Back-to-basics may turn out to be the theme song of the 1970’s as some of the simple activities of the past are rediscovered and practiced. Do-it-yourself is in. Nowhere is the trend more apparent than in the area of home production and preservation of the family food supply. Ten years ago no one would have dreamed the lowly canning jar lid would be the subject of Federal hearings. No one would have believed that an estimated one in four U.S. families would be raising and preserving a portion of their food supply.
What motivates people to return to home food production and preservation? Are their expectations realistic? How extensive is their gardening? Will they continue a second year? Do they preserve any of their crop? These were among the questions posed by Stuhlmiller, How and Stone of Cornell University in 1975 to a group of gardeners in five upstate New York counties.
When asked whether they gardened to save money, to have better quality food or just for a hobby or recreation, three-fourths of the 2,800 who replied hoped to save money, 54 percent considered gardening a hobby, while only 46 percent gardened for fresher food. Most said they preserved at least some of the food they grew.
If this study is indicative of the country as a whole, it is important to realistically assess whether home food production and preservation can save substantial amounts of money and whether the satisfaction gained warrants the cost of time and energy expended.
The actual costs of home food preservation, for example, should be considered. The cost of home grown food should be compared to the cost of similar food purchased for preservation in quantities at local farms or markets. The quality of the home preserved items should be realistically analyzed against readily available commercially preserved food.
There is no such thing as free food. Someone, somewhere, has to pay for it in time, energy, know-how, and at least some outlay of dollars. Home production in amounts needed for food preservation requires a longtime commitment of family resources. Beginners should realize that realistic goals and reasonable skills in the field and kitchen are essential to make home preservation pay off.
There are no general statistics citing the average dollar-cost needed to grow a given amount of fresh produce in a home garden. Conditions between individual gardens, weather, soil type, skill of operator, and geographic areas vary too much for valid comparisons.
Extension specialists at Michigan State University, however, have computed the actual cost of raising tomatoes under home gardening conditions in East Lansing, Mich. They found it costs 12¢ to grow the amount of tomatoes (2½ to 3 pounds) needed for one quart, canned. A similar cost analysis for green beans showed that beans cost 30¢ for the amount needed for a quart. Only the expendable cost—seed, fertilizer, pesticides and water—was considered.
Adding the expense for needed tools, hoses and other capital items raised the cost another 33¢ a quart if the cost were absorbed in one season or 2¢ if amortized over a 20-year period. Unfortunately, the first-year gardener will find that the outlay for tools must be spent the first year so that return for the investment requires a commitment to gardening over many years.
Additional expenses are necessary if the bounty is to be preserved at home. Equipment for preserving tomatoes is minimal but equipment for canning vegetables and for freezing may be costly. Homemakers needing to invest in canners, a pressure canner, and home freezer will find that the dollar cost per package of food preserved during the first years of preservation may be higher than the cost of comparable food at the corner supermarket.