Backyard Botanical Garden Pays For Itself!
Posted: 2/13/2010 2:23 AM
We've now had our Oasis garden for one full year! Our winter veggies are looking fabulous and the seedlings I recently planted are finally coming up.
In another month or so, the garden should look full once again.
So, after a full year of gardening (and blogging), here are some impressive stats. We harvested 237 pounds of vegetables in our 8'x8' garden. Had we bought those veggies at the supermarket, we would have spent $745. If we bought them at our local organic market, we would have spent a whopping $945!** Our Oasis garden actually pays for itself! Plus, there's the fun and sheer satisfaction of growing your own vegetables--and that, of course, is priceless.
This past month we harvested mostly broccoli, cabbage, cherry tomatoes and herbs. I ate the last few cherry tomatoes yesterday and pulled the plant out. Later this month, I'll start over with new tomato plants.
Even though we'd harvested the broccoli crowns from our two broccoli plants, both continue to produce. After the crown is cut, the plant grows side shoots. They look like miniature broccoli heads.
New strawberries are also on the way. There are lots of flowers. Now that the strawberry plants are established, we should have a much bigger harvest than last year.
I was hoping the Brussels sprouts would be ready by now, but they still need more time. The little heads are continuing to grow and should be ready soon.
We had so many cherry tomatoes, I spent hours looking for recipes to help use them up. I found a great one: Pasta with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes (www.theperfectpantry.com). I also found two wonderful recipes for the cabbage: Chinese Chicken Salad and Corned Beef with Cabbage (both from www.epicurious.com). And, after cooking Swiss chard many different ways, at last I discovered what is now my favorite preparation: Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans and Fresh Tomatoes (www.allrecipes.com).
After 12 full months, this is my last blog entry about the 8'x8' Oasis Garden. It's been a great year of gardening and I hope I've encouraged others to give it a try. Spring is just around the corner, so get ready to dig in!
**Cost Comparison: Home-Grown vs. Store-Bought Veggies
Item |
|
Price/lb |
Total |
Price/lb |
Total price |
|
Total |
supermkt |
price at |
local health |
at local health |
|
Pounds |
(non-org) |
supermkt |
food store |
food store |
|
|
|
(non-org) |
(organic) |
(organic) |
Arugula |
1.773 |
11.8 |
20.9214 |
12.32 |
21.8434 |
Basil |
6.635 |
8.76 |
58.1226 |
50.88 |
337.589 |
Beans (green) |
3.02 |
1.99 |
6.0098 |
2.99 |
9.0298 |
Beets |
7.2 |
1.5 |
10.8 |
1.25 |
9 |
Bok choy |
3.725 |
0.99 |
3.68775 |
2.69 |
10.0203 |
Broccoli |
1.95 |
1.69 |
3.2955 |
1.39 |
2.7105 |
Cabbage |
4.46 |
0.89 |
3.9694 |
0.89 |
3.9694 |
Carrots |
1.19 |
0.6 |
0.714 |
0.99 |
1.1781 |
Cauliflower |
2.41 |
1.99 |
4.7959 |
1.99 |
4.7959 |
Chives |
0.367 |
53.12 |
19.495 |
48 |
17.616 |
Cilantro |
0.91 |
2.64 |
2.4024 |
3.38 |
3.0758 |
Corn |
6.4 |
0.86 |
5.504 |
0.99 |
6.336 |
Crookneck squash |
1.23 |
1.59 |
1.9557 |
2.59 |
3.1857 |
Cucumber |
12.56 |
1.83 |
22.9848 |
2.29 |
28.7624 |
Eggplant |
16.98 |
2.12 |
35.9976 |
1.99 |
33.7902 |
Garlic |
0.125 |
3.04 |
0.38 |
3.99 |
0.49875 |
Lettuce |
14.07 |
1.79 |
25.1853 |
2.66 |
37.4262 |
Mesclun |
0.144 |
11.8 |
1.6992 |
12.32 |
1.77408 |
Parsley |
2.824 |
2.98 |
8.41552 |
5.09 |
14.3742 |
Peas |
1.43 |
3.99 |
5.7057 |
6.99 |
9.9957 |
Peppers (bell) |
11.926 |
3.4 |
40.5484 |
4.79 |
57.1255 |
Peppers (hot) |
1.408 |
1.99 |
2.80192 |
4.99 |
7.02592 |
Potatoes |
4.09 |
1 |
4.09 |
1.19 |
4.8671 |
Radish |
1.33 |
2.65 |
3.5245 |
2.52 |
3.3516 |
Rosemary |
0.28513 |
48.48 |
13.8231 |
48 |
13.6862 |
Scallions |
0.79 |
8.9 |
7.031 |
5.16 |
4.0764 |
Spinach |
4.26 |
1.99 |
8.4774 |
2.05 |
8.733 |
Strawberries |
0.8 |
2.5 |
2 |
3.5 |
2.8 |
Swiss chard |
19.25 |
1.99 |
38.3075 |
2.65 |
51.0125 |
Thyme |
0.3695 |
53.12 |
19.6278 |
48 |
17.736 |
Tomatoes (Roma) |
56.27 |
3.99 |
224.517 |
1.79 |
100.723 |
Tomatoes (Cherry) |
25.589 |
4 |
102.356 |
3.58 |
91.6086 |
Zucchini |
21.57 |
1.69 |
36.4533 |
1.19 |
25.6683 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
237.341 |
|
$745.6 |
|
$945.386 |