Click the play button on the video window to the right to view the storyLately it seems all we hear about is how expensive everything is. Gas and food prices are at an all time high. So how can we save some money?
How about being more independent and less dependent on having to buy certain things? I decided it is time to plant an edible garden with the help of Greg Peterson who owns the Urban Farm. Last week I did a story featuring his home. He lives a very “green” lifestyle and has 40 plus edible plants and trees all over his house in addition to chickens.
First I had to start composting, which I did back in June with the advice of Kristi Trimmer, a well-known florist in the Valley. Why compost? It is an easy way to use your food waste. The waste will decompose and turn into very rich soil that can be used to garden.
There are several ways you can compost. I decided to buy a compost bin. I went to several stores and but wasn't able to find one that sold composting bins here in the valley. So I went on the Internet to order one. That was way too expensive for me; I found prices ranging from $50 for a very small one to as much as $300 for the larger ones. Then I thought there has to be a better way. I found it through the City of Phoenix Waste Services. You can go to the city disposal facility and for five dollars you can buy a compost bin. It’s basically a garbage can sliced in half with holes, so you have an open bottom that you bury into the ground. It works terrific! My soil has turned out really dark and rich and it was so easy.
To read more on the composting story
click hereNow that the weather is slowly cooling down, it is time to start planting greens. About a week and half ago I went with Greg to pick out the items to put in the garden. We went to two nurseries in town because Greg likes their selection. First stop was
Berridge Nursery on Camelback just ½ mile east of 44th Street. I bought tons of seeds, including carrots, green beans, lettuce and broccoli. I also purchased a few plants from them, like mint leaves for yummy tea and pepper plants.
Then our next stop was
Baker’s Nursery on 40th street and Thomas. They had a great selection of edible plants. I purchased tomato plants, parsley plants and the list goes on. Greg had me buy some plant food and four bags of organic soil because I did not have enough compost to cover the space.
Now it was time to plant the garden. I already had a planter in my backyard that amazingly had some great soil in it. It took about an hour to dig and plant everything. I told Greg not to help but just watch and advise. Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to plant my garden. I love working with my hands and it was a great feeling to be digging and planting, and I also burned off some calories too.
I spent a total of $88.00 on all of the supplies to plant the garden. I will of course need to water daily and I did have one additional expense that was not in the plan. I had to put up a little fence to keep my dogs from eating my plants. That added $36.00 to the bill, making the total cost $124.00. Hopefully my initial investment will be returned in a few months. I am hoping by mid November I will be able to go in my backyard and get freshly plucked veggies from my garden.
To keep my water bill down I only water the plants at night so less heat will evaporate the water. I will just use a simple garden hose to do this.
In a few months we can re-visit my garden and see if I really saved. Either way, right now I can tell you I loved the experience and I can’t wait until everything starts to grow.
Greg Peterson has a free easy to read gardening chart for when it is time to plant certain things in the desert. Go to his website
http://www.urbanfarm.org/ to get it or you can contact him at 602-279-3713. In addition Greg offers free classes on gardening and living a sustainable lifestyle. You can find it all on his website.
