Setting Goals and Budgets for the Garden - Ep. 231

[00:00:00] Okay, my gardening friend, tell me this. Why are you gardening? Did you start gardening during the pandemic because everything was locked down and you were at home all the time and you needed some sort of contact with another living thing and that living thing just ended up being plants? Or is gardening something that you grew up doing and just automatically continued as adult?

[00:00:22] Do you garden to reduce the family food budget? Or maybe your goal is to grow all of your family's produce for the entire year. Maybe it's just a way to get outside and get some fresh air and some exercise and it just feels good to tend to something.

[00:00:39] In order to know what we want out of our garden, we have to know why we're gardening. That why is going to help us determine our goals. It's also going to help dictate exactly how ambitious we get in terms of what we grow, how much space we use, how much we're willing to invest, the types of tools and supplies we buy, all the things.

[00:01:01] So today on Just Grow Something, we're going to look at our why and how knowing the answer can help us set our goals for this gardening season and maybe even our budget. Let's dig in.

[00:01:15] Hey, I'm Karen. I started gardening in a small corner of my suburban backyard and now 18 years later, I've got a degree in horticulture and operate a 40-acre market farm.

[00:01:24] I believe there is power in food and that everyone should know how to grow at least a little bit of their own.

[00:01:29] On this podcast, I share evidence-based techniques to help you plant, grow, harvest and store all your family's favorites. Consider me your friend in the garden.

[00:01:39] So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to just grow something.

[00:01:53] Tag, Herr Jauch.

[00:01:54] Herr Ulmen, was haben Sie diesmal wieder nicht verstanden?

[00:01:57] Ja, Herr Jauch, können Sie mir das mit dem E-Rezept nochmal erklären?

[00:02:00] Es ist doch nun wirklich einfach. Also, Shop-Apotheke-App öffnen. Krankenkassenkarte dranhalten.

[00:02:06] Rezepte auswählen, bestellen, fertig.

[00:02:09] Ja, Sie wissen doch, wie es geht.

[00:02:10] Ja, aber also einfach nur dranhalten ist das. Ich dachte, meine Frau wollte mich verarschen.

[00:02:15] Diesmal ausnahmsweise nicht.

[00:02:18] E-Rezept Shop-Apotheke. Hältst du schon dran?

[00:02:22] Welcome to Season 5 of the Just Grow Something Podcast.

[00:02:27] Thank you for being here.

[00:02:29] Thank you to my OGs who have been here from the very beginning.

[00:02:32] And if you're new here, welcome, welcome.

[00:02:35] This is the time of year when a lot of people start looking at New Year's resolutions or learning a new skill.

[00:02:42] So if that's you and that's why you found me, welcome to the family.

[00:02:45] And be prepared to have knowledge bombs dropped on you each and every week.

[00:02:51] Lots of things coming in this new season, my gardening friends.

[00:02:54] I have so many irons in the fire right now that I've lost count.

[00:02:59] And they're not all related to this podcast, but many, many of them are.

[00:03:03] So be prepared to have access to so much more content from me this season.

[00:03:08] If you have friends who are interested in gardening or starting gardening and they need a little extra evidence-based help to help grow all the things,

[00:03:19] send this podcast their way or send them to my website or any of my social media pages.

[00:03:24] And if you're not in the Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook group, get in there.

[00:03:31] We just passed 400 members and everybody is so, so helpful.

[00:03:37] I'm actually super excited now when I see that someone asked a question and I'm not the first person to go in there and answer it.

[00:03:45] It makes me so happy to see our community just helping each other.

[00:03:48] So be a part of that community.

[00:03:50] If you're on Facebook, the link will be in the episode description.

[00:03:53] You just have to answer a couple of questions so we know that you're not a spammer and agree to the rules and boom, you are in.

[00:04:01] So let's make this our best gardening year ever together.

[00:04:08] Okay, so I know this whole know your why thing might sound like I'm some sort of self-help guru asking you to journal your intentions to define yourself,

[00:04:18] but that's not where we're going here.

[00:04:20] This is truly about your garden plan.

[00:04:23] But if you do need an assessment for not just your garden goals, but also things like your health and your work and your home environment and more,

[00:04:30] there is a whole section in the Girly Homesteaders Grow and Flourish Planner that guides you through an assessment at the beginning of the year

[00:04:38] and then like checks in with you on those goals throughout the seasons.

