
Here’s a quick reference list of veggie crops with a great ROI here in my Zone 3 garden:
- Kale
- Spinach
- Arugula
- Peas (shelling & snap)
- Beans (pole & bush)
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Corn
- Zucchini/Summer Squash
- Winter Squash/Pumpkins
- Potatoes
Top 10 Tips For Saving Money In The Garden
Here’s a few fun ways I’ve saved money in my garden over the last few years! Gardening on a budget can actually be fun, promise!
1. Attend seed swaps
This is one of the easiest ways to get your hands on some seeds for free!
Check out local gardening Facebook groups to find community seed swaps in your area.
Seedy Saturday is an annual event that happens in most major cities across Canada & the U.S. Gardeners bring their saved garden seeds to swap with others. It’s a ton of fun!
And a seed swap is the perfect way to meet other growers in your zone, swap tips and connect.
2. Start your own seeds
Okay, if you’re debating between starting your garden from seed or buying transplants from a nursery…start from seed!
You will save tremendously.
For example, one pack of tomato seeds typically costs $3.99 and has an average of 10 seeds in it. Whereas 10 tomato plants from a garden centre could cost you anywhere from $30.00-$50.00+ minimum!
So yes, starting your own seeds is a great way to save money in the garden. Especially if you invest in high quality seed starting gear that lasts for years.
3. Choose plants with a good ROI (return on investment)
Here’s a quick reference list of veggie crops with a great ROI here in my Zone 3 garden:
- Kale
- Spinach
- Arugula
- Peas (shelling & snap)
- Beans (pole & bush)
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Corn
- Zucchini/Summer Squash
- Winter Squash/Pumpkins
- Potatoes
4. Plant the right plant in the right place
This is one of my fav gardening sayings. And will make all the difference in saving you money in the garden.
If you’re looking to save money, skip the gardening experiments. Instead, get really strategic about where each plant is going in your garden.
Read the back of your seed packs or transplant tags to ensure you’re meeting each plants’ needs with sunlight and water requirements.
Plus, if you’re starting seeds indoors be sure to time it out properly by working back from your last Spring frost date. More info on seed starting schedules here!
5. Conserve water
This is an especially great way to save money in the garden if you pay for city water.
For rural gardeners with a well, this may not be as big of a priority.
However, it’s a good practice for us all to get into the habit of saving water in our gardens.
Try out barrels to collect rain water. Applying mulch around plants is another great tool.
6. Install an irrigation system
Another way to save water — an irrigation system.
And while it will require an upfront investment, it will save you money (and time) on watering in the long run.
Irrigation systems allow you to be targeted with your watering, hitting the roots of plants.
Here’s the system we use and love.
7. Prioritize your soil’s health
Feed your soil and in return it will feed you. It’s true!
By investing in the quality of your soil, you’ll get better yields on your vegetable crops! Hands down.
How?
Amend your beds with fresh compost each season, practice crop rotation and always choose organic.
8. Invest in high quality tools & supplies
Buy it once and have it for years.
I always choose stainless steel for tools like shovels and spades. Plus I prioritize bringing inside my hoses and other gear during the Winter months to keep it in good shape.
9. Find free supplies on Facebook groups and Kijji
You may be surprised by all the gardening treasures you can find for free on the internet.
We actually found all of our greenhouse windows for free on Kijiji! Which would have cost us thousands otherwise.
So if you’re in need of a new tool, raised bed or even plant – check Facebook Marketplace, buy nothing groups or Kijiji first.
10. Plant perennials
Compared to annual plants, which die back at the end of each season, perennial plants come back year after year.
This means you only need to plant them once, and also only need to buy them once!
And there are tons of amazing perennial veggies you can grow in a cold climate garden. Think berry bushes, fruiting trees, horseradish, rhubarb and more.
And there you have it!
That’s my comprehensive post covering;
- The cost of backyard food garden in Canada in 2025
- Budget for a backyard garden in Canada in 2025
- Gardening tools and seeds cost in Canada
- How much does it cost to grow a garden in Canada
I hope you enjoyed this read! And would love to hear from you in the comments. I answer all comments. It truly makes my day to learn about your gardens.
You can follow @fromsoiltosoul on Instagram and Pinterest for more gardening content too.
Happy garden budgeting!