How much have we spent on our Urban Farm Startup?



free scrap wood for our compost bins



Being a budget minded person, I really don't want to spend any money that I don't have to.  When we began this project I was also adomate that I did not want our volunteers to constantly have to sow their own money for the survival of the farm startup either.  So what have we done? Well, if I had to choose just two things that will get you off and running, I would say:

Are you going to use that?

What are the three most important factors in Real Estate? Location, location, location!  Well in Urban low budget farm start ups, we have a similar montra.  Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose!  Find anything and everything that can be reused.  We are using 5 gallon pickle buckets from a deli for planting containers. Drill a couple of small holes in the bottom and you're ready! We've scoured local hardware stores for scrap wood that they aren't using, they are more than happy to give it to you to get it off of their lot.* They've also had torn bags of potting soil laying around that they can't sell due to damage, load it up!  We've also asked our volunteers and neighbors for any old gardening tools or pots they have laying around their home collecting dust . It seems everyone has gotten inspired to garden at some time in their life. Some have stuck to it, some haven't. And "spring cleaning" is a great time to help them get rid of their old gardening stuff.  Our rain barrels all came from a plant that gets their products delivered in 55gal drums.** Scour your neighborhood or the local shopping center, use your imagination. If you see something lying around, ask yourself, "How could we use that?" After all, free is the best price!

Build a team!



tomato stakes from discarded road side signs



Would you believe that there are people out there that do what you do better than you? AND, there are people that are gifted with certain talents and abilities that you do not possess? Well there are and they will prove invaluable in your startup process. Our foreman, we call him Pops, is contractor who runs his own handyman/repair/small construction service.  Anytime there was a need for supplies, tools, etc, this guy knew where to find it! I mean literally, I mention wood for beds and a compost bin, he chimes in, "Oh there is a stack of old lumber behind my client's house that she doesn't want, I'll go grab it." AWESOME! I mean we literally fenced in our garden space with chain link fence and wood posts that he got from a construction site FOR FREE! And what is the best price? FREE! Get one of these guys on your team and they will prove invaluable.

A scouter. Do you have someone who has time on their hands during the day? Maybe they work evenings or are retired. In other words, they have some time to run around and find all of the things that the project needs. Our scouter is Trena, she is a hustler boy! She has found us free stakes for our tomato plants, older wood that we are using for our compost bins, and top soil for our beds.



not a great pic, but free topsoil to add to our compost pile



There are many others on our team that I haven't mentioned here. We are very fortunate to have all of them utilizing their talents and abilities for the project. Deb, TC, Lenita, Pops, Josh, Trena, Gail! Moneka, and Chris are all playing vital roles in our growth. 

Moral of the story, if just one or two of us were doing this, we wouldn't be nearly as far along. Our team has the benefit of 10 networks to help get the job done.  Moral of the story? GET A TEAM!!!

How much have we spent?

What are the big costs associated with the project?  Well we haven't had a great deal of cash outlay. We spent $25 on seeds(we had a great deal of seeds donated as well), $15 on some spray paint for the outside of the containers, maybe $50 on hardware for the rain barrels, and some starter soil for our starter cell trays.  Not bad!

We are getting ready to incur our largest expense to date though.  Soil time! Since we have an 8x4 bed, and 8-4x4 beds, we need a good amount of soil and compost.  We're going to need a few truckloads, so the cash outlay will be relatively high compared to what we've already put into the project.  However, I will say this. Your growing medium should be your greatest investment!

We, as humans, make our homes our greatest investment, and rightfully so! We live there, we eat, play, and grow there. It is our hub.  And your plants are no different. This is the environment that will produce hundreds and hundreds of pounds of produce over its lifetime. Starting with the best you can afford and adding to it over the years will pay you back many many times over. If I had to tell you the one area of this project that we are committing to the greatest investment, it is our soil!

So in closing, use your imagination to repurpose and build a team to help.  Both will save you time and money on your project! Get to it!

KD

*depending on what kind of wood you're looking for. If you desire untreated wood, you should ask if it's be en treated with chemicals or pressure treated. It is thought that the chemicals can leak into the soil.

**you should look for food grade barrels. Barrels used for chemicals are unsafe.



Food grade barrels for rain collection