[00:04:41] So if you're still looking for a robust planner for your garden that also has like weekly task tracking and monthly goals

[00:04:49] and is broken down by season and by month, then that's the planter you want.

[00:04:53] Laura is still offering my gardening friends 10% off of their planner by going to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com slash planner

[00:05:02] and using code JUSTGROW at checkout.

[00:05:05] So that link will also be in the show notes.

[00:05:07] There is also space in that planner for drawing your garden layout,

[00:05:12] which will come in handy if you plan on joining my Plan Like a Pro course this year,

[00:05:17] which is opening up next week.

[00:05:19] And one of the things that we start off with in that course is determining your garden goals

[00:05:25] as the foundation of your garden plan.

[00:05:29] This is why your why matters, right?

[00:05:33] Okay, so your why helps you set your goals.

[00:05:37] Your goals guide decisions on the crops that you're going to grow and the tools that you need

[00:05:43] and the size of your garden.

[00:05:44] It also helps prevent overspending on maybe some things that you might necessarily need

[00:05:50] depending on what those goals are, right?

[00:05:52] So you might be gardening as a hobby.

[00:05:55] And so your goals for that is going to be, you know, relaxation, the beauty of your yard,

[00:06:01] a reconnection with nature, just being out in the fresh air.

[00:06:05] Maybe your why is a more practical purpose.

[00:06:08] You're trying to reduce your grocery bills.

[00:06:10] You are providing fresh food for your family.

[00:06:13] Or your why is for educational or just kind of social reasons.

[00:06:17] So maybe you are teaching kids or grandkids by putting this garden together.

[00:06:22] Or you are growing to donate produce to a food pantry.

[00:06:25] Whatever it is, your why is going to dictate what your goals are.

[00:06:31] And your goals are going to dictate the purchases that you make and the way that you do your planning.

[00:06:36] So a hobby gardener, you know, who's out there for the aesthetics and who's out there for the fresh air

[00:06:41] might plant more flowers and herbs for like aesthetics and just enjoyment

[00:06:47] and might focus a little bit less on some of the produce versus, you know,

[00:06:51] somebody who is doing it from a more practical standpoint and might be prioritizing the higher yielding crops

[00:06:57] and not be as concerned about the flowers and herbs from an aesthetic standpoint,

[00:07:02] but maybe more so from a production standpoint.

[00:07:07] This is where I find myself or have found myself

[00:07:10] the majority of the last, you know, decade plus years that I have been doing this

[00:07:16] is I have been more on the practical side.

[00:07:18] Starting out as doing the garden for my family,

[00:07:21] but then moving into it being a business,

[00:07:23] my focus has always been more on the yield.

[00:07:27] And anything in terms of herbs or flowers

[00:07:30] that have been put into the garden have been to that end, right?

[00:07:34] To increase the yield or to prevent pests or diseases.

[00:07:37] And I'm switching things a little bit this year and leaning more towards

[00:07:42] trying to beautify some of the spaces.

[00:07:44] Yes, I still want them to be high yielding, but I also want it to look good.

[00:07:49] So my why is starting to change just a little bit,

[00:07:53] which means my goals are starting to change just a little bit, okay?

[00:07:57] These goals based on your why are also going to shape your budget,

[00:08:02] or at least they should.

[00:08:03] So if you are gardening as a hobby

[00:08:08] and you are tending to focus on aesthetics

[00:08:11] and just the enjoyment of being out there,

[00:08:15] maybe you want it to be just a little bit easier to do things.

[00:08:18] So you might not be spending a ton of money on really high-end tools.

[00:08:23] You might just want the basic hand tools,

[00:08:25] but you're going to spend more money on maybe decorative pots

[00:08:28] or, you know, making your raised beds look really nice.

[00:08:31] Your supplies are going to be a little bit different

[00:08:33] in terms of what you need to buy based on what you're growing.

[00:08:37] So your costs for your garden might be a little bit lower,

[00:08:40] you know, if you have a small, low-maintenance garden

[00:08:44] versus somebody who is growing for those more practical reasons

[00:08:48] and they are focusing on maximum yield and efficiency.

[00:08:52] Well, they might be buying bigger, more expensive tools,

[00:08:55] so, you know, tillers or drip irrigation systems.

[00:08:59] And the seeds for what they're growing might be more high-end

[00:09:04] because they might be the hybrids that are intended for high-yield crops

[00:09:09] and those tend to be a little bit more expensive.

