Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

James wrote:
Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

Dried beans aren't a fruit or veg. They're a legume/pulse.

I was HORRIFIED to find that artichokes cost $4.98 each at my market
over the weekend! I know the weather in cali has been bad but I didn't
expect them to triple in price....

Still cheap here are the stuff from Chile/Latin America like mangoes,
papaya, grapes.Everything else seems to be through the roof - even
what's not native to Cali!!

On Feb 15, 5:36 pm, "Jude" wrote:
James wrote:
Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

Dried beans aren't a fruit or veg. They're a legume/pulse.

I was HORRIFIED to find that artichokes cost $4.98 each at my market
over the weekend! I know the weather in cali has been bad but I didn't
expect them to triple in price....

Still cheap here are the stuff from Chile/Latin America like mangoes,
papaya, grapes.Everything else seems to be through the roof - even
what's not native to Cali!!

It's not artichoke season here until around March. The best buys on
those are around that time and at Costco and Sam's Club you can get
huge artichokes, 4 pack, for about $4-$5. Unless we get massive
rainfall in the next month I don't think that'll be a problem. Other
parts of the year artichokes are imported from South America.

On Feb 15, 8:08 pm, "James" wrote:
Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

I shop the sales. THis week broccoli 99 cents a pound, bananas 33
cents a pound. Peaches and plums $0.99 a pound. Carrots are up, as
are most of the citrus.

I also find that the reduced price produce can be worth your while, if
you find a use for it that day.

Today I found 4 packets of the mini-vine tomatoes for $1.29 each
(regularly 3-4.99), a pair of red peppers, some eggplant and apples.
Had to cut out about a 2" square from the peppers, the eggplant was a
little soft but not off, and the tomatoes were perfect. I threw most
of that stuff into a beef stew that's simmering away, and the rest
into salad. The peppers worked out to $1.10 a pound, the eggplant
closer to 59 cents. Some of the apples were tonight's dessert,
washed, cored and filled with raisins, nuts, brown sugar and spices.
The rest which are fine, will go into our lunches and snacks the next
couple of days.

maxine in ri

One way we like bargain apples is to core them, slice them in wedges, and
then drizzle the pieces with melted peanut butter...MMMM they are very good
that way.


"maxine in ri" wrote in message
oups.com...
closer to 59 cents. Some of the apples were tonight's dessert,
washed, cored and filled with raisins, nuts, brown sugar and spices.
The rest which are fine, will go into our lunches and snacks the next
couple of days.

"James" wrote

Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

The best bang for the buck would be frozen vegetables.

nancy

James wrote:
Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

The best bang for your buck is a small hydroponics system. See the 11
plant system at http://hydroponicsonline.com There is a learning curve
and a high startup cost, but it has been worth it to me. Just be
prepared for more food than you expected!

Read a basic book first. I suggest "Hydroponics for the Home Gardener:
An easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide for growing healthy vegetables,
herbs and house plants without soil" by Kenyon & Resh

A search at Amazon.com on "Howard M. Resh" will prvide you with several
titles worth reading,

Read about companion planting at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html

Dick

On Feb 15, 9:54�pm, (Dick Adams) wrote:
James wrote:
Produce is high these days. *Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. *I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

The best bang for your buck is a small hydroponics system. *See the 11
plant system athttp://hydroponicsonline.com*There is a learning curve
and a high startup cost, but it has been worth it to me. *Just be
prepared for more food than you expected!

Read a basic book first. *I suggest "Hydroponics for the Home Gardener:
An easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide for growing healthy vegetables,
herbs and house plants without soil" by Kenyon & Resh

A search at Amazon.com on "Howard M. Resh" will prvide you with several
titles worth reading,

Read about companion planting athttp://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html

For the average home gardener an inexpensive fence and some netting
works just fine... I don't think very many families will be interested
in investing in like $40,000 worth of arbortorium to grow a dozen
heads of lettuce and a few pounds of green beans.

Sheldon

Sheldon wrote:
(Dick Adams) wrote:
James wrote:

Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

The best bang for your buck is a small hydroponics system. See the 11
plant system athttp://hydroponicsonline.com. There is a learning curve
and a high startup cost, but it has been worth it to me. Just be
prepared for more food than you expected!

