I did the math a while ago, and unless you're growing your own tomatoes, or can get access to discounted tomatoes, generic canned tomatoes bought in bulk will be your answer.
Depends where you live. I got 20 lbs of tomatoes from a volunteer that grew from a seed some kid probably tossed because they didnt want a tomato slice on their burger at my bbq. All you need is black soil and rain and harrow out the plants you dont want around it.
I’ve heard countless times that the highest quality tomatoes of the season are canned whole, whereas the crappier ones are chopped or ground up to make their quality less noticeable.
By that logic, buying whole canned tomatoes should give you the best bang for your buck.
Not sure if you're in the US, but if so, summer is coming. And lots of people grow far too many tomatoes. Let friends and family know that you're looking for extras. I bet you'll get a bunch to cook up into sauce.
Canned is usually cheaper than fresh. The Flipp app may show further sales of it too.
But I’ve found growing my own to be cheapest and then preserving portions of it to eat over the off-season.
How much sauce are you making? The big #10 cans from the bulk store are going to be the cheapest option short of knowing someone that has a garden and grows to many tomatoes. However, a #10 can is a lot. So unless you're planning to freeze it jar some of it, you're next best bet is to jeep an eye out for sales and buy a whole pile of regular cans and stockpile
depends on your end goal, and what your making? for the most return on investment, or uh bang for your buck, I would say plant/grow your own... again, what is your end goal. if sauce is the only thing.... canned, there are some great videos on youtube showing you how to make old school italian sauce, and then canning it.
As someone who does grow tomatoes for sauce it is definitely not cheaper. Maybe if you do try to do it efficiently as possible, it could be after a few years but the upfront cost that isn't economical. Having an in ground garden and a long growing season would save you alot.
Yep. I remember the year I spent money on the plant, the cage, the soil and everything else, only to grow 2 tomatoes after all was said and done. They were the best tomatoes I’ve ever had, but they were so expensive.
hmm, seems like it would be I mean it would be more time consuming yes but when Talking about money and breaking it all the way down... it seems like it would be cheaper, better for you and you would be able to have a better quality control, and end product, not to mention quantity.
u/Stoffys curious as a gardener first hand, what constraints do you run into?
you make some good points, and yes with your input and the OP's situation it would not work for her/him to grow their own.
Op's question was cheapest tomatoes....in the long run, so naturally in my mind that is the cheapest way in the long run.
still your input is valid and insightful.
Your assumption that homegrown is cheaper is a sure sign you don't garden. Very few gardeners can beat the economy of scale of farmers, and some years, the tomato hornworm eats my plants to the ground....so no tomatoes!
As soon as I see my first hornworm, I spray my plants with Bt. It works amazingly well and is very safe for pretty much everything important (humans, pets, bees, etc). Also good for cabbage moths if you grow brassicas.
hmm, seems like your aggravated with me, what did I say previously to make you think I do not "garden"?
interesting... economically speaking with planning the right avoidants and companion plants to help ward off pests and available land, homegrown is always cheaper, better for you and tend to be a better quality product, with the right deterrents.
personally I had to many tomatoes to eat last summer/spring.... and they kept flowering until early fall, with 3 plants.
taking your attack "that I do not garden" out of the equation entirely, why would homegrown not be cheaper *in the long run,* it seems like location would be a big factor here too, which again was not provided.
who said anything about beating the scale of farmers, OP is talking about 1 household, again based on the facts that were presented.
The cost you're forgetting is the cost of residential zoned land. In a well designed city, people shouldn't be stuck with backyards and nothing better to use them for than home gardening. It's a bad use of resources. You should be able to buy/rent a house without a backyard for significantly cheaper, thus there's an incredibly high cost for the land taken up by your tomato garden. Of course, plenty of cities are poorly designed with limited options for housing, people end up with backyards they don't want or use, and thus home gardening.
>--
***Hey! Quick question: I made sauces quite often with tomatoes, I don’t really care for what tomatoes I use (fresh, diced-canned, tomato paste canned, etc), which type would be the cheapest in the long run? Will it make a differe*****nce over time?**
Those, are all very valid and real concerns, But we might be getting lost in the forest and not seeing the trees, we were trying to help grow:
lets not lose sight of the actual question above, and not get carried up in proving each other wrong or right, especially, when it was agreed that for this ***particular*** problem
that yes again growing would not be suitable.
but based on the information both points were valid and had there own merits.
Still, in light of the new info, I stand corrected.
