Saturday, May 31, 2014

We Now Have Tomatoes (Gardening Tally)

Actually tomato plants.

Thanks to my posting a status (to facebook) of inquiry about anyone knowing where I might purchase an organic blueberry bush a friend with extra tomato plants asked me if I wanted any. He gave me way to many so I'm giving some away as well. But I did plant 5 of them in my backyard (and for lack of space one in a pot). I bought a bag of organic soil because I'm certain the bald spot where I dug a little bed isn't very nutrient rich. I found, oddly enough, 5 wooden broom handles around the house and garage. Geesh, my hubby's grandparents really didn't throw anything out ever. So instead of tomato cages (is that what you'd call them) I buried a broom handle next to each little plant for support if they do actually grow. Do you like the immense amount of faith I place in my gardening skills?

I'm starting to tally my gardening expense for this first year's en-devour:
$11.31 rocks, dirt, strawberry plants
$1.75 a basil plant (that is now potted... I had soil left from the strawberries)
$5.99 dirt for the tomato garden

I've spent $19.05 on gardening so far this year. I didn't purchase any of the pots (currently have plants in 3), tomato plants, wood steaks; didn't buy tools or gloves. This gardening thing could add up REALLY fast couldn't it... Wowwzers. My intention at present is to try and keep track of how much produce my little en-devour produces. I don't feel like $19.05 is too much spent on the ordeal but at the same time it sure does seem like I could buy a lot of strawberries and tomatoes with that. Hmm.

3 comments:

  1. The first couple years for gardening cost the most but then the expenses level off. I spent $44 at the local greenhouse and had most of the seeds I needed from last year. Considering that I will grow most of the produce I need for a few months, that is a very good deal. Gardening is quite addictive:)

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  2. I agree with ND Chic on the price being reduced next year, so you may want to assume the first year will have higher start up costs. We bought organic tomato plants at Costco, and they came with bell peppers & basil. They are all growing like crazy, along with strawberries that I bought in September. Because we didn't bring our big pots with us when we moved, we had to stock up on those. We spent about $100 this year, but won't need to buy the pots again. I expect that we will maybe break even. If the weather keeps up, we're going to have a ridiculous amount of tomato & peppers. Can't wait!!

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  3. I hope that what you get most out of your garden is satisfaction, wonder, and teaching little Abe how things grow. Totally worth 19 dollars :)

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