Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Update for April garden

We continued to make a lot of progress in the garden this past April.  We are still hurting some from some poor planting decisions I made last fall but I continue to learn how to productively garden.  Weighing and recording everything that comes out of the garden seems to be the key.  April continued to be a dry month and always marks the beginning of our annual spring/summer drought that ends with July's monsoon season.  We recieved 0.25 inches of rain and had pretty nice weather for most of the month.  The last week of April however we had highs in the mid to upper 90's which required a little extra watering.  

Here are the stats:  All prices are based on local Fry's or Sprouts organic produce.
College garden
Cabbage 16 lbs, $15.87 ($0.99/lbs),
Beets 8lbs 1oz, $24.11 ($2.99/lbs),
Chard  2 lbs, $10.00 ($2.50/8oz bunch)
Cilantro  4oz, $1.38 ($0.69/2oz bunch)
Total hours: 4
Total calories burned: 1224
Calories produced: 3721
Net calories:  2497
$ spent: $0.00
$ produced: $51.36
Net $: $51.36

Home Garden
Green onions  1 lbs 10 oz, $8.97 ($0.69/2oz bunch),
Beets  4lbs, $11.96 ($2.99/lbs),
Chard  2lbs, $10.00 ($2.50/8oz bunch)
Carrots  2lbs 8oz, $2.48 ($0.99/lbs)
Chives 8oz, $6.76 ($1.69/2oz bunch)
Basil 3oz, $2.84 ($1.89/2oz bunch)
Garlic 1lbs 4oz, $6.00 ($0.75/head)
Tomatoes 8oz, $1.50 ($2.99/lbs)

Total hours: 4
Total calories burned: 1224
Calories produced: 2376
Net calories:  1152
$ spent: $2.99 on basil plant
$ produced: $50.51
Net $:  $47.52

Totals since October 2010
College garden: 
$ Totals: $59.72+$51.36=$111.08
Total hours worked: 18.75
Calorie totals:1654+2497=4151

Home
$ Totals: $56.15+$47.52=$103.67
Hours worked: 21.25
Calorie totals:556+1152=1708

So April was a pretty good month for our gardens.  May should produce a lot of tomatoes, zucchini, beans(?), peaches, garlic, chard, and carrots.  May is normally a good month for gardening in Phoenix.  While it is dry and the temperatures are getting pretty hot, the temperatures are not so hot that it harms plant production.  June and July are when we really have to protect plants from extreme heat and sun. 

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