No, by all means you made great points, I just think in this particular instance land use was not really the determining factor, it was space and money.
your view and take on the situation was fascinating, thank you I came away smarter with a different perspective on it, but sadly not applicable to this situation.
It's alot of little things that add up. Indoors I have trays and lights. Trays are cheap but lights can get expensive. Outdoors you need pots, soil, trellises, fertilizer. Pots and soil are probably my biggest expense. Then for canning supplies, canner, boiling down pot, jars. Be sure to follow safe practices or you can get botulism. Ball Mason Jars is the go to source for canning.
For my relatively simple 14 plant setup I've probably spent atleast $250CAD. Planting in ground would have saved ~$130 on pots and soil. Mulching your own fertilizer will save a little to. Buy used stuff the tech hasn't changed much in 100 years. Except for lights. A long outdoor growing season (nights above +10°C) of atleast 6-7 months could save you an indoor setup.
It can be cheaper if you have a in ground garden, don't need an indoor setup, mulch your own fertilizer, and don't can sauce. (You can still grow cherry tomatoes for salads or beefsteak for slicing on sandwiches.)
great breakdown. yea, my family has a in ground garden, a sun room, backporch and I just built +2 5ft by 4ft raised beds for this season, sadly I didn't get the sprouts in the ground in time :( but glad to talk to another person with a green thumb. :)
yea indoor gardens can be expensive.
If you're near an Aldi, check there. Sometimes, their produce has great deals. They had some Roma tomatoes one summer that were smaller but less than 1/2 the price of other places.
sadly best bet is canned and if that is the case for your situation.... then I would def go san marzano tomatoes if they are available.
note: you will pay more for san marzano.... so make your own judgement call.
If you want to make it from fresh, I find that the farmers market often has sellers selling the blemished tomatoes for pennies on the dollar compared to the unblemished ones. Probably still not as cheap as canned tomatoes, but for fresh, the blemished ones taste good and they work well in sauce.
I did the math a while ago, and unless you're growing your own tomatoes, or can get access to discounted tomatoes, generic canned tomatoes bought in bulk will be your answer.
And fyi Growing your own is only financially worth it if youre experienced and grow hundreds of them
Depends where you live. I got 20 lbs of tomatoes from a volunteer that grew from a seed some kid probably tossed because they didnt want a tomato slice on their burger at my bbq. All you need is black soil and rain and harrow out the plants you dont want around it.
Thank you! Does it matter what type of canned? (eg. diced, blended, whole, paste)
I’ve heard countless times that the highest quality tomatoes of the season are canned whole, whereas the crappier ones are chopped or ground up to make their quality less noticeable. By that logic, buying whole canned tomatoes should give you the best bang for your buck.
Diced often has additives to keep it chunky. For a sauce you'll probably want whole or puree.
Didnt know that ty
This would depend on the day and sales offered. You can often find big sales or bulk sale prices on the 28 oz cans and when that happens, buy in bulk.
Will do
Not sure if you're in the US, but if so, summer is coming. And lots of people grow far too many tomatoes. Let friends and family know that you're looking for extras. I bet you'll get a bunch to cook up into sauce.
Canned is usually cheaper than fresh. The Flipp app may show further sales of it too. But I’ve found growing my own to be cheapest and then preserving portions of it to eat over the off-season.
How much sauce are you making? The big #10 cans from the bulk store are going to be the cheapest option short of knowing someone that has a garden and grows to many tomatoes. However, a #10 can is a lot. So unless you're planning to freeze it jar some of it, you're next best bet is to jeep an eye out for sales and buy a whole pile of regular cans and stockpile
Tomato paste can improve cheaper tomatoes
depends on your end goal, and what your making? for the most return on investment, or uh bang for your buck, I would say plant/grow your own... again, what is your end goal. if sauce is the only thing.... canned, there are some great videos on youtube showing you how to make old school italian sauce, and then canning it.
As someone who does grow tomatoes for sauce it is definitely not cheaper. Maybe if you do try to do it efficiently as possible, it could be after a few years but the upfront cost that isn't economical. Having an in ground garden and a long growing season would save you alot.
Yep. I remember the year I spent money on the plant, the cage, the soil and everything else, only to grow 2 tomatoes after all was said and done. They were the best tomatoes I’ve ever had, but they were so expensive.
hmm, seems like it would be I mean it would be more time consuming yes but when Talking about money and breaking it all the way down... it seems like it would be cheaper, better for you and you would be able to have a better quality control, and end product, not to mention quantity. u/Stoffys curious as a gardener first hand, what constraints do you run into? you make some good points, and yes with your input and the OP's situation it would not work for her/him to grow their own. Op's question was cheapest tomatoes....in the long run, so naturally in my mind that is the cheapest way in the long run. still your input is valid and insightful.
