Could a vegetable garden save you $2,000/year in grocery expenses? According to this AP article, it's possible -- especially if you're fortunate enough to live in a climate that allows you to garden year-round. But even if you can only grow a summer vegetable garden, the National Gardening Association estimates that your return could be as much as $500/year. That gets me to wonder rather optimistically whether I might just have a green thumb.

Let's consider this practically. I have a pretty busy schedule already, and frankly I have enough trouble remembering to water the two houseplants that I do have. So here are some questions I went about finding answers to and my decision at the end.

What is the start-up cost of a backyard raised vegetable garden (let's say, 4 x 8 ft in size)?

Frame-it-All Raised Vegetable Garden from K-Mart: $175.20 (sale price)
Equipment (Spading Fork, Rake, Hoe, Hand Trowel, and Hand Cultivator from Lowe's): $72.05
Seeds (8 packets of tomatoes, beans, carrots, peppers, etc., from Burpee) - $32.95
Garden Soil (4 bags - to start - from Home Depot) - $29.88

Grand Total: $310.08 (not including tax)

Note to the very frugal: This is definitely a high estimate. You could do it for a lot cheaper. For example, you could build your own raised-bed frame for a fraction of the price, borrow tools from a neighbor, and get more than enough seeds in this package for just $10. And soil? Your backyard soil might be perfectly good already. This article can help you find out if it is. Then all you'd have to do is till some up.

How much time will be required to maintain it?

A novice gardener will only need about 1/2 hour each day to keep up with his or her garden (up to 400 square feet), says the National Gardening Association.

What are other benefits of growing your own vegetable garden?

- Reduce your carbon footprint - We've all heard about the benefits of buying local. Growing your own produce is one step better than that. We help our environment by eating food from our own gardens versus driving to the grocery store to purchase food that has traveled hundreds of miles from large industrial farms.

- Growing your own vegetables is fashionable. Even the first lady is planning a vegetable garden (the White House's first since Eleanor Roosevelt planted her Victory Garden during World War II).

- It's good for your health! Not only will gardening give you a good workout, but by eating your home-grown vegetables you're limiting your exposure to pesticides.

- Vegetables grown in your own garden taste better

- Kids love gardening! It's a great family activity. Even toddlers can find excitement in watching young sprouts come up and participating in the harvest. Older children will enjoy the responsibility of taking care of the garden and will gain satisfaction in seeing the seeds they plant grow into vegetables that will be used in the family's meals.

And what is the cost-savings, again?

Burpee Seeds says that $10 of seeds planted on a mere one-tenth of an acre can produce more than $650 worth of vegetables. That's quite a claim! And here's some anecdotal evidence suggesting that the cost-savings is worth it.

- J.D., of Get Rich Slowly, conducted a year-long gardening experiment, during which he kept track of his gardening expenses, and at harvest, calculated his "profit." He spent $318.43 and 60 hours caring for his garden (two-thirds of an acre) during 2008. At harvest, he yielded $606.97 worth of produce. He determined that "for every dollar we spent on the garden, we harvested $1.91 worth of food." He shares his lessons learned here.

- Roger Doiron, founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International, conducted a similar experiment, as shared in the above-mentioned AP article.

"[He] spent nine months weighing and recording each vegetable he pulled from his 1,600-square-foot (150-sq. meter) garden outside Portland, Maine. After counting the final winter leaves of Belgian endive, he found he had saved about $2,150 by growing produce for his family of five instead of buying it.

Considering my status as a novice gardener and the initial start-up cost of a garden, my goal should probably be to break even on my first harvest. But based on these success stories, a decent return in years to come is likely. So, my decision? I can't wait to get started!

Some additional reading on growing your own garden:

Economy Turns Gardening Into Growth Industry - MSNBC.COM

Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at the White House - NYT

7 Tips for Starting Your Own Vegetable Garden - Get Rich Slowly

Can You Survive without a Grocery Store? - Mom it Forward

Vegetable Gardening 101 - National Gardening Association