Farmer Helen

This summer I have created a nice garden.  It is fun and I enjoy the time in the yard.  But I will be surprised if this is cost effective.  So far I have spent the following:

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.