Garden Wrap-up for 2018

It’s about time to start planning for this year’s garden and getting a seed order together, so I thought I’d do a wrap-up of 2018 to refresh my memory.

First, the harvest list I kept is at the bottom because it’s pretty long. It’s not really complete, because I forgot to add things to it several times. It’s probably about 75% there, though. Also, I was pretty conservative on the price of things, using the base price in the store. So it’s basically showing what it would cost to buy the same stuff, but not necessarily the same quality. Most of mine is organic, for instance, and I didn’t try to find organic prices.

I don’t have a garden for the money savings, because there are some things you can’t grow as cheaply as you can buy them, if your time is worth anything. I do it for other benefits, but it’s nice to know it at least pays for itself.

There were two main problems last year. The first was drought. It was very dry through most of June and July. I watered a lot, but surface water really only keeps things alive; it doesn’t make them flourish. So after the early crops like asparagus and peas, everything just kind of sat there, and it looks like June and July added together produced less than May, which is very unusual. Some things were almost a total loss, like the sweet corn and the second crop of peas, that just shriveled up in the heat.

Nothing you can do about drought, but I’m going to invest in some soaker hose this year. That lets water seep out through the hose directly onto the ground, rather than spraying it up in the air. Less evaporation that way, and it’s easier to put it where you want it. Also, it won’t attract the neighbors’ dog to come over and dance around in the water.

The second problem was the weeds got away from me in the south plot, which is why I ended up harvesting almost no squash, melons, or tomatoes. It turns out that spot has some pretty poor soil compared to the others, so it needs a lot of organic material. A foot of straw or hay mulch would be a good start, and would help a lot with the weeds. I’ll definitely be mulching more this year.

I said last year that I need to divide up some crowded asparagus mounds and start a new patch with them. I forgot all about that by winter, so now I need to look and remind myself when you do that, whether it’s fall or spring.

I got a gift certificate from a nursery for Christmas, so I need to figure out what trees to get and when. Probably fruit trees, although a couple big shade trees wouldn’t hurt either.

Next garden post: cataloging the leftover seed!

