For garden retailers ↗
THE HARVEST LEDGER

A garden can give a lot.
Know what goes in.

See the costs. Follow the food you actually use. Give savings—and your time—an honest place in the picture.

Illustrative USD inputs. Replace them with your own numbers.
01 · Things that last

Initial cash purchase versus cost spread over useful life. Enter your attributable share, not someone else’s entire tool.

Residual value
Residual value
02 · Every season’s costs

Include seeds/starts, growing media, soil tests, amendments, irrigation water, energy, pest controls, repairs, hired work (garden mode), fuel, storage, preservation, rented space and other attributable costs. Never count the same item twice.

03 · The food you actually use
04 · Your time & the long view

Where the method comes from

These are inspectable arithmetic models, not production estimates. CropCost separates yields, prices, expenses and allocated overhead. Our household tool additionally distinguishes eaten food from purchases actually displaced.

University of Minnesota · CropCost ↗Read the assumptions & limitations →

Food has value beyond a grocery receipt. Enjoyment, learning, gifting and fresh flavor are valid reasons to grow. We do not convert those experiences—or hypothetical health benefits—into fabricated cash savings.

KEEP THE CURIOSITY. TAKE A USEFUL STEP.

Explore the tools behind your costs

Compare the work a tool does before choosing equipment.

Explore the tools behind your costs →
OR FOLLOW A DIFFERENT THREAD

Write what you noticed; saved locally, not shared automatically.

Keep a field note →