[00:09:11] They might be buying more in terms of soil amendments

[00:09:13] or pest management products, you know,

[00:09:16] or things like row cover and insect netting.

[00:09:19] So the estimated cost for a much larger, you know, garden of that type of intensity might be higher.

[00:09:27] But the decision about what to spend is going to be based on what you're trying to get out of it too, right?

[00:09:35] So your, I guess, expectations are going to be adjusted based on your why.

[00:09:43] If you are gardening for recreation, your success is going to be measured by

[00:09:48] how much enjoyment you get out of that garden

[00:09:50] and how much time you got to spend outside.

[00:09:53] Maybe not necessarily on your yield, right?

[00:09:57] So your budget for extras might be things like garden decorations or specialty plants.

[00:10:03] But if you are a yield-focused gardener,

[00:10:06] your success is likely to be measured more like in pounds of produce

[00:10:11] or savings on your grocery bill.

[00:10:15] And your things that you might budget for that would be considered extras

[00:10:19] would be things like, you know, what it would cost to preserve the harvest.

[00:10:22] So canning jars or freezer bags or, you know,

[00:10:25] different systems for preserving things, right?

[00:10:28] You very well may be a mixed goal gardener,

[00:10:31] which is what I'm trying to get to this year.

[00:10:33] I have definitely always been much more on the yield-focused end of this year.

[00:10:37] I'm trying to mix those goals a little bit.

[00:10:38] I would like to balance the beauty of the garden with practicality.

[00:10:43] So combining those flowers and those vegetables,

[00:10:45] but maybe the flowers don't always have to be something that is bringing in pollinators

[00:10:49] or, you know, that is helping to deter an insect pest.

[00:10:52] Maybe it can just be there just to be pretty, right?

[00:10:55] And I can spend some time enjoying that part of it.

[00:10:58] And I can allocate the budget between the ornamental plants and the edible plants.

[00:11:02] So maybe let's break this process down just a little bit into some actionable steps

[00:11:07] to help you determine your why so that you can set your garden goals for the year.

[00:11:14] So step one would be to actually reflect on your why.

[00:11:18] Your why is the foundation of your gardening plan.

[00:11:21] How many times can I say why in the same sentence?

[00:11:26] But ask yourself these questions.

[00:11:29] What do I hope to achieve with my garden?

[00:11:33] Okay.

[00:11:33] Are you looking to save money on groceries?

[00:11:35] Are you just trying to grow healthier food?

[00:11:37] Are you just simply enjoying the therapeutic act of gardening?

[00:11:41] And then ask yourself, who will benefit from my garden?

[00:11:45] So are you feeding just your household?

[00:11:48] Are you sharing with neighbors?

[00:11:49] Are you donating to food pantries?

[00:11:51] Or are you just growing it for your own personal enjoyment?

[00:11:54] And you're not really sure what you're doing with the produce, if anything, right?

[00:11:58] Write these answers down just to clarify your priorities.

[00:12:03] If you have a garden journal, this is the perfect place to write down what your why is and the goal that is going along with it.

[00:12:14] So if your why is to save money on groceries and your goal is to feed a family of four, write that down.

[00:12:22] Your planning is going to look different than if you are, you know, next to somebody who is growing for fun or to beautify their yard.

[00:12:32] Okay.

[00:12:33] Put it someplace where you can look back at it frequently and let it help guide your decisions.

[00:12:40] So once you know your why, the next step is basically deciding what to grow.

[00:12:47] And if we keep the why in mind, it makes it easier to scale up or down based on our goals.

[00:12:54] So if you're gardening to reduce the food budget, then you're going to look at your favorite foods.

[00:12:58] You're going to make a list of the fruits and the vegetables and the herbs that your household loves to eat the most, right?

[00:13:05] If you enjoy cooking with fresh tomatoes and adding basil to your pasta, then these are going to be high on your list.

[00:13:11] If you refer back to your why, it makes it easier to curb your enthusiasm a little bit when all those seed catalogs come rolling in and everything looks so interesting to grow.

[00:13:23] And your seed purchase list begins to get a little bit out of control and starts to bust the budget.

[00:13:28] Okay.

[00:13:28] Refer back to that why.

[00:13:30] And that will help you sort of rein yourself in a little bit.

[00:13:33] For hobby gardens, you know, exercise or aesthetics, maybe your focus is on new, interesting varieties with lots of visual interest or low-maintenance plants that allow you time for fresh air but not a lot of frustration.

