It's that time again. To plan & hope. I read this article yesterday at Mother Earth News (we subscribe), but this is a link to the article, on-line.
This article was about square foot gardening. What I found particularly helpful was that this writer documented her findings for a small garden & compared very accurately, I might add, to another persons similar purchases of same items.
The article specifically mentions what she bought to start the garden and calculates into the cost comparison all related expenses. She saw a noticable savings, from a dollar standpoint. But what is the intangiable benefit is the freshness & control over the product available for consumption.
Take note of the planted garden in it's beginning stages and the end of the season growth. She also mentions the homemade tomatoe cages they used because of the inadequate size of store bought. I didn't have that problem last year... maybe this year!
I'm going to follow her plan closely, as appropriate to my soil & season. I'd like to get a scale and calculate yield as well. I'm sure I'll lose a few to the boys rowdiness & play, but that's ok. Another intangiable benefit.
photos: Mother Earth News
7 comments:
Is that your garden? Beautiful! I've been wanting to garden for years, but our yard is not very garden friendly. We're going to give it a try this year though.
Thank you so much for this link! We've been wanting to do the square foot gardening for some time. We even have the book. Perhaps this will be the motivation we need to really get going. I love the picture of the beautiful grass, too. We don't have much of that where we are in NM.
ha ha ha ha....seriously ummmm Laura, this is getting concerning!!
We built our beds last week and mixed the soil 3 nights ago & filled them following the square foot gardening method. ha ha ha ha!!! Hey really though, the method was a great math lesson for our kids as it included area and perimeter and now science as we're sprouting our seeds. We went to Hastings in Buckhead this past weekend and got Heirloom seeds from SeedSavers. Our plan is to follow the square foot gardening method of 'crop' rotation so we have constant production of yumminess!!
My two oldest girls want to do a garden all by themselves this year! We are starting it next week, during our spring break. My favorite is tomatoes, but they have not done well for me in the past.
Have a great day!
My husband and I are planting our garden during April vacation (we're both teachers)...we can't wait! Thanks for the link and inspiration!!
Can't wait to see EVERYONE'S gardens! I still have 3 herbs from last year, that I'm planning on using. A huge patch of oregano, garlic chives(so yummy) & of course rosemary.
I did purchase the book Thy Hand Hath Provided recommended ' Carrots love Tomatoes'. Great for planning a simple garden effectively. Will post as I see our plan coming together.
Post a Comment