I just finished reading Ali’s most recent post at Henbogle and thought it was worth sharing her statistics. She has been keeping track of how much she spent and how much she has harvested from her garden in 2010 and 2011. The numbers are impressive, especially when you consider that her garden is 630 square feet and that her yard is about ¾ of an acre.

“This harvest, plus the unreported one (oops) a couple of weeks ago amounted to 9.94 lbs of squash and New England Pie pumpkin.  This brings the garden harvest total to 625 lbs. for the 2010 growing season.  The value of my harvests stands at $2,083.70, my expenses remained the same at $317.54 for the year, bringing the net value to $1,766.16.”

What Ali’s recorded keeping clearly shows is how much financial benefit can come from planting a garden. (There are, of course, other benefits as well.) This is especially relevant for people who are on a very tight budget or for those who, for whatever reason, would like to stay home more and work less outside the home. Or, for people who simply cannot find work. Planting a garden not only provides fresh, wholesome food but is also a real contribution to a home’s economy. Then, if you combine the value of the vegetables with the savings that come from cooking from scratch—versus buying prepared food or eating out—then you have an even more substantial contribution. Double, perhaps even triple. 

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Week three: The Let Them Eat Bread Report

My project? To bake and give away at least one loaf of bread each week in 2011. My reason? A personal protest against the rampant selfishness of our society.

This week I gave away two loaves of bread: One, to my daughter Shannon and one to Shane Malcolm-Billings, who works at my town’s library.

Total loaves of bread given away so far this year: 8