I admit to being a little slack this week. I had the best intentions to have this latest post and video up before the forth of July holiday. But the closer we got to that date, the less motivated I became. And based on the activity on Twitter and Facebook, I’d say a lot of you were feeling the same way.
This video covers the end of June up to just a couple days ago, so we’re pretty close in real time as to what you see and how things really look today. The exciting news is that as of yesterday, I’ve harvested over 18 ½ pounds of vegetables and the best is yet to come. The cucumbers show no signs of slowing down, the squash are just getting started and the heaviest fruit are still green on the vine. We're talking of course about my tomatoes and they are looking beautiful! With eight healthy plants and all in bud or fruit, I dream of harvesting over 100 pounds out of this little garden with a total expense fixed at around eighteen dollars!
By the way, speaking of expense, I was at $14.55 total but as you’ll see in upcoming episode 13, I purchased some organic fertilizer at a garage sale for fifty cents! I was pretty proud of that purchase since I talked them down from their original asking price of seventy-five cents! I’ve also charged my budget for some Velcro tape that secures my tomato plants to their stakes. I actually already had all I needed of this and didn’t need to buy anymore. But in the spirit of doing this as a first time gardener, they likely would not have this on hand so I’m charging myself just to keeping the playing field level. Sure I could have used the twine I already purchased but I’ve used this tape for years and am very sold on it. I feature it in the next episode as well but here’s a link if you want to see what I’m talking about now.
So I guess with that, I’ll wrap this entry up with a revised summary of my budget and feeling pretty good about where I stand today with total expenses:
Current Expense Count as of July 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
Total……………………….$18.20
Available………......……$ 6.80
With weeks to go in this challenge, I’m hopeful I can pull this off within budget. I’ll keep you posted either way.
JL