Over the last few weeks, people in the West have become very interested in sustainable and independent food production.
Google Trends for "grow your own food"
As the March 2020 incomplete datum suggest (dashed line), there has been a recent increase in search activity, and this increase does not appear to be explained by a seasonal bump in the spring planting season compared to the last couple years. Instead, the search interest appears to be closer to the level seen in the Great Recession and its aftermath. Like we saw in 2007-2008, when people are faced with economic uncertainty, they have a renewed interest in being able to cultivate their own food.
Economic food production
On the internet, there are many blogs and channels that show vegetables gardens that are gorgeous and lush. But I often wonder how much the fruits of the gardens cost given the enormous cost of inputs. I know someone with a social media platform that paid $7,000 for a hen house. People who want to grow food for security probably aren't primary interested in the aesthetics or hobby aspects. Instead, they grow food for the reason I do: to have an economic, secure source of nutrition.
Doing the math
To show that you can grow food that is much better than what is available at the grocery store for much cheaper, I will keep track of all my inputs for this season and estimate my output at season end. I have included all my expenses to date at the end of this post, and I will try to update at the end of each month.
One man gathers what another man spills
I keep my expenses low by constantly scavenging inputs year round. Much to my wife's chagrin, I am constantly pulling over in town to throw other people's garbage in the trunk from bags of leaves to building scrap.
Our old agitator washer finally died a month ago. The replacement parts were more than the cost of a new one, so I broke down and bought a new one. The appliance store wanted to charge me $50 to haul away the old one, which I of course declined (pay you to take valuable scrap?). Using other scrap materials, I made a cold frame to grow and harden off my seedlings.
Cold frame for seed starting
Up north, folks use cold frames to start hardy plants like kale and save the grow lights for seedlings like tomatoes that aren't cold resistant. Down south, we can transplant out into a cold frame very early in the season. So I start my seeds under a fluorescent shop light in the barn, and then move quickly out to periods in the cold frame.
To build one from scrap, I took apart the washer completely. I put aside the casing for a rabbit hutch. To get out the ceramic drum that the clothes sit in, I had my boys hit on the plastic exterior with hammers when they got home from school to blow off some steam. I removed the motor.
Adding an old window I picked up off the curb, I now have a portable cold frame.
These disadvantages of this design are:
- It is deeper than you want. I will mitigate that by placing it in direct sun.
- It has holes in the sides. Down South, this ventilation will be fine but up north you probably wouldn't want the winter wind and snow blowing in.
But for my purposes I think it will do but I appreciate any feedback on the design.
Appendix: Expenses January 2020-March 2020
| Expense | Amount (USD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Seeds and sets | 14 | |
| Chicken feed | 100* | |
| Pine shavings | 11 |