Soil $120 for 2 yards delivered: I once heard this quote: "I would rather put a $5 plant in $30 soil than a $30 plant in $5 soil." I learned the hard way last year that good soil is critical. Our soil is mostly clay so I got 2 yards of planters soil delivered to mix in with the current soil.
Mulch $200 for 2 yards delivered: I am really, really good at growing weeds. Maybe the best in the neighborhood. I do not like to use chemicals to keep weeds away but all the watering makes more than just the plants want to grow. So I plant everything and then mulch like crazy. I like to use Gorilla Hair Mulch because it matts down nicely and mostly stays where you put it.
Water: Not only do I need to spend a bit watering the plants. I also use quite a bit soaking the greens and then rinsing the greens as I prepare them to eat. Hard to know the cost of water because we are on a tiered system. The first 5,000 gallons of water is only .0024 cents a gallon. The second tier is .00342 cents a gallon. I usually never hit the 3rd tier that starts at 15,000 gallons and cost .0042 per gallon. I like this tiered plan because it encourages conservation- the more you use, the more expensive it gets.
Seeds $12: I bought radish and cilantro seeds. I also tried to plant some pepper, lavender and carrots but seed but none of those germinated.
Starter Plants $70: I bought six tomato starter plants at the farmer's market. I know I could have gotten these cheaper but there is so much fracking going on near me, I wanted to know exactly where the plants were started and that there were free of fracking soil and chemicals. Some other plants I got for fun were: Bok Choy (already harvested- YUM!!!!), Kale (3 kinds), Swiss Chard, Brussel Sprouts, and Celery.
Garden in a Box $70 from Center for ReSource Conservation: This is my second year using Garden in a Box. I love it. This year I got the Xeric Greatest Hits for my perennial flower garden out front. I also got the Savory Seasonings vegetable garden.
Ultimately I will say this is a fun hobby. I will not be harvesting enough to cover the costs but at least I am making good use of the land, learning a little bit about farming and enjoying fresh picked greens. Here are a couple pictures of the garden so far. I hope to post and update around harvest time.
