Latest developments

Last Friday we had our first harvest of lettuce. We picked a few of the larger leaves before moving the plants out into the new garden frame. In spite of the fact that the night time temperatures over the next three nights were forecast to be 30, 27, and 23, we transplanted:
(9) lettuce
(9) kale
(4) cabbage
(3) spinach
(3) chard

So far, everything has survived, including everything that was planted in the first frame (which has endured significant cold and snow). The picture above is of the second frame with the plants that were moved outside last Friday.

Potential savings

I did a little research at the grocery market this week to help determine potential savings from growing our own vegetables. Currently we spend about $30 a week for vegetables. This includes carrots, parsely, lettuce and celery for quick snacks and dinner salads, two or three vegetables for dinners such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage or asparagus; and potatoes, onions, garlic and ginger (which are purchased less frequently in bulk). All of these items, except celery and ginger, can be grown in our home garden.

I will be keeping a tally of vegetables that we harvest this year. By the end of the season we should have a good idea of how many garden frames we would need to grow all of our own vegetables for some portion of the year.

I will also be keeping a tally of tools and materials that are purchased for the garden so that in the end we can figure our return on investment (ROI). In an upcoming post, I will provide a detailed explanation of how to construct a garden frame and the associated costs in terms of time and materials.

HR 875

I generally don't like to discuss politics, but I do believe it is important that we the People do what we can to keep government honest and working in our best interest. So, I am copying (with permission) the following letter written by Cheryl Woodard which calls attention to an important piece of legislation coming up in the House and Senate. As DeAnne said when she forwarded the original message "Backyard gardeners unite!":

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Cheryl Anne Woodard" <>
Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8:34:53 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: Urgent, Your help is needed re House Resolution 875, Companion Bill Senate Bill 425

Dear Friends,

I am a legislative reviewer for various health food and organic farming organizations. I have stumbled across House Resolution 875 which is by far one of the most stunning grabs for power yet advance by the FDA. The bill is 52 pages, and it has taken me a while to understand the ramifications of this legislation. In short, it grants the FDA the power to control all food production including organic farming. The manufacturers of genetically modified food and chemical fertilizers want to take over the entire food industry, and they have the money and power to control the FDA.

This legislation is so broad that it can even bring your backyard garden under the power of the FDA, requiring you to register as a 'food production facility' and granting the FDA injunctive powers. There is no limit in size in the definition of 'food production facility.' Nor does it matter whether the food is produced for sale or private use. Please see Section 3 (14) of definitions. Section 206 outlines the power of the FDA re Food Production Facilities, and Section 402 outlines Food Detention, Seizure and Condemnation, Section 404 lists the injunctive powers.

At first I thought it laughable to be concerned, and then I reviewed the litigation history of the FDA as written by Jonathan Emord, Esq., in his new book entitled "The Rise of Tyranny." By coincidence I met with Attorney Emord this week-end and reviewed with him his litigation experience with the FDA. It is appalling to learn that the FDA simply ignores court orders when the courts rule against them.

The problem is that there is no check on the FDA. Yes, there is an appeal process, but they disregard court orders. This coupled with the fact that the FDA is inextricably locked in with the large chemical and drug companies means that vested interests now control the FDA.

Please read this bill and write your congressional representative. Demand that HR 875 be defeated. At first I had hoped to see it redrafted, but after a more thorough review, I see that until the FDA is made to respect and honor the rule of law, it is dangerous to expand its power further. It is reported this bill will be up for a vote in a few days in both houses without time for debate. Now is the time to speak up.

Now that I am working in this arena, I will be sending out posts periodically. If you want to be removed from this list, please let me know. If you have an interest in helping, please send this along to people you feel might be interested, and let me know if you want to do more.

To get a copy of the bill, follow this link:
Text of H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.
There is a companion bill in the Senate which is just as sweeping SB 425.

There are a series of grass roots videos on the subject.
Criminalizing Organic Farms
Follow up HR875 S425 Criminalize Organic Farming
and more. Not cinematic genius, but heartfelt.

The best thing to do is to Write Your Representative. All you have to do is click the link, put in your zip and it will give you your congressperson and how to get in touch with them. Please send and email and call.

When you call their office someone will answer the phone, just tell them that you are calling to express your views on HR 875, and SB 425.

Tell them your views, they'll take your name and address and pass your comments along to the congressperson. The following link Senators of the 111th Congress is a list of the U.S. senators and their contact info.

When the people lead, governments follow.

Regards,
Cheryl Anne Woodard, CFLS*
Woodard Law and Mediation

NGA study

The MSM recently reported on the results of a National Gardening Association study that indicates many more people are planning a vegetable garden this year. I was suspicious about claims in the report that on average a $70 gardening investment can yield $600 in vegetables. After reviewing the full results of the study, I remain skeptical (the study can be found here: NGA study).

There are many factors that can affect investments and yields which are not discussed in the report. For instance, there is a significant difference in the cost of maintaining an existing garden versus starting a new one. Also, it is not at all clear that the people with 600 square foot gardens (from which the $600 ROI figure comes) are the same people who invest $70 in gardening. Note that the median size garden in this study is 96 square feet. This means that there are some really large "gardens" out there skewing the average. I would have to plant (38) 4' x 4' frames to match the average size garden in the study and it would definitely cost me more than $70 to get that going.

The "square foot gardening" (SFG) method that I am using is relatively expensive to get started, however good results are almost guaranteed and expenses in subsequent years are minimal. "Square Foot Gardening" is a term coined by Mel Bartholomew who wrote the original book by the same name in 1981. Some advantages of intensive gardening methods like SFG are that soil amendments can be concentrated in a smaller area and that watering systems, protective barriers and season extenders can be more compact and therefore less expensive.

In spite of problems with the NGA study, I find the expected return on investment per square foot of garden an interesting starting point. It boils down to about a $1 return for every square foot of land that is cultivated. This is assuming on average 1/2 pound of produce per square foot and an average cost for vegetables of $2 per pound at the grocery store. I am planning to see how close that matches my results is this year.

It would be interesting to compare different styles of gardening (intensive versus traditional rows), how much investment is required in each and how much return can be expected. Investments might include soil improvement, watering systems, protective barriers, season extenders (cold-frame/row covers), and tools. Also, the cost of startup can be compared with long-term maintenance costs. The amount of time required to maintain various configurations might also be considered.

I scanned an intriguing new book this Winter (Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon) that argues that the square foot and other intensive gardening methods are less productive and more resource intensive than traditional gardening methods. However, I have not had a chance to study the book in depth. For now I remain convinced that the square foot method offers the best return for my time.