I have often said that a backyard garden is usually not very economical. Once you calculate the cost of the seeds, fertilizer, manure, garden tools, water costs, fencing and various garden gizmos – you’d do better just going to the store or a farmer’s market and buying all your vegetables. The saving grace of a backyard garden is the freshness and the unrivaled taste of a just-picked vegetable.
However!
I have one crop that pays for itself. Okra.
This spring, I spent a buck-ninety-nine for a pack of Clemson spineless okra seeds and cultivated about 20 plants in my lower garden plot that gets lots of sun. I began picking okra back in July and we’re still getting okra, though the first frost will soon end this year’s crop.
At the store – if you can find any – a one-pound package of okra will cost about $3.95. There are about 25 okra pods in a pack. I have been getting about 3 pounds of okra a week – for over two months. I figure I would have had to pay something like $150 if I had bought all that okra fresh. Obviously, I wouldn’t have bought that much, but we have enjoyed regular servings of fried and roasted okra and have frozen several big batches.
For this backyard gardener, okra is definitely a cash crop.