What You Spend To Garden

So yesterday I was out watering my beds, and all of a sudden heard this loud pop! Sounded just like a firecracker. Next thing I know, I was soaking wet At first I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, then realized the water hose had exploded I had just recently repaired this hose for the second or third time and called it DONE!!! So I went to HD and got a new hose and watering wand. $41 And I didn't even get the hose length I really needed! I got a 50' and needed a 75'. Ugh! At least I bought a higher grade hose I guess so hopefully it will last a bit longer...
What we spend to keep our gardens going

Now I want to see an emoticon getting soaked from his exploding garden hose.

This is the best I can do:

Less and less as the years go by, but I save a lot of dollars by eating out of the freezer or the home canned goods for 6+ months of the year.


Rooster, now if you take that old hose and poke a few more wee holes it it... voila! Soaker hose.

I have one like that the dog chewed up last year

Unfortunately, because I garden at the restaurant, I therefor keep all my receipts, so I can answer the question. But I won't! Not if I can help it!

I have started things from seeds, which saves money, but I add new beds every year, and my homemade compost isn't quite ready to use.

I did, however, just have an idea. I am going to try to keep track of my harvest this year, and see how much money it saves us. Stay tuned....

I've got to rent my space, so this issue becomes a little tricky at my house. I was bored with one plot last year, so I rented a second, and have permission to add more boxes. Of course, that also means more peat moss, vermiculite, trellises, compost, etc. My husband is sure that for the rent I could buy the equivalent at the market. But where's the fun in that?

Just an idea for people looking for materials to build sfgs, we know a lot of people in the construction business and you would be amazed the amount of "scrap lumber" they throw away. So when we see a good scrap pile we just ask if they would mind if we cleaned it up for them. A pro of living in a small town, you know everybody (also can be a con, lol) The last load we got had tons of great stuff, I'll take a picture tomorrow and show you!

I'm smiling at the " paltry " sums involved , our costs are rather special ..it's a once in a life time cost unless we win the national lottery big time ,then it will be done different and much better somewhere else

As a present for making enough money to get what we want by renovating several homes we lived in then selling them & because of becoming disabled Alison added some of her own money and made me a present of a full disabled friendly garden and glasshouse set up .

So long as it included flowerbeds , a pond and a pink granite ornament with a fountain .

We've had a full set up of costs running from April last year to just yesterday morning when we purchased the final item .. a lawn roller to set the newly sown lawns .

It's not just ANSFG bed's but the whole gamut of gardens front & rear with a proper aluminium framed 12 x 8 glasshouse that is fully fitted out with a heated misting propagation bed .

Wheeeee here goes.......

20 off 3 x 3 raised beds in blocks of six or four for me & for the dog an all weather bio dog loo plus a bio digster for the solids solids disposal unit cost over £5,000 sterling .

Filling the beds including fuel cost just over £ 560.

Pond 12 x 8 foot three feet deep with fountains and waterfall , paths , BBQ & patio area by the BBQ plus a 25 x 12 foot smooth concrete slab for compost making , general clean floor working & storage for trailer £ 9,000

New seeds cost £288 ( had quite a few old packs well past their use by date that didn't germinate when tested ) , included in this are many perennial flowers and bulbs ,corms or tubers as we can fit in the front 8 beds

Two auto watering systems one each for the glasshouse and hanging baskets cost £56

Extra tube work £ 50

Hanging baskets with wall mounting brackets x 6 fully lined & filled with MM and now undercultivation £30

Seven 11 cubic foot plastic composter bins cost £70 for the lot

Electric Mantis rototiller inc de thatchers , lawn spikes and hoe blades £ 376 new garden lawn roller £ 32 and finally a new 12 " cut electric lawn mower was £106

Add to this a sum of £ 15,000 for the complete landscaping project which included a new car parking area and tarmac to get out on to the .



That 's me spent up for a very long time except perhaps for carting a bit more dung & compost material and buying annual veg & flower seeds .



Now addd £ 900 as a guessimate for all the little items that never get remembered , till you start progressing your thinking .

Things like , like weed killer , compost activators , 6 packs of B,F & bone meal , 25 kg of lime for the lawns to turn the acidic soil to something that grass will grow in and not be over run by moss , 8 kg grass seed, 14 pond plants, the odd dozen plants here and there that Alison , HollyRobyn & myself brought . A new trowel , couple of pair of scissors , material to mark and e define the square foot squares. Four bags of builders gypsum plaster to sprinkle on the lawn areas & rototill in to help crumb up the blue coalmine clay without changing the pH much

One thing is for sure If we hadn't been able to do any of the work ourselves like sourcing all materials , making the composts , the MM , filling the beds , planting up the flower beds , setting up the electrics and irrigation systems the likely cost would be at least another £ 8,000

