I planted our garden today. We’ve been spending about $15/week on greens since the beginning of the year when we started making green smoothies every day. I love the smoothies, but all winter long I was looking forward to being able to grow the greens in our garden for free during the summer. I spent about three hours today working on it. We had rearranged our back yard last fall, and wanted to move the garden to an area that had always been grass, so the first step was to dig up the sod. Then I had to loosen the concrete-like soil that I found underneath. Then came the much easier step of mixing in a bunch of compost, which had an almost magical effect on the dirt. I started with dirt that was so light brown it looked like khaki pants, and was hard as a rock, and ended up with rich coffee-colored dirt that was a pleasure to work with. No chemicals to muck up our food, and no money spent on topsoil or fertilizer. Compost rocks.
I planted four packets of seeds – two swiss chard, one kale, and one lettuce mix. Total spent on seeds was $4.85 plus tax. I watered the whole area, and now I just have to wait a week for my little plants to sprout. We’ve had great luck in the past with swiss chard, and I’m excited to try the kale. I figured that by adding a few different varieties I’d increase my odds of having an overall successful crop. Whatever we end up with, it will be cheaper than $15/week. From June through October we shouldn’t have to buy any greens at all, which I’m very excited about.
For the record, our back yard is tiny. The plot I planted today is about 10 feet long and 4 feet wide, and takes up a good chunk of the yard. We’ll have a tomato plant in a bucket on the back porch, and that’s about all we can fit. So even if you have very little space, think about what veggies you spend the most money on, and try growing them yourself in a little patch or in pots. You’ll almost certainly save money, and the process itself is pretty rewarding. Happy spring!!
My Crazy Debt says
I’ve tagged you to do a meme – 3 Random Things about yourself.
Janet Wendy Spiegel says
When I was recently in England, every home had some sort of plant or vegetable growing — even those with the tiniest bits of land (or even just balconies) had allocated space to a bucket of tomato plants, herb garden, strawberry bushes…you name it. I am now officially re-inspired to dig up my own little plot of earth and plant away! Great blog and a fun post.
Aaron Stroud says
We’re starting our first garden this year and it can be pretty exciting. My wife has insured we’ll have a large variety of fruits and veggies this year. In fact, it looks like she’s got most of our bases covered so we’ll probably just continue to expand the garden every year instead of drastically changing the mix of plants.
Frugal Dad says
Good luck with the garden! We are finally starting to see some sprouts ourselves, and even a tiny strawberry here and there!
Chrysa says
Sounds like a good garden. I am itching to get mine started. I have started some seeds indoors, but can’t put anything outside yet. We had 2 inches of snow this morning! Good luck with your veggies!