Dirt and Plastic... More Expensive Than You'd Think

Trying to keep the first entry relatively short, I skipped over some important information.

1. We rent.
2. Our yard is wood chipped.
3. Starting a garden without dirt sucks.

If I had known two years ago when we moved in that I would try to document this project, I might have had a picture of the yard. Not being able to find any, the only previous evidence is from a barbeque for my birthday last year.


Yes, that is a bounce house for my 25th birthday. It was awesome.

While the wood chips gave the yard a clean and maintained look to begin with, it made gardening problematic. Small pots were easy enough to come by, either from friends or found at thrift stores, but anything large enough to support a vegetable garden required a bit more cash. Of course even after we got the planters we still needed dirt, and specifically something healthy enough to grow Things We Would Eat. Several trips later to Home Depot and Sloat Garden Center, we had several large plastic planters, dirt, some plants, a shopper's high... and an empty wallet.

Who wants to do the math with me?
$16 x 6 planters for the vegetables + $20ish for 2 bags of organic potting soil, 2 cubic ft. each.

WOW. Pretty expensive lettuce.

That's not even the whole garden. We also bought several tall planters, a lemon tree, a small tomato plant, and some decorative grasses and such. Of course, the chickens destroyed some of the plants on the first day... which I should have seen coming but totally ignored. We did figure out to put the coop inside the underused dog run (now chicken run) and although the little hawk one still gets out, we have most of the damage under control.

Current tally of the Sustainable Yard (which feels not so financially sustainable, but whatever)

PLANTS.
Just about $250 for plants, seeds, containers, and dirt.
Expected Benefits- tomatoes, lemons, butter lettuce, spinach, baby bok choy, onions, and green beans. (Also growing in the yard and house, basil and what is left of the rosemary)

CHICKENS.
Also somewhere between $250-$300 so far for food, supplies, medical visit, and new chickens.
Expected Benefits- yummy, yummy eggs. So far, about three a week, but when the younger ones start laying in August, closer to a dozen. There's also keeping the weeds down (sorta) and the fertilizer once we start composting.

As much as it feels like a waste, the chicken run, planters, and dirt were the majority of spending and those only needed to be bought once. Also, I probably spent more than was necessary, but that is part of my nature. I feel like as much as costs, it was still a good investment. Especially since the first sprouts have started to come out this week.

Expect lots of dancing.