by Hope
We began transplanting our veggies, fruits, and herbs into our raised beds this weekend. And I am so freaking excited. We have 5 standing beds in the backyard, meaning the dogs cannot reach them. We have one of these 24″ high beds (pictured) in the back yard.
You can see some our newly planted native plants in the background as well. We got our cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, and some herbs in the beds pictured. I’ve been researching companion planting so focusing on that, native plants, and, of course, keeping my crazy dogs from digging up and fertilizing my food.
Then we have this bed in our front yard. Plus some in-grown herbs and berry bushes. And a whole bed of strawberry plants that I just let run wild from year to year. They are delicious, but I have to get to them before the birds do. We’ve tried painting rocks red and dispersing them in the strawberry plants to try to deter the birds. I think it helps some, but not a bunch. Do you have any tricks for protecting your growing strawberries?
I hope to add a couple of fruit trees on the side of the house, but that may not happen til next year. It’s definitely a work in progress. But I’ve got all sorts of ideas and plans in my head. And I am thoroughly enjoying the process and the research.
Next step, figure out how to preserve some of the food I grow. Not only learn how to preserve it, but do it in a way that I will reuse it; otherwise, it’s not worth the effort. (I don’t like spaghetti so tomato sauce is a waste.) I don’t like jams or jellies. Meaning lots and lots more research to do. And I am enjoying it very much.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Have you done a boat benefit on the wood, soil, and seeds/starters? With the exception of herbs, I’m not sure that you’ll break even, though it is certainly a fun hobby.
I’m just concerned that you’re still heavily in debt at high interest rates, you have unexpected costs, like the washing machine, which we all have to prepare for, and by your own account you didn’t make your debt repayment goal last month. I’m not sure this is the year to jump into growing your own food
While it’s great you’re enjoying your space and getting a garden started I’m concerned about the cost of it all. I plant a small garden every year and there is no way it saves me any money once you add in soil, fertilizer, plants, pest control, etc. And that isn’t even accounting for the wood of building new beds. It seems like you’ve put quite a lot of money into your yard (and tools needed to maintain it) in a very short amount of time. Are you tallying the costs?
Remember anything you are spending right now past the bare necessities is essentially 30% interest.
Depending on how many plants you have, you may not grow enough to preserve. If you do, tomato sauce can be used for a lot more than just spaghetti sauce. You could also make salsa, or dehydrate them.