Our First Garden
In the past, we've taken part in a local CSA from June until October to get fresh, organic vegetables and herbs. We were city dwellers with an awkward backyard and I knew based on past experience I could barely keep tulips alive let alone a garden full of food.
Fast forward to our current situation. Our new back yard, while not large, is not a giant hill. Additionally, I attempted some container gardens last summer and not only did I not slaughter all of my herbs and peppers, they flourished. I was able to fill my freezer with pesto, fill my spice jars with dried herbs and use the peppers all summer for salsa.
In the Year of the Poor I analyzed the cost of a local CSA, which would have been around $600 from June until October. I then calculated out the cost of building garden boxes, buying soil, seeds and also a rain barrel which got us to a cost less than half of the CSA. I determined gardening would also give me and Nixon something to do this summer since we needed to try and stick around the house and save money.
Since I've never gardened before, I did a ton of homework on Pinterest. I also bought Nixon a book, Garden Lab for Kids, that is honestly for both of us! I had a credit at Kiwi Crate and used those funds to get this book so that we could learn together how to make our garden successful. I've already read through it and now I can wrap it for his birthday in a few weeks!
In order to get the boxes built, our friend Conor, who is very handy took a day out of his weekend to build them based on plans I liked. They are cedar garden boxes that should last a very long time. Conor and his wife are expecting their first child (in a week!!!!) and Kyle and I gave them all of our baby stuff so in order to pay us back he volunteered his woodworking skills - a great trade if you ask me! So the cost of the boxes? Nothing out of pocket! A huge thanks to Conor!!! Glad we could trade baby swings and strollers for our boxes!
So far, all in for this garden I've spent $172. This includes a rain barrel which is so stinking cute, new downspouts to connect the barrel, soil, seeds and seed starter containers. Even if just my herbs survive like last summer my investment will have paid for itself.
We started our indoor seeds a few weeks ago and Nixon loves watching everything grow. He's also excited because he got to pick a handful of the things we planted - his choices were sunflowers and watermelon. Hopefully his picks are successful!
One of the other projects I'm excited about with this garden is making a teepee for the kids out of the climbing plants we want to grow. Hopefully this turns out - unlike the cake I made this weekend...Hahahaha....enjoy the laugh! A baker, I am not, and this was a trial to make a new cake recipe for Nixon's birthday. I learned two things; line your pans with parchment, and when the instructions say to use 3 8" pans, use 3 8" pans...not 2. I over filled, the cakes popped out over the edges and everything stuck and crumbled when I tried to take them out. The good news was that it still tasted amazing!
Fast forward to our current situation. Our new back yard, while not large, is not a giant hill. Additionally, I attempted some container gardens last summer and not only did I not slaughter all of my herbs and peppers, they flourished. I was able to fill my freezer with pesto, fill my spice jars with dried herbs and use the peppers all summer for salsa.
In the Year of the Poor I analyzed the cost of a local CSA, which would have been around $600 from June until October. I then calculated out the cost of building garden boxes, buying soil, seeds and also a rain barrel which got us to a cost less than half of the CSA. I determined gardening would also give me and Nixon something to do this summer since we needed to try and stick around the house and save money.
Since I've never gardened before, I did a ton of homework on Pinterest. I also bought Nixon a book, Garden Lab for Kids, that is honestly for both of us! I had a credit at Kiwi Crate and used those funds to get this book so that we could learn together how to make our garden successful. I've already read through it and now I can wrap it for his birthday in a few weeks!
In order to get the boxes built, our friend Conor, who is very handy took a day out of his weekend to build them based on plans I liked. They are cedar garden boxes that should last a very long time. Conor and his wife are expecting their first child (in a week!!!!) and Kyle and I gave them all of our baby stuff so in order to pay us back he volunteered his woodworking skills - a great trade if you ask me! So the cost of the boxes? Nothing out of pocket! A huge thanks to Conor!!! Glad we could trade baby swings and strollers for our boxes!
So far, all in for this garden I've spent $172. This includes a rain barrel which is so stinking cute, new downspouts to connect the barrel, soil, seeds and seed starter containers. Even if just my herbs survive like last summer my investment will have paid for itself.
We started our indoor seeds a few weeks ago and Nixon loves watching everything grow. He's also excited because he got to pick a handful of the things we planted - his choices were sunflowers and watermelon. Hopefully his picks are successful!
One of the other projects I'm excited about with this garden is making a teepee for the kids out of the climbing plants we want to grow. Hopefully this turns out - unlike the cake I made this weekend...Hahahaha....enjoy the laugh! A baker, I am not, and this was a trial to make a new cake recipe for Nixon's birthday. I learned two things; line your pans with parchment, and when the instructions say to use 3 8" pans, use 3 8" pans...not 2. I over filled, the cakes popped out over the edges and everything stuck and crumbled when I tried to take them out. The good news was that it still tasted amazing!
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