Lol. Now I don't feel so bad about buying a new water hose

plantoid wrote:I'm smiling at the " paltry " sums involved , our costs are rather special ..it's a once in a life time cost unless we win the national lottery big time ,then it will be done different and much better somewhere else

(Snip)


One thing is for sure If we hadn't been able to do any of the work ourselves like sourcing all materials , making the composts , the MM , filling the beds , planting up the flower beds , setting up the electrics and irrigation systems the likely cost would be at least another £ 8,000

Can I print the full version and show it to my husband - who crabbed about my $60 worth of seeds, cow pots, and seed mix? (Who also reminded me that I had said once my beds were set up that the expenses would be 'minimal' each year)



GG

If we compare this to a car, the initial set up is the price of the car. The replacements like seeds, broken water hoses (cars need these too) purchased 5 blend for replenishment (think gas) are just maintenance. The real return on investment is the better quality food, the fresh air and sunshine, and a hobby that brings pleasure. If you are lucky it also becomes a family thing. Some hobbies bring no return. I spend a lot on compost, mulch and plants to make my home look nice also. So yes, I probably could continure to just buy from the supermarket, and probably cheaper the first year or two, but like a car, any garden but especially a SFG is a long term investment and fun to drive.

Kay

When we eat the fruits of our labor, it is priceless. Every year I think of the money I spend, but when I take that first bite of a homegrown vegetable price goes out the window.

I figured this out last fall! I have spent roughly $300 on my garden this year (that includes building three new boxes). BUT! I calculated out how much money I would be saving on buying vegetables, and my savings are $600! So I come out ahead! And the return will only get better over time, of course

Wow... I don't EVEN want to sit down and figure up what I've spent this year on the veggie gardens. Let's see... MM for 194 square feet (with purchased compost for most of it), seeds from three sources, seed starting supplies (including two new 4' lights to replace mine that quit after nearly 20 years... and bulbs for each of them), PVC, wood for two new potato boxes and a new 3x8' box, new hose to replace the one that gave up the ghost... I'm sure there is more.

And that's just the veggies... that's NOT the cost of 6 yards of compost delivered, 5 yards of pea gravel delivered and roughly $2000 worth of perennials and shrubs to totally redo the front yard that got trashed last year.

No WONDER we don't go on vacation...HAHAHAHA

Mine, in 2009, cost me approx $750 which included my tools and supplies, a heat mat, 3 grow lights and trays, a compost tumbler, worm condo and soil block makers. I've made my own compost since and I've used soil blockers so don't need to buy pots ever. The only thing I buy each spring is some new seeds and some herb seedlings and a large bag of potting soil for the potted herbs and plants and a bale of straw or two for mulching both my veggie pathways and flowers beds.

I have nine 4x4's, 3 raised berms, a cold frame, an A-frame, 5 dwarf fruit trees, 5 blueberries and all the tools I need. A friend gave me a 2nd tumbling composter. I get fresh veggies and fruits several months a year and the flavor can't be beat. My freezer is filled with roasted frozen tomatoes that last thru the year til the next season. It's worth every penny and then some so I don't begrudge the costs.

this is an interesting topic, because I figure the cost is offset by the fact that I do not buy a lot of stuff from the produce dept in the local grocery store
I make good money so I do not do this to save money, I do it because I love to do it.
but I do consider money spent in the garden keeps me from wasting it elsewhere. I have neighbors who seem to always be looking for something to do. where I will be out pitterpattering around they are getting ready to drive into the city and spend money looking for a distraction. So I guess it saves a lot more money than just in edibles. Also I get a lot of compliments on the front yard, which is mostly ornamental but it makes you feel good when people appreciate you work.
I guess I could add up all I have spent, but I think it would be easier to see all I have saved.
Yes I complain when a hose burst and I need a new one. But then go to the grocery store and buy organically grown vegetables as fresh as what you can get from the garden. I mean how can you compare making a Pizza with herbs you picked in the last hour and tomato sauce you made from tomatoes you grew and picked that day with something delivered to the door?
I know what is in the one I made. And it is good for me, the one delivered is full of ingredients processed to be cheap. I prefer good for me than good for a profit margin.

I don't add the cost.. I just do it. I do it for the excercise, peace of mind and freedom. I do it to watch things grow.. I just do it! And definetly don't worry about the cost.

I really don't keep good records any more on this. The garden as it is now feeds a family of 4-5 all summer and puts stuff in the freezer but not major amounts. I really don't want to can anymore except the odd jar of chokecherry jelly etc. This year I bought a cold frame thingy I can use as a mini greenhouse for peppers and such for 100$. 4 years ago we made a greenhouse for about the same amount but lots of it was stuff we scrounged. Looking at my seed order for this year (about typical, replace some things, add a few new ones etc) and thinking through the various supplies I think I have spent about 100$. Then i bought cedar bark for paths on sale 35$ plus more weed cloth etc. So maybe 300$ this year???

