Home Canned Versus Store Bought
Is it cost effective to can your own tomatoes?
In the last week I have been doing some field research to try to answer the question that a lot of people ask about home canned goods: can you save money by canning your own food?
I am starting with an analysis of canned tomato products because I use this more than any other pantry staple that I can make myself. I can about 36 jars of diced and sauced tomatoes a year and I would like to do more.
I took price notes on two different types of canned tomatoes (diced and sauce) from two very different grocery stores: Winco, the leading bargain grocery store in my town (most things they sell are dirt cheap and close to the expiration dates) and Roth's, the leading family owned fancy grocery store (where everything is pretty top notch quality and prices reflect this). And then I calculated the cost of my own home canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Roth's:
Diced Tomatoes 28 oz can (Hunt's brand)- 9¢ per ounce
Diced Tomatoes 28 oz can (Muir Glen Organic brand)- 12¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 28 oz can (Hunt's brand)- 8¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 28 oz can (Muir Glen Organic brand)- 12¢ per ounce
Winco:
Diced Tomatoes 28 oz can (S and W brand)- 7¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 28 oz can (Hunt's)- 6¢ per ounce
Home Canned:
Diced Tomatoes 1 quart (using U-pick tomatoes)- 5¢ per ounce
Diced Tomatoes 1 quart (using home grown)- 2¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 1 quart (using U-pick tomatoes)- 10¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 1 quart (using home grown)- 4¢ per ounce
(homegrown here is assuming you buy the vegetable starts, not grow them from seeds. Keep reading!)
There were only two choices to include from Winco as they don't have the widest selection at any given time. For the homegrown I took into account the price of plants and how much you can generally expect a plant to yield and how many pounds of tomatoes it takes to make diced tomatoes versus how many pounds it takes to make sauce. For the sauce I chose to use the number of pounds it takes to make a pretty thick sauce rather than a thinner one to maximize the meaning of the numbers here. I always make a thick sauce, the thicker you make it the more tomatoes it takes to fill a quart.
I didn't account for the price of canning equipment, jars, the power it takes to can, nor the amount of water it takes to grow your own and here's why: with almost any worthy activity you must buy tools. Tools are a one time cost. If you really want to add the price in you must make a guess at how many years you think you will be using the tools. I plan to keep on using my canning tools until I am a grizzled old lady like the ones I meet at the u-pick field who have been canning for over 50 years.
So my canning pot and equipment cost me $1 per year to use. If you are a stickler, you can do the math and figure out how much it costs per jar (37 quarts per year X 30 years) (Seriously? You're going to do the math?)
The cost of the jars if bought brand new and not on sale works out to be about $1 a piece. So if you want to do the math on that- be my guest. Figure that each jar is (if treated with reasonable care) likely to last you 30 years. You will have breakage once in a while but it is rare if you are good at canning. So, divide $1 by thirty years and you will have the cost you can add to the per ounce prices I've listed above.
Some sticklers insist on adding the cost of watering home grown vegetables to the cost of their food. I don't do this because I think it's ridiculous and here's why: the majority of Americans who have homes (whether rented or owned rarely makes a difference) with yards in them are already watering lawns. In my master gardening class we were given some astonishing figures on how much water in the US is used to keep lawns looking alive and "nice". It's shocking. Even if you don't have lawn you're already watering (and I bet you do) you're probably watering a bunch of shrubs and flowers- am I right?
It most certainly doesn't cost any more to water vegetables than it does to water your lawn. In fact, if you are using drip irrigation or some other form of water efficient irrigation, you are probably going to save money on your water use. This is why you should turn your lawn into your own grocery store (thanks, Kathy, that is a lovely way to look at my kitchen garden!).
The power it takes to can vegetables or to freeze them. Yeah, this is another one that I discount. If the average person watched less television, used less power lighting their homes, had energy efficient heating, threw away their hair dryers, and used fewer plug in items, the amount of extra power it takes to run a small auxillary freezer or to can your own food could be easily offset. No need to add that in. Make some effort and you will see the difference.
During canning season (and I've been canning now for 9 years) I have never seen a significant bump in my electricity or gas usage. It increases a little bit but it is also generally increasing because the lights are being turned on earlier as fall digs in.
