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The Greenest Investment You'll Make This Year

For 20 years, GRuB's Kitchen Garden Project has been building vegetable gardens in partnership with people of low-income. This year, GRuB is piloting a program to build gardens for people of all income levels on a sliding fee scale. Food Investment Gardens (FIG) will help even more community members jump-start their 2014 gardens.

We all know gardening is a good thing, but is a garden investment worth the sizeable up-front costs?

The numbers vary. The Department of Agriculture says the average return is $10 worth of crops grown for $1 of seed. Burpee Seed Company argues that a gardener can get an average return of $25 worth of produce for every $1 worth of seed you plant with green beans being the most lucrative and potatoes the least.

In recent years, GRuB's KGP gardeners have weighed everything they've produced from their three 4x8' raised beds, and calculated over $600 of produce in one year. The beds should last around five years, meaning some $3,000 worth of produce. The gardens themselves cost GRuB about $500 to put in.

If having your own garden isn't a good fit for you, there are many other ways to get involved with GRuB. Sign up online at www.goodgrub.org for the GRuB CSA and have a box of farm fresh vegetables waiting for you weekly, or register for Bouquet CSA to display our flowers at your business or home. To volunteer, you can drop by any Wednesday from 3-6pm or contact farm@goodgrub.org to schedule a group.


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Updated 2015/01/07 21:14:22