Cleveland, D.A., T.V. Orum and N. Ferguson (1985) Economic value of home vegetable gardens in an urban desert environment. HortScience 20(4):694-696. ARTICLE AS PDF FILE.

ABSTRACT
Two home vegetable gardens (77.4 and 58.3m2) in Tucson, Ariz., yielded an average of 1.24 and 2.31 kg/m2 of produce per year over 3 and 2.5 years, respectively. Average net returns were $109 and $123 per year, $0.72 and $1.11 per hour, or $8.80 and $7.75 per dollar of water used. Thus, in the southwest desert, a weekly investment of 2-3 hours in a home garden can provide savings.