YepIn Virginia?
Yikes!
I have started buying pigs and hogs I sell and only raise ones I eat .. I buy and resell it's easier. I don't think I will raise any labor intensive stuff like beans and peas after this year.A lot in the garden you can buy for what you can grow it or less. No way can I grow tomatoes and broccoli for what I can buy it. They want to much for those little plants and then all the work and chemicals needed to make the crop. I am beginning to wonder about potatoes as the seed keep going up and what is needed. It is a shame all the gouging going on in the economy. Walmart/TSC last year had one plant trays for $4.99 each. I noticed most went unbought.
I bought a bag of seed potatoes, fertilizer, spray, a couple lime bags, and the total came out to over $90. For what I eat I can buy cheaper.
Interesting....Best sweet corn I have raised is I plant 1 row of Silver Queen and 1 row of Golden Queen. It cross pollinates and makes bigger ears, also taste really good. The gold will stay gold but the silver will have silver and gold kernals.
I mix cow manure in the garden when i start it, we start all plants by seed, even tomatoes. We planted a long row of them last year and we would bring in 1 - 2 five gallon buckets full of them almost everyday for months. They kept going until I think late Oct. or Nov. Green beans were the same.A lot in the garden you can buy for what you can grow it or less. No way can I grow tomatoes and broccoli for what I can buy it. They want to much for those little plants and then all the work and chemicals needed to make the crop. I am beginning to wonder about potatoes as the seed keep going up and what is needed. It is a shame all the gouging going on in the economy. Walmart/TSC last year had one plant trays for $4.99 each. I noticed most went unbought.
I bought a bag of seed potatoes, fertilizer, spray, a couple lime bags, and the total came out to over $90. For what I eat I can buy cheaper.
I canned over 150 quarts of green beans last year and for perfect tomatoes at $10-12 a box I can't justify growing many tomatoes. I have started them by seed (still have a lot of the heirloom large tomato seed) have 90 cows with plenty of cow patties and it still is not worth my time. It doesn't hurt that I live close to Granger County TN where they have over 40 acres of tomato in hot houses about year around. Late in the year when they have an overrun, I have bought them as cheap as $6 a big box. At $30 for 5 big boxes by the time I spray for blight, deal with the weather, physically pick and carry out I will stick to maybe 10 plants. The same with broccoli as every year they start out nice and then a short dry spell and it stunts the heads. You can buy it at Walmart for less than I have in it. I have used Cow poop which chicken poop is better and if you get it too rich you will have big green vines with very little fruit.I mix cow manure in the garden when i start it, we start all plants by seed, even tomatoes. We planted a long row of them last year and we would bring in 1 - 2 five gallon buckets full of them almost everyday for months. They kept going until I think late Oct. or Nov. Green beans were the same.
Is that a garden I see out the window?Here is some of the tomatoes I bought for real cheap late last fall.
YesIs that a garden I see out the window?