What a difference a couple of weeks make. The picture in this post represents a bittersweet milestone in the Twenty-five Dollar Victory Garden. I took this shot four days ago. I’m not sure why I waited this long to post. I guess it's partly due to facing the fact that my garden has already, in part, played out its useful life. It seems like just yesterday I was just getting started. Now, I’m already ripping out plants that have offered up a bounty of fresh food yet have succumbed to the inevitable forces of nature .
The black plastic garbage bag you see in this picture contained only the discarded plants with diseases, specifically bacterial wilt and powdery mildew. As much as I’d like to compost them, I don’t want to introduce these diseases into my compost pile, or even the community composting facility for that matter.
As of today, my little garden has produced over 78 pounds of incredibly delicious vegetables and herbs. There have been many times when the harvest was more than my family could eat in a reasonable time. We took great pleasure in sharing our good fortune with friends, neighbors and most importantly, our local shelter. Now that the squash and cucumber plants are gone, I’m counting on the fruit laden tomato and pepper plants to finish out the summer season. With just over 20 pounds left to go before I cross an important milestone of 100 pounds harvested, I’m feeling pretty good about my chances.
Finally, here’s an update to the out of pocket costs so far. As of the last report, I listed the total expenses, including the cost of some Velcro tape I had on hand, at $18.20. But Susan Moore commented that I should have used an old pair of pantyhose instead. And I agreed. So in the spirit of spending as little as possible, I’m reversing the $3.15 that I didn’t really spend anyway, and going with the old nylons for free. That brings my net out of pocket back to $15.05. Thanks Susan!
Here’s the recap:
Current Expense Count as of August 6, 2009:
Seed starting Mix: 2 bags….$7.00
Twine for bamboo………......$2.27
Two tomato plants………..…$5.28
Organic fertilizer………….....$0.50
Velcro brand plant tape……$3.15
Velcro brand tape–credit ($3.15)
Total…………………….....….$15.05
Available………......….....…$ 9.95
Total pounds harvested: 78 pounds, 3 ounces.
With only a few weeks to go before summer ends, I hope to hit the 100 pounds of harvest. I’ll keep you posted and get another video out as soon as I can.
