2015 Garden project

I'm tracking how much money I spend on the garden this year, how much produce comes out, and the dollar value of everything I grow.

Expenses 2015
$35 seeds, Park Seed
$126 Baker Creek Heirloom seeds ($100 via Xmas gift, so $26 out of pocket)


TR Hovey papaya plant
Meyer Lemon tree
Montmorency cherry trees (2)


Expenses, 2014

Total: $756
-$400, 10 cubic yards of compost. One-time expense, to fill raised garden beds.
-$50, garden fence to make trellises

Plants
-$13 Peanut seeds, 1 lb. plus shipping
-$20 white clover seeds,2 lbs., for overseeding the lawn
-$30, seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Territorial seed.
real value of the seeds is $110, but had $80 in gift cards from Xmas
-$20, seeds from Spring Hill, including 1 bee balm plant, lemongrass seeds, comfrey and packman broccoli seeds.
-$4, 1 lb. Adirondack blue potatoes
-$4, 10 Ozark strawberries
-$40 saffron crocus
-$50, raspberry and blackberry canes, 50 strawberries
-$95, chives, tomatoes, herbs, roses, marigolds, and other plants through the charity plant sale
-$30, mint plants(pineapple mint, candy mint, apple mint) and perennials for the bee gardens

Still need:
saffron crocus

What I got for free at the annual plant swap:
Mountain bluet
pink bee balm
purple bee balm
orange mint (4)
sunchokes (2)
bearded irises (10)
hosta (2)
black eyed susans (2)
coneflower (1)
shiso herb (2)
concrete porch goose (1!)
century yucca plant (2)


What I'm growing in 2014:
*Beets- Lutz winter keeper, Early wonder, Detroit dark red
*Broccoli- Arcadia, Packman
*Carrots-- yaya, atomic red
*Cauliflower- purple of sicily
*Herbs:Lemongrass,oregano, basil, thyme, hyssop, chives, dill, cilantro, borage, comfrey
*Lettuce/Greens- red sails, lollo rosso, cimmaron, and oaky red splash lettuce, sylvetta arugula
*Mint: apple, chocolate, peppermint, and orange mint
*Peanuts- Jumbo virginia
*Peas- sugar ann, sugar sprint
*Peppers- cayenne, jalapeno
*Popcorn- calico
*Potatoes- Rio Grande storage
*Spinach- tyee, space, bloomsdale
*Squash- Zucchini, butternut
*Strawberries- Seascape (everbearing)
*Sunflower- Titan
*Tomatoes- Roma
*Watermelons- Moon and Stars, New Queen

Things we got for free via trades
-We traded 2 zucchini plants for two armloads of firewood.
-We traded a plant stand I found in a dumpster for four bearded iris plants and two salmonberry canes
-We traded maple seedlings and melon plants for a porch goose
-We traded maple seedlings and jalapeno peppers for bearded iris plants
-Hostas for walking onion seed sets
-canning jars for walking onion seed sets.

2014 Yield
In 2014, we grew:
-68 pounds of roma tomatoes, which we turned into 42 pints of sauce

-50 pounds of apples, which is about two full 5-gallon buckets

-18 pounds of onions, which are perennial walking onions, and produced enough top sets to plant net year's crop for free

-17 pounds of lettuce. You know how light lettuce is, so wow. We donated 8 pounds of fresh greens to the food pantry as well.

-14 pounds of beets. I grew some winter keepers, but let's be honest. We eat them the minute we pick them.

-12 pounds of broccoli

-8 pounds of strawberries. We expect tons more net year, as we planted 100 more plants this season.

-8.5 pounds of adirondack blue potatoes.

-8 pounds of mulberries. I didn't grow these. They came free from my sister's tree.

-5 pounds (about 20 ears) of popcorn

-4 watermelons, New Queen and Moon and Stars, estimating 20 pounds.

-2 pounds of cucumbers, 1 pound of zucchini. We had hoped for more, but the squash bugs
ate them.

-1 pound of cayenne and jalapeno peppers.

-1/2 pound of total herbs : rosemary, mint, tarragon, and dill.

Total= 216 pounds. Nothing to sneeze at, but far short of our goal. There's always next year!

We canned:
42 pints of tomatoes
6 pints of pickles
6 half pints of mulberry jam
60 quarts plus 10 pints of applesauce (we got apples from our CSA farmer)