I think the original statement was pretty general, and could in some cases, be true. Overall, I feel like I save some money from my gardening. Initially, there was some "capital outlay" for tools. We splurged and bought a used Troy-bilt tiller the third year we had a garden. But we still have it 12 years later, and it's made short work in creating new gardens at our last two houses. I buy some seeds cheaply, but do sometimes splurge on new varieties as I enjoy trying something new. (This is part of health benefits--relaxation, doing something I really enjoy!). I have tried, in most cases to do things as cheaply as possible--I make compost, recycle containers, start lots of my own plants. If I charged for the plants I give away or tried to sell extra produce instead of giving it to friends, I could probably completely offset my input costs, but I get pleasure from giving those things away. As my boys have grown, I've had to work my gardening in around their activities; so I don't always get things done in the garden when I'd like which probably reduces my yields. I still do way more canning and freezing than the average working mom, and I love to watch my friends eyes grow round when I pop the lid on a pint of homemade salsa in January. Putting it all together, I'd say the health and economic benefits of the garden outway the costs for our family.

Thanks once again Bean counter! The color does not bother me if it is indeed harmless. It is one sign of Aster Yellows though, as are the curling leaves. The plants do have enough water, so that is not the problem. I had my soil tested and it is too high in iron, so I don't think that is the problem. I read in Tracy DiSabato-Aust's book that Phlox are heavy feeders that like Alkaline soil. My soil's PH is slightly high at 7.3, which may reduce the iron intake, but the plant does like the ph high. The soil test did not state nitrogen. Perhaps I should add some 1-0-0 to the area with the Phlox. But this still does not explain the curling leaves. :c( Funny, my Siberian Iris is doing absolutely fantastic this year, and that plant likes it acid. Go figure. I see the overall concensus is that it is not the aster yellows virus, so I will leave them in. As far as the Aphids. What happens to them when they get washed off? I would imagine that they just crawl back on some other plant??? Another reason I am not hesitant to use the insecticide this year is that Aster Yellows is spread by the leaf miner. I only planted a few coneflowers this year, but would hate to loose them, my phlox, veronica, and a few others that can get the virus. Ken

Things are busy here and things are changing. The land I am growing on is being sold, so soon I'll be split between two locations. The new location is bigger, 4.5 acres, so I'm happy. I don't have a big tractor so I'm going to hire someone to plow and disc it the first time. I am sticking with my 50-share CSA plan, but now I am going to bump up the Fall garden to 1.5 acres and plant another half acre for a Winter market garden(hopefully I will have great markets like you Jay). I have a good location so I'm thinking of setting up a market at my garden instead of selling somewhere. What do you think? At the current location, I'm pretty much just harvesting, putting shares together, and trying to keep the insects under control. I did one last weeding and put a heavy layer of mulch on the beds last week in preparation for Summer. I planted 200 sweet potato plants a couple days before I found out about the plans to sell the land. Hopefully development won't begin until late Fall. The cool season stuff is about finished, and all of the warm-season crops are being harvested except, Okra, watermelons, cantaloupes, and cowpeas. I started my peppers really early this year and it paid off. I'm picking every type of pepper except for the habaneros and Red Marconis. I've already ordered some Winter squashes, melons, cucumbers, and summers squashes for the Fall and have seeded peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes. What type of Fall tomatoes have been your best? I started a lot of cherries because they are fast and set fruit good in the heat. I also started a lot of Early Wonder, Kimberly, and Fla 91 as well as a few early and mid-season heirlooms. I plan on leaving the cherries uncovered. With the rest I am going to use 20 ft pvc to make 10 ft-wide high tunnels covered with greenhouse plastic once lows dip into the 50's. Pete

Yup, i planted purple flowers to bloom in june and july flowers for july. is anything going to bloom in august? Why do my cats do their 'thing' in freshly turned over dirt right before I plant? Why do i try to grow roses when i know it attracts japenese beetles to the garden? and they are just terrible this year! Why doesn't my russian sage grow big? my mom's is huge! Its very puny looking. yuck. I am going on a garden tour sunday and plan on taking a good hard look at the colors blooming in other peoples gardens. that being said, i guess I plant the colors that appeal to me the most..purples, pink, blues, white and soft yellow. NO orange for me. It's been a real pleasure to garden this year after the terrible heat and drought of last year. I was thinking last nite that this is what gardening is about as I puttered here and there.