Oh, but the biggie that I have heard many people say which never ceases to annoy me is "But my time is money...so when you account for the labor it takes me to make my own food, it isn't worth it." Most of you have already heard my feelings on this issue, but for anyone who has not, let me just ask you if you compare all the time you spend raising your kids against what daycare providers earn and make your decision based on how much money your time is worth? Because if you do, you have some pretty twisted priorities. Most people give their children as much personal care as they are able to without once asking themselves if it might be worth just handing them over to the babysitter full time because it just isn't worth their time.
What makes an activity worth the time and effort you put into it is dependent on more factors than how much your time is professionally worth. There is pride at stake, there is quality to consider, there is control that adds bonuses most people don't want to think about when it comes to food preparation (such as not allowing a certain percentage of insects to be cooked with your sauce), and there is enjoyment.
Feeding ourselves and our families is the most important thing we do.
I suggest that all of us work a little less for other people and a little more for ourselves.
Because it does save us money. (See the numbers above). And because it enriches more than just the food on our plate.
Let me finish by summarizing my analysis. If you don't have a great deal of space (or time) but you want to preserve some of your own tomatoes you will get the most for your time, space, and dollar if you grow roma tomatoes and dice them and then freeze them. (They should be blanched first). Doing this is a lot less work than actually jarring them. Efficient freezers don't take much energy to run and the quality of frozen tomatoes if cooked first is excellent.
If you can start your own seeds for the tomato plants you will reduce the cost of either diced or sauce by a huge percentage that I have yet to calculate. (One envelope of tomato seeds costs anywhere between $1 to $3 and will have at least 25 seeds in it. Germination rates should be at around 85% which means you should be able to get 21 plants out of one package. Wait, I'm going to do the damn math for you...
If you had room for 21 roma tomato plants and can keep them well irrigated with drip you should expect an average of around 12 pounds of fruit per plant. At that rate you will yield at least 252 pounds of fruit. If you made all sauce from that you could get 38 jars of thick tomato sauce a year. This would cost you 7¢ per jar.*
Did you read that? Did you take that in yet?
I'm not even sure how to say a fraction of a penny but this makes home made sauce (from home grown plants started from seed) cost .21 of a cent per ounce.
So the next time you ask if it's worth growing your own and doing all that work? Well, don't ask me or I will wither you with my math.
So, go pick out a spot in your lawn to grow some romas!
*I made my calculation based on the most expensive packets of seeds.
I am starting with an analysis of canned tomato products because I use this more than any other pantry staple that I can make myself. I can about 36 jars of diced and sauced tomatoes a year and I would like to do more.
I took price notes on two different types of canned tomatoes (diced and sauce) from two very different grocery stores: Winco, the leading bargain grocery store in my town (most things they sell are dirt cheap and close to the expiration dates) and Roth's, the leading family owned fancy grocery store (where everything is pretty top notch quality and prices reflect this). And then I calculated the cost of my own home canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Roth's:
Diced Tomatoes 28 oz can (Hunt's brand)- 9¢ per ounce
Diced Tomatoes 28 oz can (Muir Glen Organic brand)- 12¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 28 oz can (Hunt's brand)- 8¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 28 oz can (Muir Glen Organic brand)- 12¢ per ounce
Winco:
Diced Tomatoes 28 oz can (S and W brand)- 7¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 28 oz can (Hunt's)- 6¢ per ounce
Home Canned:
Diced Tomatoes 1 quart (using U-pick tomatoes)- 5¢ per ounce
Diced Tomatoes 1 quart (using home grown)- 2¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 1 quart (using U-pick tomatoes)- 10¢ per ounce
Tomato Sauce 1 quart (using home grown)- 4¢ per ounce
(homegrown here is assuming you buy the vegetable starts, not grow them from seeds. Keep reading!)
There were only two choices to include from Winco as they don't have the widest selection at any given time. For the homegrown I took into account the price of plants and how much you can generally expect a plant to yield and how many pounds of tomatoes it takes to make diced tomatoes versus how many pounds it takes to make sauce. For the sauce I chose to use the number of pounds it takes to make a pretty thick sauce rather than a thinner one to maximize the meaning of the numbers here. I always make a thick sauce, the thicker you make it the more tomatoes it takes to fill a quart.
I didn't account for the price of canning equipment, jars, the power it takes to can, nor the amount of water it takes to grow your own and here's why: with almost any worthy activity you must buy tools. Tools are a one time cost. If you really want to add the price in you must make a guess at how many years you think you will be using the tools. I plan to keep on using my canning tools until I am a grizzled old lady like the ones I meet at the u-pick field who have been canning for over 50 years.
