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Post by daylilydude on Oct 24, 2018 4:21:24 GMT -5
What are your thoughts on this? You spend money on seeds, fertilizer, and such... you spend alot of time with getting the garden ready, planting the seed/sprouts, fertilizing and such. Do you think it's all worth it in the end??
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Post by tomike on Oct 24, 2018 5:51:32 GMT -5
How do you put a dollar value to the therapeutic benefits of gardening
I think that it's worth the cost just for the satisfaction of having grown the produce in your backyard......
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Post by carolyn on Oct 24, 2018 7:03:20 GMT -5
I think its is worth it because you know what you are eating but I also think we should put a price on it... when we do things like gardening we shouldn't just give it away and say oh its just extra... no, it has value.. it is time and effort along with what expenses that have been put into it. when we go to the store I look at what is there and appreciate the months it took someone else to plan so I could have something I needed or wanted today. when I hear someone complain I now shrug and mutter... go grow it yourself then.
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Post by paulf on Oct 24, 2018 7:16:22 GMT -5
This has been contemplated and my economic training brought into the question and then quickly forgotten. Putting dollars and cents to inputs and outputs to a philosophy and a way of life has no meaning...it makes my brain hurt trying to reconcile the idea. Against all my training and education, I stopped thinking about it years ago.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 7:27:08 GMT -5
I am a seed aholic type, lol. but try to keep expenses in mind firmly, as well as what I shall actually grow and eat I do can some things when the garden does well and that helps to offset some of the cost. But there is a great satisfaction in growing something, or having a variety not offered in stores too.
For me, right now it is worth the time, cost and space, yes.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 24, 2018 8:16:56 GMT -5
Many years ago, when I had a much smaller garden, I kept a record of input and output, and definitely got more than I was putting into it, unless, of course, you take labor into account. Later on, I couldn't really put a price tag on a lot of things, as they were pretty much unavailable, which is why I grew them. And there is no way to put a price tag on the fresh tomatoes we grow - nothing like them in the market, at least around here. And the prices of all these herbs are through the roof! Other than parsley and cilantro, I can't believe that people pay those prices for those little packets of herbs.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 24, 2018 8:27:16 GMT -5
I really do not spend a lot on gardening. I buy a limited number of seeds and things like squash, lettuce, peas, tomatoes and a few others I only buy every 2 years. I may buy a new variety but it's not usually more than $15 /yr on seeds.
I don't buy fertilizers and I use the same tomato cages each year so no money spent on stakes or twine.
This year I will buy some sulfur to lower my pH and that will be about $10 and the soil test is another $10. Maybe every other year I might buy some Neem or Spinosad at $10/bottle. I really do not use many sprays.
I buy new seed starting cell trays each year but they are $1.99 each and I only buy one or maybe two.
We spend more per year on pizza than I spend on gardening and the end product from my organic gardening is a lot better for us than pizza.
I feel that the exercise that we get from working in the garden is beneficial. What would I be doing otherwise? Would I be happier reading a book or watching TV? I don't think so.
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Post by octave1 on Oct 24, 2018 8:49:40 GMT -5
I do not spend much on gardening. I do not buy fertilizer and I have enough seeds to last me for a lifetime. Tools were the initial investment, but it did not amount to an exorbitant cost. Nowadays the biggest expense may be lids for canning jars and freezer type ziplock bags..
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Post by september on Oct 24, 2018 8:51:56 GMT -5
I like everyone's answers so far! Gardening is about entertainment and exercise for me, the good food produced is a bonus. If I had no land, I would be happy to weed and work in someone else's garden just for joy of being outdoors among green growing things.
I've invested a lot of money in the past on a whole slew of garden carts and wheelbarrows, hoses, shovels, rakes, and other garden tools which have been around for a long time, so there is not much I buy annually other a little fertilizer and fancy flower seeds and what vegetable seeds I don't save myself. So yes, I get more edible value from my garden than the money I put into it at this point.
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Post by ahntjudy on Oct 24, 2018 9:19:34 GMT -5
Agreed with everything everyone else has said... One other joy I get out of gardening is knowing the happiness My Man gets from the gardens, veggies and flowers, I grow over his house... He is somewhat disabled so is home all the time but enjoys the views he has from his windows or when he sits outside... That happiness is worth every penny spent...
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Post by bestofour on Oct 24, 2018 10:21:01 GMT -5
Gardening, even though hard work, is recreation for me. Keeps me off the street and out of the bars But I do feel sorry for the people at the farmers market who are getting a dollar a pound for potatoes and green beans when I realize the work they've put in.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Oct 24, 2018 10:31:48 GMT -5
My Dad told me once that if I counted my own labor that I would go broke. I think he meant that my labor was there whether I used it or not. Or maybe it was free to him?
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Post by Gianna on Oct 24, 2018 17:14:11 GMT -5
I totally enjoy gardening. If I am on the trail of a particular garden 'adventure', I'm more than willing to spend some extra $$. I was just thinking this morning that what I have paid for various store potatoes, and ordering official seed potatoes, plus all the time 'playing' with them, it's still less than what many people pay for a movie and dinner out. There is just no comparison which, in my opinion, is better.
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Post by meandtk on Oct 24, 2018 20:08:34 GMT -5
Well, if I didn't garden, I'd have no excuse to come here and chat with y'all, so...