For perspective I looked at a local CSA membership to feed same amount of people~ 560$.

At one point in time (30 years ago) I was fanatical about keeping farm records. It was a good experience. Now I figure it is a sanity expense.

quiltbea wrote:....It's worth every penny and then some so I don't begrudge the costs.

My record keeping lasted a week. I know what I spent for lumber, vermiculite and peat moss because those were the big items. But cost was never the issue. These were the issues: food independence - a brake on the inflationary spiral; taste - I love food that tastes great!; metabolism stabilization - I'm diabetic and overweight. These all remain important to me.

What really sustains the effort, however, are several really important things. The first is that everything is a growth issue. Not just the veggies, but me as well. I love to learn and discover new things. Riding the growth curve is exhilarating. Another aspect is seeing as well as experiencing the results of my efforts. This year and last year I busted my butt to make things happen. Absolutely nothing ended up perfect. Yet, good things happened in the garden. Which is why I take some time almost every day to watch the plants grow.

My criteria for purchases are these: purchase the best quality I can get, at the lowest possible price. Buy local, buy from independents, buy used or recycled, but above all buy quality. I'm in this for the long term, for as many days I have left.

I can't measure the cost of what it took me to drop 20 lbs working in the garden. But that alone has saved me well over $1000 in annual medication costs. When I started this project last year, I was looking to buy a rototiller at around $750. My first reading of the ANSFG book made me throw that idea right out the window.

My personal beef: I think this country is turning into a nation of wussies and parasites. What I love most about SFG is that it motivates people to work hard and fosters a sense of community, all with realizable and tangible results. SFG is more empowering than any grant or handout and more self-esteem inducing than any spoon-fed platitude.

So it was never about the money. I was going to eat food anyway.

Tom

I was thinking about this just the other day...I could have planted the 200+ SF in my cool crop garden for free, if I had wanted to. Using my own compost, leftover seeds, seeds that were saved, and seed potatoes from last year's harvest...there wasn't anything I needed to buy. Of course, I couldn't not buy a few seed packages that were calling my name as I walked by the sales rack, nor could I pass up buying some beautiful nursery starts at a good price, and a few new-to-me seed potatoes looked too good to pass up. Gotta do my part to help the economy!

On the other hand, my new green house and warm crop garden makeover is killing me. I don't want to know what it's costing.

Last year I told my wife the only thing on my birthday wish list was garden hoses. So that's all I got from everyone. 800 feet worth!

boffer wrote:

On the other hand, my new green house and warm crop garden makeover is killing me. I don't want to know what it's costing.

Last year I told my wife the only thing on my birthday wish list was garden hoses. So that's all I got from everyone. 800 feet worth!

ooooh! Photos please. Nice about the garden hose!!!

tomperrin wrote:

quiltbea wrote:....It's worth every penny and then some so I don't begrudge the costs.

My record keeping lasted a week. I know what I spent for lumber, vermiculite and peat moss because those were the big items. But cost was never the issue. These were the issues: food independence - a brake on the inflationary spiral; taste - I love food that tastes great!; metabolism stabilization - I'm diabetic and overweight. These all remain important to me.

What really sustains the effort, however, are several really important things. The first is that everything is a growth issue. Not just the veggies, but me as well. I love to learn and discover new things. Riding the growth curve is exhilarating. Another aspect is seeing as well as experiencing the results of my efforts. This year and last year I busted my butt to make things happen. Absolutely nothing ended up perfect. Yet, good things happened in the garden. Which is why I take some time almost every day to watch the plants grow.

My criteria for purchases are these: purchase the best quality I can get, at the lowest possible price. Buy local, buy from independents, buy used or recycled, but above all buy quality. I'm in this for the long term, for as many days I have left.

I can't measure the cost of what it took me to drop 20 lbs working in the garden. But that alone has saved me well over $1000 in annual medication costs. When I started this project last year, I was looking to buy a rototiller at around $750. My first reading of the ANSFG book made me throw that idea right out the window.

My personal beef: I think this country is turning into a nation of wussies and parasites. What I love most about SFG is that it motivates people to work hard and fosters a sense of community, all with realizable and tangible results. SFG is more empowering than any grant or handout and more self-esteem inducing than any spoon-fed platitude.

So it was never about the money. I was going to eat food anyway.

Tom

Amen Tom!

I am just starting out with SFG. I have made 2 beds (4' x 4' x 10" high). Each bed and the "soil" costs $ 104.00.

What I like about SFG is that how ever poor you are you can do something to make things happen. Even without money to purchase verm and peat, one can make compost by using what can be gathered, and wood can be obtained through scrounging.

Best of all Knowledge is free and priceless.