Time Spent Summary - August '09

I can't take credit for the idea of tracking the time and money spent on my garden. That goes to Get Rich Slowly's Garden Project. The idea is this: Does a garden save you money? It's a simple question, but a difficult answer.

Most people who garden will say even if the financial benefit isn't there, the quality improvement over supermarket produce is worth the price. I postulate that if you only look at the money spent vs the value of the produce, that you will come out ahead. If you include the time spent, however, I am pretty certain you will not come out ahead. And that's ok, so long as you look at the time as an investment in an enjoyable, healthful activity.


2009 Summary



August Details




August is harvest time! Makes you wonder why Thanksgiving isn't in August instead of November, other than I suppose the Pilgrims wouldn't have had time to party during the middle of the harvest...

The big hitters are coming in fast and furious. The roma tomatoes are about halfway through the harvest. I don't think they're doing nearly as good as last year, but they're doing alright given the poor growing season. The potato experiment went well and I will likely expand the planting next year.

The onions gave a much improved showing over last year. I'm tempted to plant more, but I want to see how the long term storage in non-ideal conditions goes first. We don't have a root cellar and our basement stays fairly warm in the winter due to the furnace. So I'm not certain how well the onions (or potatoes for that matter) will hold up. I would not want to plant more if they can't be used.

Likewise the black bean experiment went well. Don't know how a better growing year might produce, but I wasn't too disappointed with what I got.

Going forward there isn't much left growing. The peppers are still producing, as are the tomatoes, the beans are pretty much done, the corn never produced anything. There are a few softball sized watermelon, but I'm not sure if they'll be edible.

The pumpkins have died for a second straight year before being able to produce anything. I am strongly considering replacing them with potatoes next year. The community garden harbors whichever disease has been killing the pumpkins (bacterial wilt potentially) perpetually and it just doesn't make sense to fight it.