[00:13:50] If your why is all about relaxing in the garden, you don't want to be adding a bunch of high-maintenance plants that are going to pull the joy out of the garden for you.

[00:14:00] Unless you get joy from spending hours pruning ornamental plants.

[00:14:04] And then that's perfectly fine, right?

[00:14:08] Referring back to your why is also going to help you to be realistic about how much space you need to garden.

[00:14:17] Does your current space work with your goals?

[00:14:21] Or do you need to expand or even reduce that space?

[00:14:26] There have been times where I have seen that gardeners have jumped in with both feet and, you know, maybe purchased 10 raised garden beds and put them all together in one season raring to go.

[00:14:39] And then they very quickly realize they don't need all that space.

[00:14:42] It's not necessary for them.

[00:14:43] So it's not just about terms of do you have enough space?

[00:14:47] Is it do you have too much space?

[00:14:48] And can you scale back a little bit?

[00:14:50] What are the growing conditions in your area?

[00:14:53] And have you chosen crops that thrive in your local climate and soil type throughout your season?

[00:15:00] Or have you chosen things that might require season extension measures or even indoor seed starting?

[00:15:07] And how does that fit into your why?

[00:15:10] If you're going for low maintenance, you might not want to mess with starting seeds indoors or having to worry about having frost cloths because you have to start things that are earlier or get them earlier into the ground.

[00:15:24] You might just want to say, oh, never mind.

[00:15:26] I'm not going to do, you know, X, Y, and Z because I only want to be out there in the garden during the summertime.

[00:15:31] That's okay.

[00:15:32] That fits your why, right?

[00:15:35] Answering these questions for yourself not only helps in terms of defining what the garden is for you and how much time and energy you are willing to spend, but also how much money you are willing to spend.

[00:15:52] Your goals, your why will influence how much you're willing to spend in the garden.

[00:15:59] Again, it's okay for the garden to be a hobby.

[00:16:03] And it's okay to spend money on that hobby.

[00:16:06] Okay, we do this in other areas of our lives, right?

[00:16:09] I'm an endurance athlete.

[00:16:11] And running shoes and weight training equipment and race entry fees cost money.

[00:16:16] My husband has taught himself to play guitar over the past three years, and he now owns multiple guitars and the equipment that comes with that.

[00:16:22] That costs money.

[00:16:23] If you have a budget for that hobby, you're good.

[00:16:27] It's when you're not sure what the purpose of the garden is that it can sometimes get out of control when this tool looks really fun and that tool seems like it's a must-have when maybe it really doesn't fit into your goals.

[00:16:41] Now, conversely to this, if you're gardening to reduce the food budget or replace the produce that your family buys for most of the season or even the entire year, it may be necessary to spend more on tools and equipment along the way.

[00:16:56] If you're gardening intensively for a large portion of the year, you're not going to get away with using cheap tools for very long.

[00:17:03] If you're determined to preserve a lot of what comes out of your garden, it might make sense to invest in equipment that makes that easier and more efficient and more effective.

[00:17:13] So again, if you're looking at purchasing something for the garden, let your why be your guide.

[00:17:20] Let's think of composting as an example.

[00:17:22] So say you see this nice, snazzy compost tumbler.

[00:17:26] I know, that's not a phrase that most people say, but go with me on this, okay?

[00:17:30] It looks good. It looks like a convenient and very mess-free way to turn your kitchen straps into compost for the garden.

[00:17:38] And it is.

[00:17:39] And if you're gardening as a way to get some fresh air and maybe just have a little bit of extra produce available during the summer months,

[00:17:46] then maybe you only have a couple of raised beds that you're gardening in.

[00:17:50] If you're buying compost to refresh those beds every year, it's likely not a huge volume, maybe just a few bags.

[00:17:56] Well, then the compost tumbler might make sense.

[00:18:00] It's not producing a huge volume of compost, but maybe enough for your garden, and you'll be diverting your food scraps from the landfill.

[00:18:08] So that's a win-win.

[00:18:09] But if you're a gardener who is supplying your family with the majority of your fresh produce for the season and maybe also preserving some for the winter,

[00:18:18] you likely have more than just a couple of raised beds.

[00:18:22] And if you're bringing in compost to refresh those beds, you're likely bringing in closer to like a truckload rather than just a couple of bags, right?

[00:18:30] In this instance, the compost tumbler might not make sense.

[00:18:33] It's only going to put a small dent in what you're buying.