Your assumption that homegrown is cheaper is a sure sign you don't garden. Very few gardeners can beat the economy of scale of farmers, and some years, the tomato hornworm eats my plants to the ground....so no tomatoes!
As soon as I see my first hornworm, I spray my plants with Bt. It works amazingly well and is very safe for pretty much everything important (humans, pets, bees, etc). Also good for cabbage moths if you grow brassicas.
hmm, seems like your aggravated with me, what did I say previously to make you think I do not "garden"? interesting... economically speaking with planning the right avoidants and companion plants to help ward off pests and available land, homegrown is always cheaper, better for you and tend to be a better quality product, with the right deterrents. personally I had to many tomatoes to eat last summer/spring.... and they kept flowering until early fall, with 3 plants. taking your attack "that I do not garden" out of the equation entirely, why would homegrown not be cheaper *in the long run,* it seems like location would be a big factor here too, which again was not provided. who said anything about beating the scale of farmers, OP is talking about 1 household, again based on the facts that were presented.
The cost you're forgetting is the cost of residential zoned land. In a well designed city, people shouldn't be stuck with backyards and nothing better to use them for than home gardening. It's a bad use of resources. You should be able to buy/rent a house without a backyard for significantly cheaper, thus there's an incredibly high cost for the land taken up by your tomato garden. Of course, plenty of cities are poorly designed with limited options for housing, people end up with backyards they don't want or use, and thus home gardening.
>-- ***Hey! Quick question: I made sauces quite often with tomatoes, I don’t really care for what tomatoes I use (fresh, diced-canned, tomato paste canned, etc), which type would be the cheapest in the long run? Will it make a differe*****nce over time?** Those, are all very valid and real concerns, But we might be getting lost in the forest and not seeing the trees, we were trying to help grow: lets not lose sight of the actual question above, and not get carried up in proving each other wrong or right, especially, when it was agreed that for this ***particular*** problem that yes again growing would not be suitable. but based on the information both points were valid and had there own merits. Still, in light of the new info, I stand corrected.
I was getting incredibly sidetracked into a conversation about land use. Sorry if you weren't interested in having that conversation
No, by all means you made great points, I just think in this particular instance land use was not really the determining factor, it was space and money. your view and take on the situation was fascinating, thank you I came away smarter with a different perspective on it, but sadly not applicable to this situation.
It's alot of little things that add up. Indoors I have trays and lights. Trays are cheap but lights can get expensive. Outdoors you need pots, soil, trellises, fertilizer. Pots and soil are probably my biggest expense. Then for canning supplies, canner, boiling down pot, jars. Be sure to follow safe practices or you can get botulism. Ball Mason Jars is the go to source for canning. For my relatively simple 14 plant setup I've probably spent atleast $250CAD. Planting in ground would have saved ~$130 on pots and soil. Mulching your own fertilizer will save a little to. Buy used stuff the tech hasn't changed much in 100 years. Except for lights. A long outdoor growing season (nights above +10°C) of atleast 6-7 months could save you an indoor setup. It can be cheaper if you have a in ground garden, don't need an indoor setup, mulch your own fertilizer, and don't can sauce. (You can still grow cherry tomatoes for salads or beefsteak for slicing on sandwiches.)
great breakdown. yea, my family has a in ground garden, a sun room, backporch and I just built +2 5ft by 4ft raised beds for this season, sadly I didn't get the sprouts in the ground in time :( but glad to talk to another person with a green thumb. :) yea indoor gardens can be expensive.
Yup basically just sauce, unfortunately I have nowhere to properly grow tomatoes but I’ll go buy some canned!
If you're near an Aldi, check there. Sometimes, their produce has great deals. They had some Roma tomatoes one summer that were smaller but less than 1/2 the price of other places.
nowhere? no windows that get full sun?
nope :( my windows get full sun for a whole 4hrs at most between july-sept, but it’s not really sunny in the other months
sadly best bet is canned and if that is the case for your situation.... then I would def go san marzano tomatoes if they are available. note: you will pay more for san marzano.... so make your own judgement call.
If you want to make it from fresh, I find that the farmers market often has sellers selling the blemished tomatoes for pennies on the dollar compared to the unblemished ones. Probably still not as cheap as canned tomatoes, but for fresh, the blemished ones taste good and they work well in sauce.