Project Update #1

I started my personal project today (recap: my goal is to grow as much food as possible on a budget, both indoors and out). After this weekend's light frost scared the summer tomatoes right out of me, Heidi (my girlfriend) and I decided to convert our little garden (32 square feet) to fall mode. With tears in our eyes, we ripped out our beloved jalapeños, bell peppers, okra, squash, cucumbers, basil, and tomatoes that composed our summer garden, which earned us $60 GSE (explained below). Usually, this needs to happen sometime in August or early September, to give your fall plants enough time to mature below the hard frosts hit, but I've had a secret plan this year - to build a cold frame!

The goal here is to extend the growing season as long as possible. I'm shooting for harvesting until winter break (lower those eyebrows, disbelievers!). I considered cold frames, hoop houses, and several other wacky designs, but I settled on this, which I call the Bum Shack Garden:

My Bum Shack Garden. It still needs a larger tarp.

Why did I design it like this? Here is a list of things the finished product must accomplish:

1. Plants must be kept warm, especially at night
2. Plants and soil must be protected from snow and heavy rain
3. Cover must be able to be removed during sunny days
4. Garden plot must be protected from bunnies and squirrels at all times
5. Plants must be easy to access for watering, weeding, and harvesting
6. Materials must cost less than $25 total

So you see, frames and hoops just wouldn't cut it because they wouldn't meet criterion #4 (and probably #6). In the end, I scavenged the wood and screws from nearby dumpsters and abandoned lots (the raised bed already existed). We planted four hardy plants, so named for their ability to withstand frost, in order based on height. As demonstrated in the photo below, the fully grown plants will be stepped in a southern orientation to avoid shading from the low winter sun. We planted lettuce, spinach, and peas as seed, and the cauliflower as seedlings, since we found them cheap at May's Greenhouse.

A sophisticated diagram of how I arranged the plants to avoid shading each other despite the low southern sun. From left to right in equal fourths plants are lettuce (Black-Seeded Simpson), spinach (America heirloom variety), cauliflower (Snow Crown), and common sugar snap peas.

Our garden has had a plastic fence around it (see first photo below), but apparently the Indiana climate doesn't allow plastic to be outside for more than a few months. I replaced it with chicken wire, which is reusable and sturdier (apparently bunnies chew through plastic - Megan I hear your "no s**t" all the way from here), but it cost me $8. A new plastic cover will cost me $10, and the seeds and seedlings cost $5, bringing the project total to $23. I try to minimize costs to ensure that the veggies we're getting are cheaper than the store or farmer's market. From now on, I'll value harvested food in GSE, or "grocery-store equivalent", dollars. For accounting simplicity, I'm considering the cost of labor (construction, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting) equal to the benefit received from getting to garden daily and the warm fuzzies you get every time you eat something you've grown.

Heidi and last year's fall garden - lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli. A very successful harvest; probably $30 GSE (but as much in construction and seed purchase).

Heidi helps build the frame for this year's fall garden.

The "ribcage" is set, and a fun little sign is added as a flourish (an old IN license plate with a rain gauge on top - trash art is sort of my signature)

A little fence is added to give the peas something to climb on (they only have two feet, though), and leftover wood scraps are put on top to prevent the plastic sheet covering from sagging under weight of rain, snow, or wind. 

Unrelated to this post, but related to my project: Heidi and classmate Calley discussing the results of our canning session (classmate Landon was there, too).

Canned tomatoes, peaches, and salsa.

Last year's cabbages. Have a great week!