Read a basic book first. I suggest "Hydroponics for the Home Gardener:
An easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide for growing healthy vegetables,
herbs and house plants without soil" by Kenyon & Resh

A search at Amazon.com on "Howard M. Resh" will prvide you with several
titles worth reading,

Read about companion planting at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html

For the average home gardener an inexpensive fence and some netting
works just fine... I don't think very many families will be interested
in investing in like $40,000 worth of arbortorium to grow a dozen
heads of lettuce and a few pounds of green beans.

The 11 plant system mmentioned above is a less than $150 DIY project
including 20 gal resevoir, water pump, air stone, and timer. The major
upfront cost in hydroponics is lighting and I spent around $400 for that.
Big advantages are no weed, no birds, rabbits, deer, or groundhogs having
their meals at your expense. Plus you get year-round planting as in fresh
tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, bell peppers, etc. 12 months a year.

True you don't need it if you're living alone, but a family of four or
more can save beaucoup dollars - without $40,000 worth of arbortorium.

Dick

In article ,
says...
Sheldon wrote:
(Dick Adams) wrote:
James wrote:

Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

The best bang for your buck is a small hydroponics system. See the 11
plant system athttp://hydroponicsonline.com. There is a learning curve
and a high startup cost, but it has been worth it to me. Just be
prepared for more food than you expected!

Read a basic book first. I suggest "Hydroponics for the Home Gardener:
An easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide for growing healthy vegetables,
herbs and house plants without soil" by Kenyon & Resh

A search at Amazon.com on "Howard M. Resh" will prvide you with several
titles worth reading,

Read about companion planting at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html

For the average home gardener an inexpensive fence and some netting
works just fine... I don't think very many families will be interested
in investing in like $40,000 worth of arbortorium to grow a dozen
heads of lettuce and a few pounds of green beans.

The 11 plant system mmentioned above is a less than $150 DIY project
including 20 gal resevoir, water pump, air stone, and timer. The major
upfront cost in hydroponics is lighting and I spent around $400 for that.
Big advantages are no weed, no birds, rabbits, deer, or groundhogs having
their meals at your expense. Plus you get year-round planting as in fresh
tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, bell peppers, etc. 12 months a year.

True you don't need it if you're living alone, but a family of four or
more can save beaucoup dollars - without $40,000 worth of arbortorium.


It depends on where you live. I just have a standard one yearly
crop of tomatoes, capsicums, and beans. But my local climate
lets me do lettuce, spinach, and onions year-round.

Also, I don't have any big problems with animals. And I could
just do cheap fencing anyway.

On the other hand, I would probably try hydroponics if I had the
indoor space. Just for the experience.


--
Want Privacy?
http://www.MinistryOfPrivacy.com/

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 07:06:53 -0000, (Dick Adams) wrote:

The best bang for your buck is a small hydroponics system. See the 11
plant system athttp://hydroponicsonline.com. There is a learning curve
and a high startup cost, but it has been worth it to me. Just be
prepared for more food than you expected!

I have some problems with the whole concept of hydroponics. I hold a degree in
agriculture from a major school, so I do have some basis for my disagreement
with hydroponic gardening. I argued this with professors also.

1. I believe hydroponic gardens can too easily be infested with disease.

2. I fear that growing in water rather than soil may cause the resulting food
to be of less vitamin/ mineral value. Science has yet to identify all the
benefits or disadvantages of the many compounds in soil. Still, there is
evidence that iron poor soil produces iron poor vegetables. Where are the
minerals in hydroponics.

3. Hydroponics must be one of the highest maintenance ways to grow vegetables.

Vandy Terre wrote:
....author lost in the sea of quotes...
The best bang for your buck is a small hydroponics system.

I have some problems with the whole concept of hydroponics. I hold a degree in
agriculture from a major school, so I do have some basis for my disagreement
with hydroponic gardening. I argued this with professors also.

The world is enriched by having diverse viewpoints.

1. I believe hydroponic gardens can too easily be infested with disease.

Hydroponic gardens can be easily sterilized. This is, in fact, one of
their greatest selling points. Soil isn't as easy to completely clean.

