Growing Challenge Month 2

Move over weather and sport, Melbourne officially has another talking point!  We are one month into a year-long growing experiment, the purpose of which is to record how much value we can yield during four gentle Melbourne seasons. The patch is looking great, boasting a handsome blend of leafy greens and high-value herbs.  While the mint and endive have not yet taken off, the cameo appearance of some pea shoots have provided a micro-green boost to the garden.

It goes without saying, this is not an overly scientific study, but we did call in a few experts for approximate prices.  Our friends at Taxi Dining Room came up with a value of $3.80/100g for organic pea shoots and the IGA hotline offered a price of $20.00/kg for loose greens and $3.00/16g of fresh herbs.  These values very well may be sloppy approximations and we are relying on the blogosphere to check our work.  

It's important to mention that although we are tracking the monetary value of our yield, there is much more to gardening than a few crops.  Throughout the month the veggie patch has been the subject of conversations and a personal space for collecting thoughts.  It has been a reason to go outside and, at times, a place for a cheap drink and a unique date.  It is a place where children get excited to eat Kale.  We can't quantify these things, but let it be known that the value is far beyond a bag full of lettuce.

Eureka!  The jig is up!  The jury is in!  How much did we make?

46g Mint @ $3.00/16g = $8.63

420g Leafy Greens @ $20.00/kg = $8.40

95g Pea Shoots @ $3.80/100g = $3.61

TOTAL= $20.64

All told, this isn't a bad harvest, particularly considering that we have yet to touch the parsley, endive, and mustard greens.  If we had spent less time admiring our garden and more time getting a continuous harvest from the leafy greens we could have encouraged a bit more growth as well.  We are looking forward to a boost in growth this coming month and will take a more aggressive approach harvesting.  Can we double our output?  See you in next time...

Music by Roud Lee