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Post by spike on Oct 24, 2018 20:56:38 GMT -5
Do you think it's all worth it in the end?? Not even considering all the produce recalls, I like knowing where my food is coming from and there is a HUGE flavor difference. I love the feel of grass under my feet and dirt in my hands. I enjoy the sun on my back as I pull the spines of my enemies (weeds). Worth every cent spent.
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Post by farmerjack41 on Oct 24, 2018 22:03:16 GMT -5
Guess its one of those things you cannot think about the cost. Some folks do a great job with minimal amount of garden tools and produce a great garden. Now, me I think I have to have tools galore. A high percent of my gardening is done, setting in the seat of a garden tractor. Have always been that way and at my age probably the only way I can grow as large a garden as I do. Just being out there playing in the dirt is what matters.
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Post by bestofour on Oct 24, 2018 22:24:56 GMT -5
Well, if I didn't garden, I'd have no excuse to come here and chat with y'all, so... My vote for BEST ANSWER
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 29, 2018 1:15:19 GMT -5
^
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Post by guruofgardens on Oct 29, 2018 8:27:21 GMT -5
I agree wholeheartedly with everyone. I even like to weed - something about feeling the dirt and removing the unwanted. I think genetics may have a bit to do with it, too. I would be quite bored if I didn’t have chores to do in the garden.
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reubent
Pro Member
Posts: 389
Joined: May 2011
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Post by reubent on Dec 31, 2018 7:26:23 GMT -5
We spend more than we make or save, if it were a business it would have gone broke long ago. Someday it will be a business once we get things going smoothly and efficiently. But in the mean time it's more about a healthy lifestyle. But having grown up with it, it's a love thing as well. Planting things, caring for them, eating the fruits they make, that's real pleasure, and greater satisfaction than anything else can create. My favorite time is spring, planting the garden on a cool day with warm sunshine, it all feels so peaceful and just right.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Dec 31, 2018 10:38:31 GMT -5
Oh gosh, I try not to even think about how much I spend. I've always jumped from hobby to hobby, but even when I wasn't gardening, I found myself wishing I could. So I guess it's just something I love.
I now find myself unable to do much and it really bothers me. I won't be digging in the dirt, but even if I have to grow sweet potato slips in a mason jar of water, you can bet your bottom dollar I will find a way.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 31, 2018 11:23:31 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles, I have seen "raised" beds on tall legs so that people who can't bend over can garden. What about having someone make you one of those so that you can at least grow some greens? You really liked those last year. You could just walk up to it and garden while standing.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Dec 31, 2018 11:29:36 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles , I have seen "raised" beds on tall legs so that people who can't bend over can garden. What about having someone make you one of those so that you can at least grow some greens? You really liked those last year. You could just walk up to it and garden while standing. I've been considering something along that line. We have 3 ol stray cats and they took over my raised bed and made it a poop factory. Someone is always dropping off cats and dogs here. You just would not believe how little some people value a pet. I'm not a cat person, but I don't like to see them starve either. They sure made a mess of my raised bed though.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 31, 2018 11:40:24 GMT -5
Someone is always dropping off cats and dogs here. You just would not believe how little some people value a pet I know and I find that really sad. One thing that has led to many cats being dumped outdoors is the fact that the shelters are now mostly "no kill" which means that by keeping all of their shelter animals alive forever, they have no room to take in new ones so people just put them outside and many times they just suffer and die. I would prefer to have them euthanize the non adoptable animals humanely and then have room to take in new ones. I donate yearly to a local cat rescue and adoption center but I let them know that I disagree with their no-kill policy because it leads to suffering on the part or so many animals that are turned away due to lack of room in the shelters.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Dec 31, 2018 11:52:38 GMT -5
brownrexx, On another note, my wife is wanting another dachshund and she started looking. Dogs have almost gotten unaffordable. On line prices ranged from 600 to 3,400. She called one of the rescue places up in the metroplex and they told her we would have to come look and then I price would be set after we picked the pet. It used to be almost anyone would give you a puppy, but nowadays they are asking for "rehoming" fees. We paid 50.00 for baby girl and she was covered in fleas and close to death. My niece took BG's brother and gave him a good home.
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Post by spike on Dec 31, 2018 12:14:20 GMT -5
We have 3 ol stray cats and they took over my raised bed and made it a poop factory. Welded wire! I put welded wire over the top of my raised bed to keep cats out.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 31, 2018 12:39:39 GMT -5
that's just crazy hairymooseknuckles, You would think that they would be happy to get a dog adopted. However I think that they might require neutering and vaccinations of the pet as their attempt to prevent more unwanted or sick animals. I never heard of a "rehoming fee"
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 31, 2018 15:56:22 GMT -5
Rehoming fees are a thing for rescue operations down here as well, as well as for private owners trying to rehome pets. I can see rescue operations needing something to help cover their costs, especially if they get the animal spayed/neutered, get its shots up-to-date, and get it a vet examination. But it's just a money grab from private owners.
If I thought I were giving an animal to someone who would give it a good home, I would rather them put the money into taking care of the animal from then on.
The city & county animal shelters still only charge a fee based on their cost to spay/neuter and vaccinate, which is fair.
And I agree with you that a "no kill" policy does more harm than good in the long run. Limited kill (making a real effort to re-home adoptable animals before resorting to euthaniasia) is fine, but some animals are not going to be safe around people and others are just not going to be adopted especially if they are elderly or have expensive medical problems. And those un-adoptable animals take up space for months or years while adoptable pets stay on the streets because the shelter is full. And if the rumor goes around that the shelter animals are all old, sick or bad-tempered, they won't even go there to look for a pet.
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