It would be difficult (and time-consuming) to add that up, but especially if you buy organic vegetables, you will save money. Last year I purchased two kale plants and at the time I bought them I thought they were sort of expensive, I think they were over a dollar apiece. But they produced enormous amounts of kale for many months, until our weather got really hot in the early summer. I think I could have kept them alive through the summer if I had tried, but I needed the space for other things, and by then the kale leaves were tasting bitter. But for all those months, I noticed that organic kale of the same variety at the farmers market was about $4 a bunch. If I had bought just one bunch each week I guess would have saved between $80 and $100 just on kale. I was eating at least that much of it, and giving more away. Then there was the organic looseleaf lettuce I grew. I paid $2 or $3 for a large packet of mixed seed (still using it this year) and also supplied myself, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Organic lettuce was going for $2 to $3 a head but since I cut my lettuce leaves with scissors and let them regrow from the roots, I used the same plants all fall and winter and spring and saved an awful lot of money for myself and others. Beets were another good example. They are ridiculously easy to grow and a seed packet seems to last a lifetime. Yet organic beets (heck, even non-organic fresh beets) are very expensive at the market. Not every vegetable provides such a drastic cost comparison, of course. Zucchini squash is usually pretty cheap at the store, and of course it produces so much on the vine that you want to pay people to take it off your hands. Some other vegetables can be bought cheaply, although if you buy only organic vegetables most of those will cost twice as much as non-organic and that makes your cost comparison with homegrown a little more meaningful. But as most every gardener points out, the taste of homegrown food is much better, and the knowledge that food you grew yourself is safe for you and your family is priceless. When you factor in pride of accomplishment, convenience at cooking time, and the joy and pleasure of being close to nature, the value of gardening rises exponentially.

I have six acres of all woody plants. I allowed them room to all grow in a "park setting" my father calls it. My first plants were at an apartment from where I worked at a nursery in Portland OR. I had a few tomatoes in pots; A Crocosmia 'Lucifer' in a pot; A yellow Lantana in a pot; And 'Peter Pan' Agapanthus. My first shrub purchase for my next apartment was an escallonia. After a year of working in the nursery and literally starting with no knowledge & learning annuals and perennials and shrubs and trees and carrying a book at all times, my boss took me aside and we went for a stroll and she asked me what my favorite plant was and I didn't know, but I told her I liked shrubs and trees. She walked me over to a Rhus in fall color and said 'this is a good one' sort of poking me to really pursue my interest in woody plants. I returned to IL eventually and began another job at a nursery and during my interview I was asked what my favorite tree was and I said Acer griseum - paperbark maple - that was 12 years ago. I still knew the perennials and annuals but they were fillers in my mind to what I "wanted" to accomplish and what I've been doing the last decade +...... a labeled woody plant collection which began at a city residence and (time flies) it's been 6-years now I've lived in the country on my six acres. Between my garage and sidewalk which is a spot about 25' in distance, my Mom convinced me to (this year) put in a perennial garden. I used to grow trees there. I admit she was right that having some flowers is good. That's as far as I'll go though. I do grow 500 sunflowers a year to feed the birds all winter, however... it's a crop for me and I do enjoy watching them grow. And, for the past 2 years I've planted mainly fruit trees. Next spring more fruit trees and a 14 variety arbor of grapes is going in. Space is becoming limited. Dax

It isn't that I'm so wonderfully organized, Pam, I require some help in remembering what I want to do. Sometimes I come inside and remember that I had a wonderful thought about adding something to a certain spot, but I've already forgotten what it was. I can't remember what bloomed in April as compared with May. Sometimes when I read my notes, if there isn't a photo with them, I am not sure what they mean. Today I looked at a file with nicotiana and lilies together and a note about purple nicotiana that I don't remember at all, and it is only a month old. If there isn't a note with the plants I'm about to plant, they'll go in the wrong places when I get distracted. You all can feel free to worry about me at any time. If I kept all my plans 'in my head' they would rapidly leak out. There's just too much to remember it all. Nell

Dee, I like your idea of putting all the small tools in a five gallon bucket and bringing it with you. I think I am going to try my version of that with a two wheeler and a small beach umbrella. I like bringing shade with me and having a two wheeler to move something if I need it. I also have a way of using the 5 gallon bucket as a work surface while sitting on a riding seat. I had fun putting the whole thing together too. Had lots of places to put things like my water bottle, etc. I did that two summers ago and I forget what happened that I didn't last year. I could move into one of those sheds tomorrow too Dee. Might make a nice get away, right in the backyard. Bring out a cooler and a comfortable chair, a few gardening magazines...make a day of it. :-) Linda, the umbrella is a nice idea when you have to use a space that is too sunny and it helps when it rains to keep things dry if you haven't got any cover. I also made a decision to try using the garage for one season and clear out an area that would be the same size as a small shed and see how it works before I commit to having a shed. sooey, you sound pretty organized to me! pm2