So my canning pot and equipment cost me $1 per year to use. If you are a stickler, you can do the math and figure out how much it costs per jar (37 quarts per year X 30 years) (Seriously? You're going to do the math?)
The cost of the jars if bought brand new and not on sale works out to be about $1 a piece. So if you want to do the math on that- be my guest. Figure that each jar is (if treated with reasonable care) likely to last you 30 years. You will have breakage once in a while but it is rare if you are good at canning. So, divide $1 by thirty years and you will have the cost you can add to the per ounce prices I've listed above.
Some sticklers insist on adding the cost of watering home grown vegetables to the cost of their food. I don't do this because I think it's ridiculous and here's why: the majority of Americans who have homes (whether rented or owned rarely makes a difference) with yards in them are already watering lawns. In my master gardening class we were given some astonishing figures on how much water in the US is used to keep lawns looking alive and "nice". It's shocking. Even if you don't have lawn you're already watering (and I bet you do) you're probably watering a bunch of shrubs and flowers- am I right?
It most certainly doesn't cost any more to water vegetables than it does to water your lawn. In fact, if you are using drip irrigation or some other form of water efficient irrigation, you are probably going to save money on your water use. This is why you should turn your lawn into your own grocery store (thanks, Kathy, that is a lovely way to look at my kitchen garden!).
The power it takes to can vegetables or to freeze them. Yeah, this is another one that I discount. If the average person watched less television, used less power lighting their homes, had energy efficient heating, threw away their hair dryers, and used fewer plug in items, the amount of extra power it takes to run a small auxillary freezer or to can your own food could be easily offset. No need to add that in. Make some effort and you will see the difference.
During canning season (and I've been canning now for 9 years) I have never seen a significant bump in my electricity or gas usage. It increases a little bit but it is also generally increasing because the lights are being turned on earlier as fall digs in.
Oh, but the biggie that I have heard many people say which never ceases to annoy me is "But my time is money...so when you account for the labor it takes me to make my own food, it isn't worth it." Most of you have already heard my feelings on this issue, but for anyone who has not, let me just ask you if you compare all the time you spend raising your kids against what daycare providers earn and make your decision based on how much money your time is worth? Because if you do, you have some pretty twisted priorities. Most people give their children as much personal care as they are able to without once asking themselves if it might be worth just handing them over to the babysitter full time because it just isn't worth their time.
What makes an activity worth the time and effort you put into it is dependent on more factors than how much your time is professionally worth. There is pride at stake, there is quality to consider, there is control that adds bonuses most people don't want to think about when it comes to food preparation (such as not allowing a certain percentage of insects to be cooked with your sauce), and there is enjoyment.
Feeding ourselves and our families is the most important thing we do.
I suggest that all of us work a little less for other people and a little more for ourselves.
Because it does save us money. (See the numbers above). And because it enriches more than just the food on our plate.
Let me finish by summarizing my analysis. If you don't have a great deal of space (or time) but you want to preserve some of your own tomatoes you will get the most for your time, space, and dollar if you grow roma tomatoes and dice them and then freeze them. (They should be blanched first). Doing this is a lot less work than actually jarring them. Efficient freezers don't take much energy to run and the quality of frozen tomatoes if cooked first is excellent.
If you can start your own seeds for the tomato plants you will reduce the cost of either diced or sauce by a huge percentage that I have yet to calculate. (One envelope of tomato seeds costs anywhere between $1 to $3 and will have at least 25 seeds in it. Germination rates should be at around 85% which means you should be able to get 21 plants out of one package. Wait, I'm going to do the damn math for you...
If you had room for 21 roma tomato plants and can keep them well irrigated with drip you should expect an average of around 12 pounds of fruit per plant. At that rate you will yield at least 252 pounds of fruit. If you made all sauce from that you could get 38 jars of thick tomato sauce a year. This would cost you 7¢ per jar.*
Did you read that? Did you take that in yet?
I'm not even sure how to say a fraction of a penny but this makes home made sauce (from home grown plants started from seed) cost .21 of a cent per ounce.
So the next time you ask if it's worth growing your own and doing all that work? Well, don't ask me or I will wither you with my math.
So, go pick out a spot in your lawn to grow some romas!
*I made my calculation based on the most expensive packets of seeds.
Comments (14)
I love this kind of analysis. Thanks for doing the math.
