bellweather
Platinum Member
Egon - beautifully written...thoroughly enjoyed reading your post.
Relatively large gardens
- Thread starter Trev
- Start date
DavidB
Bronze Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Egon - beautifully written...thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. )</font>
Me too!
We have used weed barrier fabric for many years to combat the weeds and grass. You have an initial expense but it lasts a long time. We almost don't weed anymore and for us up here in the Pacific Northwet the black fabric absorbs sun and heats the ground. The plants really appricate it! We also have run drip to help with the watering chores. You can't buy produce like we grow. No spray, no chemicals, no herbicides, no wax and no cold storage long distance old tasteless junk. We can and freeze our produce and crush or dehydrate our fruit so we can enjoy it all year long. We know that our food has all the vitamins and micro nutrients it can because we put them there!
I'd work on making your garden a pleasure to work in by dealing with the weeds first. Either weed barrier or set it up so that you can till or plow them under. Bird netting stops the coons. I can't explain why, they could go right through it. As soon as they get in the corn I put up the bird netting (all the way to the ground) and they never come back. Unfortunately I have to net my apples too or the birds will ruin them all. But I enjoy my 30 or 40 different types of apples and it's worth it to me...
I understand completely the $300.00 fencing protecting $20.00 worth of produce /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Me too!
We have used weed barrier fabric for many years to combat the weeds and grass. You have an initial expense but it lasts a long time. We almost don't weed anymore and for us up here in the Pacific Northwet the black fabric absorbs sun and heats the ground. The plants really appricate it! We also have run drip to help with the watering chores. You can't buy produce like we grow. No spray, no chemicals, no herbicides, no wax and no cold storage long distance old tasteless junk. We can and freeze our produce and crush or dehydrate our fruit so we can enjoy it all year long. We know that our food has all the vitamins and micro nutrients it can because we put them there!
I'd work on making your garden a pleasure to work in by dealing with the weeds first. Either weed barrier or set it up so that you can till or plow them under. Bird netting stops the coons. I can't explain why, they could go right through it. As soon as they get in the corn I put up the bird netting (all the way to the ground) and they never come back. Unfortunately I have to net my apples too or the birds will ruin them all. But I enjoy my 30 or 40 different types of apples and it's worth it to me...
I understand completely the $300.00 fencing protecting $20.00 worth of produce /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Attachments
mrcaptainbob
Platinum Member
Bird netting! What is that and where do I get it?
Egon
Epic Contributor
David:
That picture surely does look nice.
Egon
That picture surely does look nice.
Egon
Egon
Epic Contributor
Bellweather & David:
Thanks for the comments.
Egon
Thanks for the comments.
Egon
mwood
Silver Member
I've never thought much about it, but it certianally don't understand how it can be cheaper to buy fresh vegetables than to grow your own.
I currently have a 30 X 150 foot garden. About 1/4 is planted this year (we just moved in and had lots of other chores around the 13 acres to make it look nice again). From this garden, I ran the rototiller through it twice and planted beans, tomatoes, beets and other small crops.
Here is how I figure it:
Rototiller : $350.00
Seeds : 15.00
Fertalizer : 5.00
Misc : ~ 30.00
------------------------
Total : $400.00
From garden so far:
Enough lettuce that we haven't bought any spring/summer
Enough radishes that we didn't have to buy any (in fact, gave some away)
Enough eat, pickel and can for the year.
Enough beans to eat, freeze and have for the whole year
Enough tomatoes to enjoy.
To Come:
More tomatoes
More beans
Plenty of cucumbers to pickle for the whole year
Granted, with the rototiller, we aren't making money this year. But think about the fact that the tiller should last 10 years. So if the above holds true, but factor the tiller at $35 dollars, you see i'm around $85 dollars for all that food.
Looking practically at the grocery store prices, I think we're coming out ahead or at least breaking even.
However, the joy my wife and I have from working "in the field" and getting dirty together more than pays off.
So even if it doesn't make it's money back, I would really encourage everyone to have a garden for the reason that Egon said.
I currently have a 30 X 150 foot garden. About 1/4 is planted this year (we just moved in and had lots of other chores around the 13 acres to make it look nice again). From this garden, I ran the rototiller through it twice and planted beans, tomatoes, beets and other small crops.