date harvest grams pounds price value
[2018-04-24 Tue] asparagus 572 1.26 3.00 3.78
[2018-04-26 Thu] asparagus 556 1.22 3.00 3.66
[2018-04-28 Sat] asparagus 663 1.46 3.00 4.38
[2018-04-30 Mon] asparagus 508 1.12 3.00 3.36
[2018-05-02 Wed] asparagus 488 1.07 3.00 3.21
[2018-05-05 Sat] asparagus 460 1.01 3.00 3.03
[2018-05-08 Tue] asparagus 684 1.50 3.00 4.50
[2018-05-08 Tue] green onions 128 0.28 2.00 0.56
[2018-05-08 Tue] marshmallow 100 0.22 1.00 0.22
[2018-05-12 Sat] asparagus 1066 2.34 3.00 7.02
[2018-05-12 Sat] lettuce 150 0.33 2.50 0.82
[2018-05-15 Tue] asparagus 736 1.62 3.00 4.86
[2018-05-20 Sun] asparagus 686 1.51 3.00 4.53
[2018-05-20 Sun] lettuce 150 0.33 2.50 0.82
[2018-05-22 Tue] asparagus 251 0.55 3.00 1.65
[2018-05-24 Thu] asparagus 285 0.63 3.00 1.89
[2018-05-24 Thu] strawberries 260 0.57 3.00 1.71
[2018-05-25 Fri] lettuce 1057 2.32 2.50 5.80
[2018-05-27 Sun] asparagus 244 0.54 3.00 1.62
[2018-05-27 Sun] strawberries 130 0.29 3.00 0.87
[2018-05-28 Mon] lettuce 2000 4.40 1.00 4.40
[2018-06-01 Fri] asparagus 180 0.40 3.00 1.20
[2018-06-04 Mon] asparagus 243 0.53 3.00 1.59
[2018-06-07 Thu] asparagus 195 0.43 3.00 1.29
[2018-06-07 Thu] peas 522 1.15 3.00 3.45
[2018-06-11 Mon] peas 125 0.27 3.00 0.81
[2018-06-14 Thu] peas 50 0.11 3.00 0.33
[2018-06-25 Mon] peas 74 0.16 3.00 0.48
[2018-06-29 Fri] peas 85 0.19 3.00 0.57
[2018-06-29 Fri] snap beans 51 0.11 2.00 0.22
[2018-07-03 Tue] corn 6 0.01 1.00 0.01
[2018-07-10 Tue] corn 14 0.03 1.00 0.03
[2018-07-10 Tue] potatoes 300 0.66 0.50 0.33
[2018-07-16 Mon] potatoes 400 0.88 0.50 0.44
[2018-07-16 Mon] snap beans 298 0.65 2.00 1.30
[2018-07-20 Fri] potatoes 230 0.51 0.50 0.26
[2018-07-20 Fri] snap beans 380 0.84 2.00 1.68
[2018-07-30 Mon] Swiss chard 400 0.88 2.00 1.76
[2018-07-31 Tue] snap beans 800 1.76 2.00 3.52
[2018-08-01 Wed] snap beans 800 1.76 2.00 3.52
[2018-08-05 Sun] snap beans 633 1.39 2.00 2.78
[2018-08-06 Mon] snap beans 977 2.15 2.00 4.30
[2018-08-08 Wed] snap beans 437 0.96 2.00 1.92
[2018-08-13 Mon] snap beans 434 0.95 2.00 1.90
[2018-08-16 Thu] cucumbers 781 1.72 1.00 1.72
[2018-08-16 Thu] potatoes 675 1.48 0.50 0.74
[2018-08-21 Tue] snap beans 1636 3.60 2.00 7.20
[2018-08-22 Wed] potatoes 1200 2.64 0.50 1.32
[2018-08-22 Wed] red kidney 272 0.60 2.00 1.20
[2018-08-23 Thu] snap beans 453 1.00 2.00 2.00
[2018-08-25 Sat] radishes 250 0.55 0.50 0.28
[2018-08-27 Mon] snap beans 900 1.98 2.00 3.96
[2018-08-28 Tue] potatoes 1300 2.86 0.50 1.43
[2018-08-28 Tue] snap beans 501 1.10 2.00 2.20
[2018-08-30 Thu] snap beans 1150 2.53 2.00 5.06
[2018-09-01 Sat] snap beans 553 1.22 2.00 2.44
[2018-09-04 Tue] carrots 680 1.49 1.50 2.23
[2018-09-04 Tue] snap beans 730 1.60 2.00 3.20
[2018-09-05 Wed] snap beans 550 1.21 2.00 2.42
[2018-09-05 Wed] snap beans 663 1.46 2.00 2.92
[2018-09-07 Fri] snap beans 720 1.58 2.00 3.16
[2018-09-08 Sat] Swiss chard 450 0.99 2.00 1.98
[2018-09-09 Sun] potatoes 500 1.10 0.50 0.55
[2018-09-09 Sun] snap beans 650 1.43 2.00 2.86
[2018-09-10 Mon] potatoes 750 1.65 0.50 0.82
[2018-09-11 Tue] snap beans 440 0.97 2.00 1.94
[2018-09-12 Wed] broccoli 150 0.33 2.50 0.82
[2018-09-13 Thu] snap beans 530 1.16 2.00 2.32
[2018-09-14 Fri] Swiss chard 200 0.44 2.00 0.88
[2018-09-14 Fri] beets 900 1.98 2.50 4.95
[2018-09-14 Fri] green pepper 150 0.33 2.50 0.82
[2018-09-14 Fri] summer squash 400 0.88 1.70 1.50
[2018-09-15 Sat] snap beans 700 1.54 2.00 3.08
[2018-09-17 Mon] potatoes 400 0.88 0.50 0.44
[2018-09-18 Tue] snap beans 600 1.32 2.00 2.64
[2018-09-19 Wed] snap beans 450 0.99 2.00 1.98
[2018-09-20 Thu] snap beans 500 1.10 2.00 2.20
[2018-09-22 Sat] snap beans 500 1.10 2.00 2.20
[2018-09-24 Mon] snap beans 630 1.38 2.00 2.76
[2018-09-25 Tue] potatoes 140 0.31 0.50 0.15
[2018-09-25 Tue] zucchini 265 0.58 1.70 0.99
[2018-09-29 Sat] snap beans 2275 5.00 2.00 10.00
[2018-09-30 Sun] snap beans 2935 6.45 2.00 12.90
[2018-10-16 Tue] green pepper 6900 15.16 2.50 37.90
[2018-10-16 Tue] zucchini 2011 4.42 1.70 7.51
[2018-11-01 Thu] turnips 475 1.04 1.50 1.56
[2018-11-03 Sat] cabbage 4150 9.12 0.25 2.28
[2018-11-21 Wed] cabbage 6800 14.95 0.25 3.74
[2018-11-30 Fri] broccoli 40 0.09 2.50 0.23
[2018-11-30 Fri] cauliflower 1140 2.51 3.50 8.79
Totals 66365 145.86 2.00 291.72