What a difference a couple of weeks make. The picture in this post represents a bittersweet milestone in the Twenty-five Dollar Victory Garden. I took this shot four days ago. I’m not sure why I waited this long to post. I guess it's partly due to facing the fact that my garden has already, in part, played out its useful life. It seems like just yesterday I was just getting started. Now, I’m already ripping out plants that have offered up a bounty of fresh food yet have succumbed to the inevitable forces of nature .
The black plastic garbage bag you see in this picture contained only the discarded plants with diseases, specifically bacterial wilt and powdery mildew. As much as I’d like to compost them, I don’t want to introduce these diseases into my compost pile, or even the community composting facility for that matter.
As of today, my little garden has produced over 78 pounds of incredibly delicious vegetables and herbs. There have been many times when the harvest was more than my family could eat in a reasonable time. We took great pleasure in sharing our good fortune with friends, neighbors and most importantly, our local shelter. Now that the squash and cucumber plants are gone, I’m counting on the fruit laden tomato and pepper plants to finish out the summer season. With just over 20 pounds left to go before I cross an important milestone of 100 pounds harvested, I’m feeling pretty good about my chances.
Finally, here’s an update to the out of pocket costs so far. As of the last report, I listed the total expenses, including the cost of some Velcro tape I had on hand, at $18.20. But Susan Moore commented that I should have used an old pair of pantyhose instead. And I agreed. So in the spirit of spending as little as possible, I’m reversing the $3.15 that I didn’t really spend anyway, and going with the old nylons for free. That brings my net out of pocket back to $15.05. Thanks Susan!
Here’s the recap:
Current Expense Count as of August 6, 2009:
Seed starting Mix: 2 bags….$7.00
Twine for bamboo……………$2.27
Two tomato plants………..…$5.28
Organic fertilizer……………..$0.50
Velcro brand plant tape……$3.15
Velcro brand tape–credit ($3.15)
Total………………………..….$15.05
Available…………………..…$ 9.95
Total pounds harvested: 78 pounds, 3 ounces.
With only a few weeks to go before summer ends, I hope to hit the 100 pounds of harvest. I’ll keep you posted and get another video out as soon as I can.
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Its nice to hear from fellow gardeners. It really takes dedication to have an abundant garden like his. Thanks for sharing your story.
No need to feel guilty bibliochef for not gardening. You’ve been mighty busy keeping your food blog current with lots of cool information. But if you ever want to try food gardening on a tight budget, now you know where to come. Thanks for stopping by.
Joe
Ok, this is cool — $25 and this much produce. I am feeling guilty for not gardening.
Finny, I just took a look at your blog and compared to your tomato harvest, I got noth’n! OMG your tomatoes are incredible! Thanks for your very encouraging words of support. I too hope to get to 100…pounds that is!
Have a great weekend and enjoy those chokes!
Amazing as always, Joe – everything looks good and I just know those tomatoes will put you over the top. I can’t wait to see you hit 100!
Pounds, that is.
Hi John. Man, you have the patience of Job! I feel for you but it sounds like you are maintaining a great attitude through the challenges! I hope for your sake and hard work you get to experience the fruits of your labor too. All those freeloaders would get the best of me. Keep us posted and thanks for checking in.
Hi Deborah. I could not agree with you more about being a little relieved about having to “make room” for the fall crops. I was really over the plethora of cucumbers this year, although my daughter loved them to the end! The squash was delicious but really takes up too much room for such a small garden. I’m not sure the output is worth the room it requires in the garden, combined with all the squash bugs and beetles it attracts. Having said that, I received rave reviews on the quality and taste of them this year.
I am looking forward to the fall crops and glad to have the room, even though they won’t go in the ground for another 5 weeks or more. Stay in touch and good to hear from you.
Hi Susan. Yes, I’m sure the heat of the SE kicked those tomatoes into gear faster than yours. However, the vast majority of mine are still green on the vine. They’ve taken their sweet time to ripen but it just makes the ones we get now taste all the better. I’ve lost two beauties so far to worms that I never saw coming until they had already bored huge holes into them. One guy I caught in the act but it was way too late.
Hi Amy. Yes, my cukes and squash were basically finished. I suppose I could have gotten another week out of them but with the squash bugs and cucumber beetles multiplying, I decided it was time for them to go. As you said, I’m excited to make room for my fall crops and look forward to broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, lettuce and spinach! Good to hear from you.
what a difference it makes where you live. we picked our first tomato just today, 8/6
I’m impressed that your squash lasted so long! My zucchini are long gone, and replaced with crowder peas. My cucumbers are still limping along, but barely. Thank goodness everyone’s gardens are so diverse! When one plant keels over, another is still going strong.
Thanks for the update!
-Amy, NW of Atlanta
You’re in good company, Joe. I’m not far behind you. I’ll be ripping up my squash and cucumber plants any day now due to the very same forces of nature that you encountered. But I’m actually somewhat relieved, having had my fill of those veggies this summer, and I’m excited about plans for fall crops where the squash and cukes were: beets, spinach, turnips, radishes, arugula, lettuce, peas, broccoli and cauliflower. Your garden has lots of useful life left! Let me know if you need any seeds 🙂
HI Joe: I was just wondering how things are going and you posted. Good Job, well done.
Our Garden is finally starting to come along. We did get some peas, broccoli and kale. Wood Chuck got the Cabbages and now is working on the summer Squash. Rabbits are helping the Wood Chuck. Have put up some fences, used a repellent and have the “Have A Hart” Traps set out. Hopefully will salvage some Vegetables for us.
Have a Great Day,
John