Gardeners: What do you really save by gardening? Community Project!

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I love this thread! I just found it. I am doing a garden now too. I will do the spred sheet too, but for right now I will have to come back to it. I am getting ready to leave for Colorado for VACATION. So when I come back I will tell you all about my garden and what I have spent. Which is probably a fortune, since we are setting up again this year. Last year we started the garden, this year I am expanding. Lotas of fun, but lotsa work too. I have been planting and setting seed like crazy the last month. So, I have sprouts everywhere poping up. And I am leaving Fri. Leaving hubby in charge of my garden. I am a little nervous about that, I will be gone 9 days. I hope everything survives. So talk to you all soon~ Tacey
 
I am so glad you found this thread, I hope you follow over at The Easy Garden too. We've had a LOT of feedback over there.

Today am I having a fun day of canning some items I harvested and pricing those accordingly. Things I normally could weigh in and count... like honey suckle flowers, rosemary branches, clovers and pansies. They are now worth my time and money because they have been harvested and jellies. $6 a jar and no cost gardening! Thank you mother nature for your gifts!
 
Hi all, I am back. My trip to Colorado was fun and exciting. And my hubby did a great job at taking care of the garden while I was gone. Nothing was dead thankfully! Although some of the seeds that I planted , prior to me leaving, didn't sprout. So I spent today planting again and filling in some empty spots. I will have to check out my expences and post them. Also, while I was gone I made about $90 on some veggie plants that my hubby sold for me. I will post pictures of my garden that is now starting to look great too!
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU ALL.... Do any of you sell your extra goods/veggies? How do you sell them?
 
Funny you should ask that... I now will be selling at a table at the Farmer's 'sustainable' market in town. Though I won't sell much produce. Just a few left over squash or cukes or something once in awhile. Mainly, I will be selling the items I jam from my garden. I also will be selling some flowers from my perennial beds... so now I will be measuring those flowers as harvests for market. THOUGH, I am already harvesting flowers (honeysuckle, roses and clover) to make jams out of. So I have to measure them and price them on 2 levels.

My main concern is what I produce for US though, and since I won't be selling a lot of my produce... I will be enjoying what I make from it in the kitchen.
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But just to fill people in on some new updates and not EVERYTHING I wrote on my messy messy sheets I printed:

My strawberries (which are everybearing and will bear me fruit at least 2 more times before winter) are done for spring and I managed to get 8 lbs and I probably jarred and jammed about 6 lbs of that. 2 lbs went into baking. Anything eaten fresh in the yard, and I'm sure there was a lb or 2 for that, I did not weigh.
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I have harvested 'fresh' onions for eating right away and not storing, mainly because some flowered and were not good for storage onions. I have managed to harvest and use 4 lbs of onions that I guess you would call green onions, but they were HUGE bulbs. Either way, I like fresh onions the best... they are extra sweet and no tears in the cutting process.

Best of all, after pricing at the store... I've managed to get and use a simple $20 worth of herbs out of my garden. I never even bothered to price the sprigs I've given away!!!!

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Anyways, I know I've made my money back and some after last year... but when you are living on food stamps, and you're family is not working (and I mean My husband, myself, my sister, my dad, my mom, my uncle, my brother and my best friend) then a little food value goes a LONG way!!!!!!!
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Awww, I wish I had seen this earlier. We just about finished planting here. Few more seedlings to go in, but otherwise done. Didn't track costs this year, because for us it is more hobby and enjoying the fresh veggies. But it definitely would have been fun just to see. I also think I am gonna try to can some things this year. Never have before, but seems fun and it will be nice to have some garden veggies come winter. That is an entirely different start up cost though. But great idea on this thread!
 
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You can feel free to leave out your costs if you want and just weigh what you produce and track its value. That way you can still see your savings verses your grocery bill. Just seeing how productive you can be is a good enough feeling.

I've already begun writing my book based on what I've started with... but I can't wait to see a collective from everyone else.
 
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I love making Jams and jellies... this is my first year doing the flower jellies. I start off seeping 2 cups of flowers (cut off the white bitter part of the rose petals, or green parts of the other flowers) and then seep for several hours by pouring 2 cups boiling water over them. Creating a flower tea! Then bring to a boil, add pectin (i like the liquid for the flower ones) and then add 4 cups of sugar. WALLA! Flower jelly!

Just make sure the flowers you use are edible... violets, roses petals, honeysuckle, clover, lilac, lavender...ect
 
Just wondering if anyone harvested anything good for the memorial day weekend? Something you got to grill up? We got several lbs of squash and onions yesterday for our BBQ. Mmmm
 
No my plants are still working on growing. My tomatoes are starting to get green tomatoes on them, yeah! I wish I had squash now. Pretty soon, I have to just be patient.
 

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