Personally saving money is not my primary incentive for growing fruit or veggies. I've been alternately amused or dismayed by the seed catalogs this year (Burpee and Stark Bros, specifically) who have really put an emphasis on growing your own during "these tough economic times" and "money DOES grow on trees...when you plant fruit trees." I can see why there's a bit of a backlash to those rosy claims from the ad men.
Luckily for me (because I'm so poor at it), I grow veggies for the taste and because I enjoy messing around in the dirt and I'm fascinated watching things grow. But if we had to depend on our land for our sustenance, we'd starve. I've never harvested enough of anything to have something leftover for preserving.
I'm so envious of your climate. Especially you ability to grow (or visit farmers who grow) all kinds of fruits. Peaches grow down here but we usually don't have enough cold days to make other kinds of fruit set. (I am trying a special raspberry for the south this year. It will take at least two years to see whether it produces as the nurseryman claimed.)
I do think everyone should try to grow some food, even if they live in an apartment and can only sprout micro-greens or have an herb plant in the windowsill. And I'm looking forward to hearing more adventures with your raised bed this year.
Posted by mss @ Zanthan Gardens | February 11, 2009 1:31 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 13:31
You are possibly in one of the few regions that doesn't spend so much money trying to keep lawns alive in this country. More specifically- you don't do this.
I don't really grow my own for the possible savings of money either but it's something I hear so many people talk and ask about it seems to be a deciding factor. I've been meaning to tackle this for a while. I plan to do an analysis on jams (a frequently home made item) and pickles.
Though I think it's kind of obvious how that's going to go. It might be better for me to focus more on how to get the maximum amount of home grown out of a city lot. But since I'm learning as I go myself- I don't exactly have all the answers yet.
This year I plan to weigh everything I pick from my garden. Oh crap, I could have been weighing my carrots! Oh well- I'll start with the next thing I pick. That way I can know at the end of the year how much I truly got out of it. It's a little on the overly scientific side for me but I think it's something I should keep track of and share.
I'm off to prune roses now!
Posted by angelina | February 11, 2009 2:01 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 14:01
"What makes an activity worth the time and effort you put into it is dependent on more factors than how much your time is professionally worth."
This is a great statement, one that I think I need to embroider on a pillow or something just to reinforce the idea. Definitely a point to remember next time I think, "Why am I doing this?" as I cook from scratch or sew something for my kids.
Posted by Green-Eyed Siren | February 11, 2009 2:07 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 14:07
Your commentary is so right-on as far as is it worth it. So many of my friends think I am odd for sewing my own clothing and cooking food from scratch.
I've been attempting to learn and get better at gardening, and slowly putting in more edible plants here at Acorn Cottage. I was able to get a baby pear tree from Friends of Trees this year, (at a discounted price in exchange for my doing additional volunteering)
Last year I tried canning grape leaves. Making stuffed grape leaves is a special dinner, and the store bought leaves are sooo expensive. They were easy to can, and my one friend with a similar attitude has a big grapevine along her yard fence. We made a day of it, and both had several jars at the end. I wish that I had transportation to some of the wonderful U-pick places you mention...
You are one of my inspirations, I just added you to my list of links on my brand new blog
Posted by alison | February 11, 2009 2:58 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 14:58
This is a great post. My eyes roll every time I hear someone say, "my time is worth more than that". There is something so deep in me that feels whole each time I connect with my food like this. "Putting up" for me is about that connection and also because its just too damn expensive to buy it...last year I didn't preserve anywhere near what I usually do and am I ever feeling it this winter. You did a fabulous job of breaking it down for us. And wow, .7cents an oz? Now that is something to celebrate. I think I'll start pouring the wine right now!
Posted by Kathy | February 11, 2009 3:11 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 15:11
Haven't grown vegetables in years but do plan to get back to it this year. There are just 2 issues for me, and sadly you didn't address either one.
1) I am absolutely irrationally TERRIFIED of those horrible tomato eating worm things. Like borderline panic attack kind of thing. I've got goosebumps just TYPING about them.
2) What are the odds I'd kill my family by improperly canning them? I'm talking about the tomatoes, NOT the family, altho that could also seem reasonable some days.
Posted by elizabeth | February 11, 2009 3:30 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 15:30
I'm so happy this has resonated with all of you!
Elizabeth- those hornworms must be regional because I haven't seen one in so many years I forgot they exist!! Yes, I'm not crazy about them either. You could enlist someone's help to patrol the plants before you approach them. You could also try using an environmentally sound spray to try and discourage their settling in.
