I calculated the income from the garden and thought... Is it worth it?
We only have a small vegetable garden near the house, five or six hundred square meters. We plant most of it with vegetables, but there is a small flower garden with a lawn, a spacious yard where grass just grows.
Before there was a family, children, and in old age they were left alone with my husband. But the habit of growing vegetables for the whole family and making preparations remained. As before, we plant a little of everything. Over the years, it becomes difficult to work on the ground, but so far we are coping. It's good that now there is a walk-behind tractor - a big relief.
I have read on the Internet more than once that it is not profitable to maintain a vegetable garden now, and it is useless - everything can be bought in a store or on the market. So I decided to calculate what benefit we have from our small site, and whether it is necessary to do this at all.
I'll start with the basic vegetables you can't do without. We dug 20 buckets of potatoes, although we planted only one bucket and occupied 1 hundred square meters of land.
Onions were collected 5 buckets, carrots - 7 buckets, cabbage - 12 forks.
We especially love tomatoes, so we plant a lot of them, one hundred roots and more. The summer was hot, the harvest was a success, they harvested more than two hundred kilograms of tomatoes and half a centner of cucumbers. Enough for myself, and for the sale of something left.
I will not list such trifles as bell peppers, radishes, zucchini, pumpkin, beets, watermelons and melons - all of this was enough. And greens in the form of parsley, dill, basil, green onions, etc. - more than enough!
Perennial plantings that require a minimum of care were also pleasing this year. Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, cherries, grapes were born as usual. The first harvest was delighted with a pear - two buckets of beautiful, juicy fruits. They put 25 buckets of winter apples in the cellar, not counting the summer varieties that were processed into juice.
I used my calculator to figure out how much money it would take me if I bought all this at the store in the winter? At the most lenient prices, an amount came out that was approximately equal to our two-month monetary income with my husband. Say a little? And for us it is very important.
Yes, we worked all summer. But now we have full bins - fresh, environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits, all kinds of spins, compotes and jams, homemade wine and juices. There is something to feast on and treat guests. We don't even think about abandoning the vegetable garden. I cannot imagine that it will be overgrown with weeds.
Of course, you can set up lawns and flower beds everywhere, as many social media users advise. Only they also require care, and a lot. I also do flowers, and I know that it is laborious. It is necessary to grow seedlings, and weed, and water. In general, it won't give a ride for free, it won't bloom just like that. And the lawns also need to be watered and mowed periodically. There is a lot of work, but little practical use. You will not be full of beauty alone.
I don’t know, maybe I’m too down to earth. But, in my opinion, living on earth and not growing anything useful for yourself is somehow wrong. Even if it is not profitable and not prestigious.
Unfortunately, the children live far away in the city. It is unlikely that they will ever live in a village where there is no work. Over time, perhaps, household plots will become a thing of the past. In the meantime, they are very much even needed, including by the elderly. And what do you think?