I don't see you you ever break even. I grew string beans and tomatoes in 1 gallon tubs this year. I got about 8 tomatoes and several handfuls of beans. Watered them every day in the heat. It wasn't even worth the time and water. Years ago I had big gardens. Same.

The hobby value has to be high to make it worthwhile.

I wish I had more sunlight in my back yard but the neighbor's hollies block the light.

and where I live we get snow, and the growing season is short. But still it's so worth it to raise a garden. it gives you roots, it wakes you up to the environment you live in, one way or another. "Breaking even" is banker talk, that shouldn't even be in any sentence about having a garden.

Two things money can't buy are true love and home grown tomatoes. Plant, grow, and learn. Save your seeds and hope for next year. I plowed most of my back yard years ago. A mix of early indoor starts, hugelkultur, raised beds, crop rotation, container planting, serious composting, and intensive companion planting brings me an abundance of food. It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. Slowly and with many failures I am learning what will grow in what light and what soil.

and dug out a 10'x10' plot in soil that was equal parts sand and rocks. Dug in 2 bales of peat moss. Gardened that plot intensively, stayed flush with veg all summer and had enough to can. The canned stuff didn't last the whole winter, but winter there lasted until mid May. That garden fork, roll of hardware cloth buried a foot deep and stapled to stakes cut from back yard wood, bales of peat moss, and yearly seed order all paid for itself several times over. Composted leaves and kitchen waste with horse poop from a neighbor did it for fertilizer every year, and every year the plot produced more.

It was also entertainment value every late summer when I put a side dressing of fish emulsion on stuff that needed a nitrogen boost, the cats were hilarious!

I wasn't interested in being a reality TV star, I just wanted to grow food. I knew I could handle a small plot and do it well. That's what I did.

And no, it didn't involve any raised beds.

I end up growing tomatoes and green beans,

Straw Bales. You must use straw, no hay, only straw. Bales are usually approximately 2x3x2. You must condition them before planting, it takes a while but it’s worth it.

I’m sure bale cost are different across the country but usually run anywhere from 5 to 8 dollars each. They are tied (baled) but some people wrap around a couple more times with a good nylon string. Bales when dry are not heavy at all so if using more than one you can let your design creativity loose. You could keep them together or place singles in appropriate places on your property to get maximum growing conditions for each crop you like to grow.

YouTube is filled with videos on how to condition and start growing in Straw Bales.

Last season was my first experiment growing in bales, it was fun and quite enlightening. We have other raised beds that we built using the ‘hugelkultur’ method. They’re 3x4x2 and have been producing well for years but we wanted to expand the gardens. Bales presented a good way to expand inexpensively.
I tried butternut squash, zucchini, lettuce all gave yields that beat out the ‘in ground’ plants of the same variety.
Lettuce was exceptionally good…easy to get to, being 2 feet off the ground, and clean less dirt than from the in ground stuff.
The squash’s in bales beat out the ground mounds by 3 to 1 and the fear of squash bugs went out the window because you’re off the ground.
Treated carefully the bales should last for a couple seasons after that it’s great mulch or use for composting.

YouTube videos on Straw Bales: