Questions about the economy and gardening

[punkin]

(Not sure if this is the right place so reinbeau, feel free to move)

Do you think more people will be planting gardens this year?

Do you think those who already do will be going bigger?

I am planning on putting in a bigger greenhouse within the next couple of months. This started out as just a hobby, more or less, last year. Word of mouth spread and I was really crunched for space in my 8x20 greenhouse.

I do mainly custom orders that I will start taking by the end of Jan. Last year I sold all of those, planted extra and those sold, too. Income from that was over $1,300.

Materials should run about $2,000. DH & I do all the labor, so no expense there. We have our own equipment for ground leveling, etc.

I know that my own personal garden will be bigger. Do you budget for your garden expenses?

I just need some feedback from gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

 

[2dream]

Our garden will definitely be much larger. I hope to be able to sell some of the extra also. We have already started disking up the larger space which will hopefully cut down on the weeds. I sure would love to have a greenhouse but not in the plans anytime soon. Seems like just to much to do these days.

Several of my neighbors are talking bigger gardens this year and I have talked to several people who will garden for the first time in ages.

So on my end of the world I guess the answer will be yes to both questions. Bigger for those that already garden and back at it for those that have not gardened in years and I would venture to guess there will be lots of first timers around here.

ummmm I hear money jingling. Maybe I can talk DH into that greenhouse after all.

 

[FarmerChick]

I think for people who now garden, yea, they will tend it better, get better yield, improve it etc. Cause they are probably more of a SS thinking mindset and love fresh veggies.

Other people, who never garden, live in townhouses, etc. etc. Nope. I don't see them tackling a garden this summer just cause of the economy. So many do not do this and never will feed themselves in any form other than making money and spending it to survive.


BUT---COOL about your 8 X 20 greenhouse being too small to hold all your work! You go and build that new one and with the money from profits, you will pay it off and have a wonderful greenhouse left to enjoy! You are going strong punkin...you keep truckin'

 

[PamsPride]

We are doing a bigger and better garden this coming year too. But, I do not know of any of my friends that said they would be taking up gardening for the first time....most don't garden.
Way to go on making the $$!! The new one will pay for itself pretty quickly then!! I say go for it! What stuff you don't sell plant and then sell the produce yourself!

 

[poppycat]

I'm not sure that many more people will be able to produce a significant percentage of their food from a garden if they've never done it before. If you don't know what you are doing, it can become expensive really quickly.

Our garden expenses for last year were under $50. We probably ate about $200 worth of food from the garden so it was worth it for us, but my husband and I have been gardening for YEARS. Plus we are not afraid of hard physical work, which is more than I can say for the majority of people I know. They would rather sit at their desk all day and buy cheap, crappy food from the supermarket, and then complain about how much weight they gained, how high their cholesterol is, how many taxes they have to pay on behalf of lazy people who "never worked a day in their life while I'm working my a$$ off over here."

Ooooh I probably shouldn't post too much today. I think i woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

 

[TanksHill]

Yes, I am planting a larger garden next year. Every year my garden changes just a bit. As I learn what works best for me and my hill. This year I have new raised beds in close to the house. Hopefully this will lend itself to better production and easier maintenance.

A lot of the people I had over for my yard sale were very interested in my raised beds, what they were filled with, what type of wire on bottom etc...

I tried a green house a few years back. Just a little metal frame with plastic. It did not work out. But I have another idea working... Always another idea.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

OH poppycat, I am ROTFL over your post. Those people complaining about those who've never worked should try a farm life! Goodness the work here never ends! Sometimes I don't know if I am coming or going!

Gardens, well, I have most of my seed for spring planting it already bougyut up

and that's all I can type for now because DH is harrassing me...the typo is his fault. nmj SEE

 

[enjoy the ride]

I can say I prefer to minimize hard work so my gardening goal is to redesign my garden area (took some trees down last year,) to make it as work effcient as possible.
I want the compost pile to be near enough to the garden to be convenient but not so near as to bring pests into the garden. I want the compost pile to be close enough to the house that I WILL take the kitchen scraps out to it every day rather than waiting til the smell reminds me.
I want the garden close enough to the house that I don't have to carry produce far, can see what's going on and protect it from the wildlife that is all over here.
I want the beds high enough that I can weed and plant as easily as I can without spending a fortune on materials.
And I want some winter protection to extend the season.
Hmmm............ better get out the paper and measure out all these wnats....................

 

[Homesteadmom]

I intianally planted a smaller garden this yr because we were getting a new house & knew i would be busy with that. So this next one will be bigger anyway. But we are expanding the garden area too this yr. The more we can grow for ourselves the better we are finacially & healthwise. I got cinderblocks from the place next door to make more raised beds too. I already have 18 asparagus plants & want to plant 10 more this year that way I should have enough to eat fresh & can for non productive times of the yr. Plus we are planting more trees this yr too, 2 maybe 3 apple trees, 1 pear, 1 lemon and I am hoping for a ruby red grapefruit & maybe a cherry tree also. Add some bluberry bushes too & 3 grape vines(concord, red & green). Then we shouldn't need to buy much in produce from the store at all. We will get started in Jan by tilling the ground & adding composted manure to it & start planting in mid Feb. So right after Christmas we will get our seedlings started. I have all the seeds I need except the asparagus to get started planting.

I do believe that there will be more people planting gardens in the next few yrs to grow some of their own food. As to people living in apartments & condos I think(some will) they might have small container gardens with a little bit of food growing in them. And even if they ony grow a tomato & a few containers of others like lettuce & radishes then so be it but at least they are growing their own salad. So I am prepared to answer more questions about gardening for those who don't garden but have an interest in it.

 

[homestead jenna]

Our local paper did an article on this very topic - how people were moving to productive gardening more and more as the economy gets tighter.

When I was growing up in the 60's EVERY family I knew had a garden - it's just what you did. Ours was immense and supplied most of the food we had. Every kid I knew earned quarters working in their family garden...then you went to the county fair and spent the money!