Economics of home gardening

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on March 1, 2009 at 4:20pm

Roger, these are fascinating statistics. I don't see water/irrigation figured into the costs. Maybe you get more rain than we do in the high desert. Interesting vairations in Farmer's Market prices too. I'm looking forward to others' statistics and comments.

Happy March 1!

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Permalink Reply by Roger on March 1, 2009 at 4:37pm

Nice catch, Penelope. If I left it out, it's because water's a bit of an afterthought for us. We get a fair amount of rain and with good regularity and even when we don't, water's quite cheap compared to other places. I have now factored some costs. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on March 1, 2009 at 4:45pm

I've never actually calculated it. Our water is free (except for the electricity to pump it, but as we are on a cooperative and have a shared resource it's really hard to calculate), as is our compost and alpaca manure (unless you consider food costs for the alpacas, and vet bills)... we can get a half yard of aged horse manure for $15 from the local horse farm. This is a good idea though I'll start keeping track of what we spend. I would include the seeds I've bought this year, but I didn't use them all and some of them were from last year and some were gifts from folks. So I'll start calculating from this point forward.

What is expensive this year is we are buying drip irrigation stuff this year, and also really large tomato cages for $12 a piece.

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on March 2, 2009 at 12:33pm

Dear Joy,
before you spend $12 a cage look for a piece by Roger Postley http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2007/06/building_tomato_cages.html
The cost of 150 ft roll is now $120 ish , find someone with bolt cutters and they end up costing about $3-$4 each.
The rust adds iron to the soil too.
pax
John

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Permalink Reply by Chris Bocchino on March 3, 2009 at 10:23am

Joy how big are the tomato cages that you need? I would price an entire roll of wire fence to make your own from. I think you can get a 100'x4' roll for about $40. That would make a good amount of tomato cages.........................Chris

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Permalink Reply by Ted McDaniel on March 7, 2009 at 8:17pm

Right, and gavinized wire is better for people who don't need any extra iron in their soils (I certainly have more than enough here in central NC).

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Permalink Reply by Nerdmom on March 8, 2009 at 10:39am

What about growing your tomatoes upside down? I'm borrowing this method to save space in my garden for greens.
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/tomato2.html

I especially like the part about growing living mulch in the tops of the buckets, companion gardening gets my engines revving for some reason. I bought 4 buckets from Lowe's for $2.00 a piece I only need 4 plants for myself and family, but if you have enough area around your home to hang I'm sure you could get quite a few more in.

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on March 1, 2009 at 7:09pm

It probably costs me an extra $20 a month to water my garden, trees and small patch of grass during the growing season, from April through September, but gardening is also my main summer recreation since I rarely travel and can no longer hike, and if I don't keep my lot green, I can get fined by the city, an entity that also insists we conserve water. Some irony there in the requirements.

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on March 1, 2009 at 7:50pm

Scratching my head. Why would a place that wants you to conserve fine you if the lot isn't green? Sometimes people baffle me.

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Permalink Reply by Safira on March 3, 2009 at 1:24pm

I want some of what those people are smoking. It might get me through this dang late-season storm and cold snap. (It was 60 on Thursday. 60, I tell you, and now it's around 15, with wind chills hitting negative numbers, and we have a foot of new snow!)

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on March 3, 2009 at 1:34pm

It's the cold irony of the bureaucratic method of dealing with earth-friendly lifeforms.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Welsh on March 2, 2009 at 10:59am

The cost of growing one's own food is only one part of the issue. My husband and I have been growing our own food for most of our married life, which is close to 45 years. Our children grew up eating food from our gardens, spring, summer, fall, and winter. They know where food comes from. For us, it's quality. That is the most important issue. Unless you purchase from a farmer's market, IF you have one close enough to you to purchase from, you just cannot get fresh picked, good quality food from the grocery stores. Our favorite thing to do each evening June through Nov. here in Maine is to go out and PICK our dinner. We hope to extend the season here in zone 4 with a hoop house this year.

I so wish more young people would garden and learn how good food can be. There are many folks here in this area of Maine where we live who have never tasted a good bit of what we grow here. Very sad.

Keep up the good work, looking forward to warmer months, and starting the gardens anew!

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