The Final Numbers

On numerous occasion this year I have mentioned that I have been keeping a running tally of the amount of produce grown in our gardens this year in relationship to the cost to get everything up and running as well as the amount of money saved on groceries this year. I have finally compiled all the numbers and thought that I would post them for you. Our garden space is around 600 square feet give or take a few. I ended up getting the price per pound from the USDA website. In the end these stats are ballpark figures but I think it gives everyone a good idea of what type of year it has been. What this list does not take into consideration are the numerous pounds of food simply eaten straight out of the garden by myself or the children and their friends or all the fresh herbs that we grow as well. Some items in our yard are simply not mentioned or recorded, for example apples are not listed on this chart because I have been pruning our old tree over the past few years and this year was the first year that it truly produced and it kind of caught me off guard. Some items like blueberries and raspberries never even made it into the house while others like nasturtium were difficult to find any sort of pricing. Additionally there were other items in the garden that not only yielded edible produce but supplied us with seed for next years garden. So with that said here are the results for the 2011 Orchard St. Garden.

1) Amish Paste Tomato- 5 lbs 7 oz ($17.65)
2) Butterhead Lettuce- 15 oz ($4.53)
3) Bushbeans- 5 lbs 4 oz ($8.87)
4) Broccoli- 1lb 13 0z ($4.50)
5) Butternut Squash- 24 lbs 12 oz ($25.48)
6) Brussels sprouts- 1 lb 7 0z ($2.93)
7) Chard- 3 lbs 2 0z ($11.31)
8) Cucumber- 41 lbs 13 oz ($44.15)
9) Cherokee Purple Tomato- 4 lbs 4 oz ($13.80)
10)Carrots- 1 lb 14 oz ($2.40)
11)Cabbage- 12 lbs ($10.68)
12)Cauliflower- 1 lb 7 oz ($2.59)
13)Garlic- 2 lbs 12 oz ($17.62)
14)Hot Peppers- 5 oz ($0.47)
15)Italian Heirloom Tomato- 2 lbs 5 oz ($7.51)
16)Lima beans- 10 oz ($1.05)
17)Lemon Drop Tomato- 3 lbs 10 oz ($11.78)
18)Onion- 3 lbs 12 oz ($5.01)
19)Orange Cherry Tomato- 1 lb 5 oz ($4.26)
20)Potato- 10 lbs 7 oz ($41.64)
21)Pumpkins- 41 lbs ($12.00)
22)Popcorn- 5 lbs 1 oz ($6.48)
23)Radish- 12 oz ($2.97)
24)Romaine Lettuce- 1 lb 12 oz ($3.08)
25)Strawberries- 8 oz ($1.99)
26)Spinach- 4 oz ($1.51)
27)Snap Peas- 1 lb 5 oz ($5.09)
28)Shallots- 1 lb 12 oz ($11.09)
29)Summer Squash- 19 lbs 11 oz ($25.39)
30)Sweet Pepper- 1 lb 8 oz ($2.98)
31)Yellow Tomato- 2 lbs 15 oz ($9.75)
32)Nasturtium - 163 flowers
33)Purslane- 5 oz

Years produce total= 206 lbs 6 oz
Years expenses=$149.86
Value of produce grown=$320.56
2011 Profit from Garden(s)=$170.70

So there are the year end numbers. Potentially they should only increase as the years move along. For example since we grow heirloom varieties eventually we will have a solid seed bank and not need to purchase as many seeds or starter plants each year. This year we put a 3 foot chicken fence around the entire yard, about 160 feet so that expense will not be there. I'm sure you get the idea and can see what I have been preaching, not only does our family get to eat extremely healthy but we save some money and get some exercise in the process. As our knowledge expands so will the overall growth of our garden.

Tobias Whitaker blogs for Mother Earth News and Grit Magazine. Click on the Mother Earth News logo at the bottom of the page for all of his post. You can also find him on Facebook at Seed To Harvest: Bossy Hen Homestead  https://www.facebook.com/seedtoharvestbossyhenhomestead/ which is a central location for his homesteading blogs and his homeschooling blog, A Mile In Her Shoes: Tales Of A Stay-At Home Dad found here https://amileinhershoestalesofastayathomedad.wordpress.com/