[00:18:37] So either you'll need to invest in multiple tumblers, which can be pricey,

[00:18:40] or you just skip the tumbler altogether and go with a larger compost setup that may involve like three bins out behind the garden that you just create yourself.

[00:18:50] Different whys, different goals, different implications.

[00:18:55] Okay.

[00:18:56] So some of the things that we are concerned about when it comes to our budget would maybe be the essential tools and supplies.

[00:19:05] So, you know, if you're gardening for the long term, you might be looking at very durable, very high quality tools that are going to last for years that cost a little bit more up front,

[00:19:16] but that would save you money in the long run.

[00:19:18] But if you're new to gardening or you are a very, very casual gardener, you might want to start with like the $15 Hori Hori knife instead of the $35 one because you're not sure how it's going to work for you, right?

[00:19:32] The second thing would be our seeds and our plants.

[00:19:34] You know, if you start with seeds, they are the most cost effective option.

[00:19:38] Seed packets typically contain more than enough for a small garden and that is definitely starting them yourself is definitely less expensive than going out and buying all of those individual plants.

[00:19:49] But again, if you are gardening for, you know, aesthetics or for convenience or just you want it to be easy, well, you know what?

[00:19:58] You might consider those starter plants and just make it easy on yourself, right?

[00:20:03] Soil and fertilizer too.

[00:20:05] Healthy soil, again, we talk about it all the time.

[00:20:07] It is the key to a productive garden.

[00:20:09] If your soil needs improvement, you're going to have to budget for compost and for organic fertilizers and that sort of thing.

[00:20:15] So, you know, if your why is, well, this is a way for me to get outside and get some fresh air,

[00:20:22] then be mindful of the amount of areas that you're going to have to work with because you are going to have to add to those areas in terms of your soil and your fertility.

[00:20:30] So, what if your soil needs addition?

[00:20:31] Versus, you know, somebody who is gardening for production and needs that larger space.

[00:20:38] It's going to make sense for them to put that money out.

[00:20:40] And then again, you're, you know, a watering system.

[00:20:43] So, you know, drip irrigation or soaker hoses may save you water. It may save you time. This might be a worthwhile investment for larger gardeners versus if you've got one or two raised beds and it doesn't take you very long to stand out there and water with a hose. This may not be something that you need to spend money on.

[00:21:04] Once again, our why is just determining everything within our budget. If your budget is tight, you can look for cost saving options like seed swaps and secondhand tools and, you know, DIY kind of garden structures and stuff like that. But, you know, if you're looking at keeping the costs down, start small, reuse, recycle.

[00:21:22] So prioritize tools rather than like trendy gadgets that you might see. Those are usually a better investment. And then, of course, compare your seed prices.

[00:21:33] You can always find different suppliers that have the same types of seeds and you can shop that way to help kind of fit things into your budget.

[00:21:42] Just remember, if you see yourself seeing something that looks really, really cool and it seems like it would be a great idea for your garden, go back to your why, go back to your garden goals and stay flexible.

[00:21:57] Right. Gardening is full of surprises, unexpected weather, pests, all kinds of things.

[00:22:03] If you stay flexible and you adjust your plan, your goals as needed, it's going to be a little bit less stressful. Right.

[00:22:11] So if a crop fails, replant it with something that's quick growing or try again next year.

[00:22:15] It's just the way it's just the way the garden goes. Right.

[00:22:18] So if we keep in mind what our why is, we may also not be as stressed when those things happen.

[00:22:31] Setting clear goals for your garden will save you time.

[00:22:35] It will save you money.

[00:22:36] It will save you frustration.

[00:22:38] By understanding your why, we can set very clear goals and that helps us pick the right crops and plan appropriately so that we can set ourselves up for a very successful gardening season.

[00:22:52] Don't forget, my Plan Like a Pro course is opening registration next week as my weekly gardening friend.

[00:22:58] You can get in there early and get a sneak peek at the course by going to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com slash pro.

[00:23:04] We cover so much in that course from your goals to how to fit it all in, how to have a complete calendar of what goes where and when.

[00:23:14] So we'll talk a little bit about that next week or you can jump in early from the link that I will leave in the show notes.

[00:23:19] Thanks for being here today.

[00:23:21] As always, if you have any questions, feel free to comment or reach out by email or DM me on social.

[00:23:27] You can always find more information about these topics on my website, justgrowsomethingpodcast.com.

[00:23:32] Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating that dream garden and we'll talk again soon.