As to the actual canning part- it is a lot more difficult to kill your family than you would imagine. especially when you're canning high acid foods like tomatoes. If you follow the directions in the Ball Blue Book Of Canning or the USDA instructions you will not go wrong. They instruct you to add acid to each quart to ENSURE that there is enough acid to prevent botulism. Any other spoilage you can see and smell and is therefore easily avoided. If I could come teach you I would do it in a heart beat!!! what fun it would be! However, the other option is to freeze them. Then you avoid all the botulism fear altogether.
I don't know if that addressed your issues enough but I can always try harder.
Gotta go play with the kiddo.
Posted by angelina | February 11, 2009 4:44 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 16:44
I'm so with you on the time and money thing. Spot on, Angelina!
My inner Laura Ingall's wants to grow and can, but my outer Fred Flinstone just can't seem to grow things. I am always looking at my huge lawn, wanting to make beds... you inspire me to get crackin' on it!
Posted by happy zombie | February 11, 2009 6:02 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 18:02
I have been wondering that for a while now! Thank you for doing the math. : ) I calculated the amount of money we saved growing our own tomatoes 2 years ago, and it was over $200. We didn't can, though, we just ate them fresh and cooked into sauce. The taste difference is astonishing, and I'm sure the nutrition is better, too.
Posted by Melinda | February 11, 2009 8:07 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 20:07
Awesome analysis!
I've always wondered what the price difference was when I home can my produce (and freeze).
But, besides the money, there is another important factor. Home produce is usually organic, you know EVERYTHING that is going into the can so it is healthier - AND it tastes so much better than anything you can buy at the store. And to me - that is well worth any time spent!!!
Posted by Karmyn R | February 11, 2009 8:19 PM
Posted on February 11, 2009 20:19
Did some more thinking about the cost benefits of growing your own. One area where I do really score is herbs. Herbs tolerate Austin's dry years better than veggies and fruits. I've had success with lavender (only one variety though; the others didn't like our heavy black clay soil), oregano, cilantro (which grows like dandelions all over my yard), basil and the medley: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Cilantro costs 50 cents a bunch in our store and we use a lot of it. So I'm glad it's a "weed" here. I bought seed once and now it comes up all over. This was my first year to try parsley. I grew it from seed and it was easy. It's very similar in cultivation to cilantro.
I've killed a lot of thyme (ignore bad pun). It has long roots which don't like wet feet. I finally bought a proper herb pot (tall) and it's working. It was an expensive pot so it will take several years to balance out the savings but having fresh thyme is well worth it to us.
Posted by mss @ Zanthan Gardens | February 12, 2009 9:11 AM
Posted on February 12, 2009 09:11
I would love to can, but my tomato-growing skills are not as good as yours. Last year (first year trying tomatoes), we didn't even get one off our plants :(
They grew, but a lot of them got bottom end rot and/or shriveled up before they matured. Needless to say, I learned to water them at ground level, not from above.
@Elizabeth,
Don't know if this will work for tomatoes, but if you want a pesticide-free insect deterrent, you could try garlic chili spray. I've been using it on my winter plants. It's basically a mix of garlic, hot sauce (60%), water (40%), and a spritz of dish liquid so that it will stick to the plants.
Posted by Jade | February 13, 2009 10:29 AM
Posted on February 13, 2009 10:29
Jade- I've had that problem with tomatoes before too- very disheartening. In addition to not watering from above- try to water at very regular intervals. The two biggest contributors to blossom end rot are irregular watering and a calcium deficiency in your soil. If you garden in clay soil or know your soil is acidic, be sure to add some lyme to it a couple of months before planting. That is a serious problem here in the PNW. The frequent rain drains the water soluble calcium from the soil pretty regularly.
If you don't want to have to add lyme to your soil every year, be sure to add all your eggshells to your compost. Eggshells are a natural way to add calcium to your own home made compost.
Also- are you using raised beds? I know they are so much more expensive to make than growing straight into your soil, but I have found that everything grows better in them.
Don't give up! I don't believe that there's anyone who can't grow tomatoes successfully, I think it's just that the learning curve might be higher for some people depending on the conditions of the garden they are starting with.
Posted by Angelina | February 13, 2009 10:43 AM
Posted on February 13, 2009 10:43
Thanks for doing that, as your costs are precisely my costs! You forgot one other reason to can: enjoyment. I actually LIKE canning. It's even more fun to do it with friends.
Posted by DG | February 13, 2009 11:07 PM
Posted on February 13, 2009 23:07