Thursday, January 19, 2012

2011 Calendar Year Final Crop Report.


Once again it is the financial day of reckoning for the garden. This data is from my spreadsheets for calendar year 2011, and it is a complete and accurate accounting of all expenditures and harvests. The price per pound was gathered by visiting supermarkets with large organic sections in them, from organic co-ops and local farmer's markets.

I do my tracking in a simple manner. If I spend it this year, it goes entirely on this year's tally. I don't amortize my garden expenses.

In review of this past year I note the following:

I spent $283 for the Mantis tiller, not including the gift card from my brother Joe. That was a major expense.

I planted cucs this year using seeds AND plants, and didn't get a single cucumber. That's amazing to me. Seeds sprouted, vines grew, flowers came and then they all withered and died. I went through this exercise five separate times, all for naught. I even tried hand pollinating, but that didn't work either.

My tomato production was terrible compared to past years. This year I had about three times as many rows of tomato plants as in the past, and fewer tomatoes than in those same past years.

After caring for my grapes for three years, my two Reliance grape vines died. I think I overwatered them. At least that's what the cooperative extension thinks after analyzing everything.

Overall, my garden did pretty well. I would rather acquire my produce this way than buying it in a big box store, so I'm satisfied with it.

After all expenses were deducted from the value of the crops, I came out $424 ahead. Even if it was in the negative financially, I would still win. I know how to grow my own food.

Here's the tally:

Vegetable                                            Pounds            Price Per Pound     Total Value
Broccoli                                                  7.63                         $2.00                   $15.26
Collards                                                22.75                         $1.87                   $42.54
Lettuce                                                   1.38                         $1.76                      $2.43
Marconi Green Peppers                       41.31                         $2.01                    $83.03
Sorrel                                                     4.16                       $14.00                    $58.24
Fortex Green Beans                             97.25                         $4.00                  $389.00
Henderson Butter Beans                        0.28                         $2.23                      $0.62
Beet Greens                                            2.5                          $1.00                      $2.50
Swiss Chard                                           9.75                         $5.32                    $51.87
Sweet Corn                                             4.0                          $1.00                      $4.00
Blueberries                                             2.47                        $8.51                     $21.02
Figs                                                        1.04                         $4.00                       $4.16
Glenora Grapes                                      2.75                         $3.99                     $10.97
Himrod Grapes                                      1.06                         $3.99                       $4.23
Reliance Grapes                                    0.56                         $3.99                       $2.23
Raspberries                                           4.25                        $10.64                    $45.22
Chives                                                   0.25                          $1.00                      $0.25
Horseradish                                           2.5                            $4.97                    $12.43
Okra                                                      3.36                          $3.70                    $12.43
Onion, Green                                        0.37                          $1.98                      $0.73
Snow Peas                                            0.75                          $6.47                      $4.85
Banana Peppers                                  19.89                          $2.01                    $39.98
Red Beauty Pepper                               0.5                            $3.99                      $2.00
Salsify                                                  0.25                           $1.00                      $0.25
Tomatoes, Burpee Big Boy               25.19                           $3.99                   $100.51
Tomatoes, Cherokee Purple                1.63                           $5.99                       $9.76
Tomatoes, La Roma II                      21.06                           $2.99                      $62.97
Tomatoes, Park's Whopper               57.47                           $3.99                    $229.31
Tomatoes, Patio                                  0.27                           $5.32                        $1.44
Tomatoes, San Marzano                     6.94                           $3.99                      $27.69
Total Weight                                      344 
Gross Organic Value                                                                                      $1,242.00
Expenditures                                                                                                      $818.00
Net Profit                                                                                                           $424.00


Thanks for all the encouraging support during the past year, and I hope each of you and your families have a wonderful vegetable garden in the new year.

Have a great vegetable gardening day!
Veggie PAK

9 comments:

  1. It's a miracle...I am able to leave a comment!! Nice job!! I sure do hope that this year is better then last!

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  2. Robin, Thanks! I hope so too! Last year was a tough one.
    Thanks for visiting!
    Veggie PAK

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  3. Mainly because I just ordered red and yellow Marconi pepper seeds from rareseeds.com, how many plants did you grow this year? 41.31 pounds? wow!

    I plan on growing them in 3 - 5 gallon pots this year, since most of my peppers in the ground did horrible last year, and the ones in the pots did amazing. This will be my first year growing the Marconi's, couldn't pass them up based on the reviews I've read.

    <-- pepper head

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  4. Nice work, Veggie PAK! Sorry to hear about your tomatoes...mine were a total bust this year, only a few pounds. As for your cukes, that's a real bummer! I wish I had known in early summer, we were inundated with cukes. Look forward to keeping up with your gardening endeavors in 2012.

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  5. What a great post! I love looking into the financial aspect of gardening... it makes it even more satisfying to me that a hobby can gross so much profit. Who would have thought!

    Do you only pay $2.00/lb for organic broccoli in the store?! I am lucky to find it organic, and when I do, it's at the farmer's market for $5.00/lb and up.

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  6. That is so sad about the cukes. I love my cukes. I wan't happy about the variety as the skin was too tough. But there is always next year. In fact next year I'm trying two new varieties. I hope I like them

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  7. How impressive!! that's fun to put it in quantitative terms like this.

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  8. Miguel, I have 13 marconi pepper plants. The bell peppers I planted in the ground also did horribly for the last few years. The marconi's production in the same soil was a refreshing change!

    .09 Acres, Thanks! I think part of my cuc problem was an unplanned late start and then it was just too hot. Next year I should be right on schedule.

    Prairie Cat, Tracking the financials does make it more satisfying! The $2.00 price was for regular broccoli as I never did find organic broccoli in the stores or farmer's markets. I suspected it would actually be higher.

    Daphne, I'm already looking forward to next year! It will be a great gardening year!

    Wendy, Thanks! It does add some excitement to see the figures add up.

    Thanks to each of you for visiting my blog and sharing a comment.

    Have a great vegetable gardening day!
    Veggie PAK

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  9. I haev red and gold marconi peppers but not green. Also I just recently heard of Park's Whopper, I might have to give that a try next year. xx

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