Not cheaper than dirt

Gardening season is upon us and nothing can be more disappointing than not having any dirt to garden in.  There is a country song in which the lyrics are something like “The only ground I ever owned was sticking to my shoes”.  I have felt that way this spring.  We a currently renting and share a yard so it probably won’t be good if I started digging it up.  Therefore my dreams of gardening are relegated to the front steps and the square of concrete at the backdoor where our trash can sits.  But if there is a will then there is a way.  My goal is to grow a garden and actually use the produce for cooking (that a completely different adventure but we will cross that bridge when our plants actually have veggies.)  I went to a class on container gardening a few weeks ago and decided that maybe I could make my garden a reality this year.  The past week I have been busy finding planters, getting seeds and plants, planning what will be grown and where, and planting everything.  This has led me to discovery what the price of dirt is if you don’t have any of your own.  Actually I have been buying potting mix that is “soilless” so I’m not even getting any dirt in the bargain.  Some women are compulsive when it comes to buying shoes.  This week I have been hunting around for the best deals on dirt and hauling it around to and fro.  I actually ran the numbers comparing the price of potting mix to buying an acre of irrigated land.  I was quoted the price of an acre of irrigated land at $6000.  If I were to buy enough potting mix to cover an acre it would cost $62,000.  That's a 10 times increase.  I guess since I only have about 10 square feet it is about 1000 times less work.

My other project has been building a self-watering planter.  Gardens in containers need watered fairly often and I don’t have access to water at our back door.  Also I would like our plants to have a chance at surviving if we are gone during the summer.  I watched a few YouTube video and then went hunting for the supplies—yogurt containers and a storage tote.  One evening while making dinner on the stove I was also using an utility knife to cut through the storage tote and had the power drill handy for making about 100 drainage holes.  I just got these planters finished and put in my tomatoes, squash, and zucchini—we will see what happens.

As for other experiments, Dennis, our worms, is doing quite well.  They survived our honeymoon and have really been going to town eating our food scraps.  There has been a noticeable increase in the compost material in the container. 

I find myself looking at gardening ideas on Pinterest, swapping gardening ideas with patients, and looking forward to checking on my plants each day.  Arthur probably thinks I’m crazy but hopefully he knew that before he married me.  So for the next few months I will be happily digging around in my containers with dirt under my fingernails because it is my dirt. Omnia Vincit Amor.