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.

Dcarch, those things are works of art!!! Okay, Foose4string comes the closest to my version: English muffin cut in 1/2, so you end up with 2 open faced sandwiches Thick slice of current favorite ripe tomato Couple of basil leaves Drizzle of olive oil (no mayo for me) Fresh ground pepper Slice of mozzarella or provolone Place in toaster oven until cheese starts to ooze over the sides. Napkins definitely required! Bonnie

I've been thinking about this a lot since it was first posted. I'm not sure I'll be very coherent, but my rambling will make sense (mostly) in my head. We bought this house/property 5.5 yrs ago, it was a neglected house, but the lot was to-die-for (middle of town, near a great park, LARGE (for in town), 7 minute commute to work, on a corner, with lots of mature trees). We stalked it for years prior while the old lady went off her rocker (sadly not exaggerating) as we lived just 2 blocks away. So that's part of our crazy plan- to not contribute to sprawl (it just makes me sad). I live in an area of the most fertile soil in the world- we should not be building houses here. So doing a demo/in-fill makes my heart feel a little joy. We want to create a legacy for our children. I know they may move away and not want this house when we die, but I hope it can be paid for and provided to them as an inheritance. Or maybe they'll want it b/c we're hoping it really creates a love of 'home' and family. We hope to do a lot of the work ourselves (being big DIYers and having done almost everything to the 2 homes we've lived in) and hope to involve the kids in some of that work so that they have some ownership. I really want to create a home with minimal maintenance as the last 2 homes have been non-stop with one thing or another. Like today when our kitchen sink was running slow and after snaking it it was fine- only to go to the basement and realize all water was now backing up from the floor drain. As if mowing, trimming bushes, and cleaning off the back porch from winter wasn't enough to keep us busy today. So new construction is a must. I get water in the basement every time it rains, the joists are termite eaten, there's adequate space (another 200 sq ft would be PERFECT), but it's not built for accessibility for overnight guests and my FIL is in a wheelchair (as is MIL, but she doesn't stay with us) and my mother has had 2 hip replacements and 2 spine surgeries. 1st floor guest room is also a must. When we bought this house we interviewed architects to see about an addition and major remodel- for 17K more the builder/designer could demo the existing house and build the same sq footage as a shell, BUT NEW (my eyes and ears and back like the sounds of that!). That sold us on living here and making do with 3 layers of wallpaper in the dining room, floor that are mushy, a 1 person kitchen, no tub, on and on and on. So we're living in the house until it's paid off so that we can get more of what we want. In the meantime we will continue to play around with plans and have done lots of reading and research. There are some things we'll be able to re-use- some light fixtures, the garage door opener, faucets, all the appliances, and I'm hoping to buy some things in advance and just store until needed. My husband and I agree on quality over quantity. We don't want a McMansion, we both want a rectangle (Colonial). Preferably one that's more energy efficient than our current home (not hard to do), and keeps us warm/cool/dry. A place to live in for as long as I can conceivably live alone (my grandma made it to 95 with her hardy Midwestern genes). The most current set of tinkering plans have very little in the way of compromise- I think if we can do that and actually build the thing we can call it a success and check something off our bucket list while drinking coffee sitting in our screened-in porch on a Sunday morning knowing all we have to do is mow and trim bushes (and maybe clean off said porch :)).

While there are 'uses' for the used soil, I wouldn't reuse it AS a soil, in part because of the increased likelihood of it harboring disease organisms, but primarily because of it's advanced state of decay, more specifically because of the fact that it will be broken down into particles much finer than the the size of particles when it was originally pressed into service. This fine particle size reduces aeration and increases water retention in what odds say was already problematic or borderline so in those areas. If you can find pine bark in an appropriate size, you can make a soil, using your old soil as a smaller fraction of what you're making ..... and gain a substantial savings for your effort. More on that if you're interested. You can over-winter your eastern white cedars ('cedars' being a misnomer) in their pots, but in order to maintain top vitality it will almost certainly be necessary to repot in the spring - preferably into a medium that allows you to water appropriately. More on that too, if you have interest. BTW, how you should or can successfully over-winter them depends on where you live. Al