Here is how I figure it:
Rototiller : $350.00
Seeds : 15.00
Fertalizer : 5.00
Misc : ~ 30.00
------------------------
Total : $400.00
From garden so far:
Enough lettuce that we haven't bought any spring/summer
Enough radishes that we didn't have to buy any (in fact, gave some away)
Enough eat, pickel and can for the year.
Enough beans to eat, freeze and have for the whole year
Enough tomatoes to enjoy.
To Come:
More tomatoes
More beans
Plenty of cucumbers to pickle for the whole year
Granted, with the rototiller, we aren't making money this year. But think about the fact that the tiller should last 10 years. So if the above holds true, but factor the tiller at $35 dollars, you see i'm around $85 dollars for all that food.
Looking practically at the grocery store prices, I think we're coming out ahead or at least breaking even.
However, the joy my wife and I have from working "in the field" and getting dirty together more than pays off.
So even if it doesn't make it's money back, I would really encourage everyone to have a garden for the reason that Egon said.
fivestring
Veteran Member
"However, the joy my wife and I have from working "in the field" and getting dirty together more than pays off."
PRICELESS! (to steal a word from Mastercard).
Plus, the excercise....
PRICELESS! (to steal a word from Mastercard).
Plus, the excercise....
txdon
Super Star Member
Trev, smaller is better! I have 120 Texas acres but my tomato garden is 5’X10’ raised bed. I filled it with compost, no chemicals, and irrigated it with a solar pump from a pond. I only visited the garden on weekends and gathered 1000+ tomatoes from three plants last year, which was my first year in organic gardening. I produced more than any one of the larger “tractor gardens” in the community. There was hardly any weeding because the tomato plants filled the raised bed. The plants quit producing only during the hottest part of the summer but then continued producing till Christmas. This year I have 6 raised beds with a wide variety of plants and the system works great. We learned to garden like this from the courses we took in Houston, their home page is: http://www.urbanharvest.org/homepage.html
I just bought some deer fencing and ejb is right when he said “Yes, its hard to justiy the cost/benefit of a garden in any real economic terms...don't bother trying. ”
But, every time I see a new plant emerge or fruit forming it is a wonderful surprise, and for some unexplained reason a necessary part of life.
TXdon
I just bought some deer fencing and ejb is right when he said “Yes, its hard to justiy the cost/benefit of a garden in any real economic terms...don't bother trying. ”
But, every time I see a new plant emerge or fruit forming it is a wonderful surprise, and for some unexplained reason a necessary part of life.
TXdon
herbenus
Gold Member
$600 tiller, 2 loads of top soil, railroad ties for raised beds, deer fencing, cost of seeds and plants, weed blocker cloth...
I doubt I'll ever make my money back. But those tomatoes are sure good.
I doubt I'll ever make my money back. But those tomatoes are sure good.
DavidB
Bronze Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Bird netting! What is that and where do I get it? )</font>
Here is a link that shows some information on it. The prices don't look great. I buy it from a nursery supply place near where I live. I'd like to find a source for large quanities of it at a good price because I have to net my cherries, apples, pears, grapes and corn to be able to harvest any for me! I move it from crop to crop as they ripen, but I could use more then I have now. It's mostly coons and crows that do the damage, though redwing blackbirds will ruin the corn too. There is nothing I can do to them so I have to put up some kind of barrier... Here is the link:
http://www.usnetting.com/HTML/bird-netting.html
I drape it over the corn and lay 20' lengths of rebar on it to hold it down and keep the coons out. It's easy to move to create a "door" to get inside to harvest. I hold it on the trees with clothes pins... I'll try and attach a picture that shows it in action.
Here is a link that shows some information on it. The prices don't look great. I buy it from a nursery supply place near where I live. I'd like to find a source for large quanities of it at a good price because I have to net my cherries, apples, pears, grapes and corn to be able to harvest any for me! I move it from crop to crop as they ripen, but I could use more then I have now. It's mostly coons and crows that do the damage, though redwing blackbirds will ruin the corn too. There is nothing I can do to them so I have to put up some kind of barrier... Here is the link:
http://www.usnetting.com/HTML/bird-netting.html
I drape it over the corn and lay 20' lengths of rebar on it to hold it down and keep the coons out. It's easy to move to create a "door" to get inside to harvest. I hold it on the trees with clothes pins... I'll try and attach a picture that shows it in action.
