And how long do you plan to store this "washed yeast". I won't get into the debate here, but I simply do not support the usage of "distilled water" or similar storage techniques for any considerable length of time. If you only have one house year, you can make it work... anywho... it's a discussion for a different thread...
I figure that I'll plan to make sure to brew a batch with a generation within 6-9 months. Right now, I have three jars of washed yeast (one strain)... Not liking how one of the jars is separating out, since it has most of the trub in the bottom. I might sacrifice that one and just use the other two. So, I'll use one of those harvests in the next brew, harvesting/washing that yeast cake when done, saving two jars. I'll use those for the batches with that yeast for the next ~6 months, before going back to the second gen 2 jar. Brewing a batch from that, to reset it's clock. I'll plan to make sure to not let any single generation jar go more than 6 months between harvest/wash time and when it's used.
Compound that by the three strains I either have harvested, or will shortly, and that's going to be many, many, batches of beer. I very well could go more than a year before needing to purchase yeast again.
As for the hops:
Yet you won't get any really usable quantity of hops for 2-3 years in all likelihood, especially in pots or on short trellises. The cost of rhizomes, fertilizer, water, soil, posts, wire, oast/drier, etc etc are almost certainly non-zero even under "best case" scenarios. And at today's hop prices, it makes little sense to attempt to grow them as a way of "saving yourself some money". Actually, if that's your goal, I would label it "total folly".
I was looking to grow hops more for flavor/aroma hops so that I could reduce how much I need to purchase. Plus, I like the thought of using more either local, self sustained ingredients. I probably won't start growing hops for another year or more, so it's not really an issue. For the support system for the hops, I can build that up pretty cheap, with it being height adjustable. I have time to plan that out too. Once the support setup is built, I expect it to last for many, many years. So you can actually space the cost over those multiple years.
For drying, you can do that without spending all that much money. Simple as using AB's setup for making jerky can be adapted to drying hops.
Before I started buying hops, the cost of growing my own could easily be recovered when compared with buying them (LHBS is selling hops at $3/ounce when you don't buy a pound at a time, pound bags range from the low $30's on up). Figuring that I use, right now, about 2 ounces of hops per batch, my cost to setup for growing hops would be offset within 8-10 batches (if growing in the ground).
I will be planning on growing hops once I have a place of my own, and a garden. I'll simply allocate a section for hops, so it won't be an issue. Fertilizer cost won't really matter, since it can be factored into the entire cost of the garden.
BTW, most people that like to grow their own veggies don't do it to save money. Rather you get a much superior product to what you get in most stores (unless the farm is right there, and the produce for sale was harvested that day, or within a few days). I'm even considering putting in a hot house for growing veggies and hops when I get a place (provided I have enough land)...