2. I fear that growing in water rather than soil may cause the resulting food
to be of less vitamin/ mineral value.

I believe a great deal of research has gone into this issue and, for
the most part, it was found that it's not a problem as long as the
plant is supplied the right materials. One method that I've heard of
uses worm castings to a large extent. This means they have to grow
worms as well but it doesn't seem to be too difficult.

3. Hydroponics must be one of the highest maintenance ways to grow vegetables.

Hydroponics can be largely automated. It's still a bit of work but the
advantage is that it produces many times over soil farming. On the basis
of the amount of harvested crop, the hydroponics may be much less work.

Anthony

James wrote:
Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

Try using bird netting to cover your fruit trees, I use it with great
success to keep the grackles and squirrels out of the several fruit
trees I have. A good cat or small dog will keep them out of your garden
area. My rat terrier does a fine job of running squirrels and birds out
of the veggie garden, doesn't even try to kill them, just enjoys running
them off.

Biggest bang for your buck is growing your own. We canned 42 pints of
green beans last year from a 24 foot row of Bush Blue Lake green beans.
Plenty of broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes,
and various greens too. More than enough to feed the wife and I plus
extras for the dog, who enjoys veggies.

George

On Feb 16, 9:19 am, George Shirley wrote:
James wrote:
Produce is high these days. Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

Try using bird netting to cover your fruit trees, I use it with great
success to keep the grackles and squirrels out of the several fruit
trees I have. A good cat or small dog will keep them out of your garden
area. My rat terrier does a fine job of running squirrels and birds out
of the veggie garden, doesn't even try to kill them, just enjoys running
them off.

Biggest bang for your buck is growing your own. We canned 42 pints of
green beans last year from a 24 foot row of Bush Blue Lake green beans.
Plenty of broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes,
and various greens too. More than enough to feed the wife and I plus
extras for the dog, who enjoys veggies.

George

It's pretty hard to net a 30' high tree.

Once a bird was under the grape netting. It found a way in but
couldn't find a way out. Trouble with fruits is if you're the only
one growing them every bird and animal in the neighborhood stops by
for a snack.

On Feb 16, 9:57�am, "James" wrote:
On Feb 16, 9:19 am, George Shirley wrote:





James wrote:
Produce is high these days. *Cheapest for me for 5 daily store bought
fruit & vege servings a banana, cabbage, dry beans, carrot, squash.

Home grown is even more expensive because animals and birds eat my
fruits before they ripe. *I do however get a few odd veges and a good
crop of tomatoes and garlic each year.

Try using bird netting to cover your fruit trees, I use it with great
success to keep the grackles and squirrels out of the several fruit
trees I have. A good cat or small dog will keep them out of your garden
area. My rat terrier does a fine job of running squirrels and birds out
of the veggie garden, doesn't even try to kill them, just enjoys running
them off.

Biggest bang for your buck is growing your own. We canned 42 pints of
green beans last year from a 24 foot row of Bush Blue Lake green beans.
Plenty of broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes,
and various greens too. More than enough to feed the wife and I plus
extras for the dog, who enjoys veggies.

George

It's pretty hard to net a 30' high tree.

Once a bird was under the grape netting. *It found a way in but
couldn't find a way out. *Trouble with fruits is if you're the only
one growing them every bird and animal in the neighborhood stops by
for a snack.

What type of tree... orchard/grove trees are typically no more than
15' tall... sounds like yours need serious pruning.... how are you
harvesting fruit 30' up? If your trees are kept tall primarily for
shade/specimen planting then there's nothing much to be done about
marauders. My vegetable garden is fenced with 5' turkey wire, but it
also contains blueberry bushes and strawberry plants, those get
netted. I also employ plastic owls (Cabela's has the best prices),
those keep a lot of birds away... I also have a few whirlagigs
attached to the fence, the constant whirring, clacking, and the fence
vibrating keeps a lot of poachers away. With netting it's not
necessary to cover completely, in fact no matter how carefully you
apply the netting some birds will find their way in... so the trick is
to leave a few escape routes... the little a couple three birds eat
won't hardly be noticed... and having some birds is very helpful, they
eat beetles and cut worms, they also help fertilize.

Sheldon