Main Street Investing
Interesting times
The U.S. stock market annihilated $1.2 trillion dollars of “equity” yesterday. Other markets around the world concurrently took heafty losses ahead of and following that umm, spectacular day.
I suspect some us feel less financially secure than a week ago. And if you take that feeling to the grocery store, well you’ll be matching your shrunken assets against higher prices. The math sure isn’t in your favor.
Here’s some math you should consider as you try to get more value in exchange for your money.
I’ve read a few sources about small space/intensive gardening productivity such as would be typical in an urban setting.
What I’ve seen is you can expect 1-3 pounds of produce per growing square foot. We plan to measure our productivity next year. For now, I’ll use those numbers.
It’s fall. Greens are seasonal. So let’s do some math…
We’ll choose four crops: Dino Kale, Chard, Mustard Greens, Broccoli.
Today’s price for organic versions of these crops at our local grocery store (Berkeley Bowl) are:
- Kale – $2.52/lb
- Swiss Chard – $2.52/lb
- Mustard Greens – $2.52/lb
- Broccoli – $3.19
A pound of each: $10.75.
I’m using organic prices – which are higher – because we strongly
advocate growing without chemical fertilizers and pesticides.The Cost to Grow
Let’s start with the trusty banana box. We’ll use four of them. Each box is 2.2 square feet. These are no cost.
We’ll start from seed. We really like Botanical Interests seeds. They’re non-GMO and have a very high germination rate. They always deliver a great product and have a huge variety.
- Dino/Lacinato Kale: $1.89
- Swiss Chard: $1.79
- Mustard Greens – $1.59
- Broccoli – $1.79
- Shipping (in the U.S.) – $3.95
Total: $11.01
Soil – 1/2 bag per box. Two bags @$6.00/bag – $12.00
Ok, we’ve racked up $23.01 in costs.
At 1 pound of production per square foot, we’d be growing 2.2 pounds of each of the four veggies. On the upper side at 3 pounds/square foot – 6.6 pounds of each.The Numbers:
Retail 1 lb 3 lbs You Grow Kale $5.54 $16.63 Chard $5.54 $16.63 Mustard $5.54 $16.63 Broccoli $7.02 $21.05 Total $23.64 $70.94 $23.01 When it comes to Kale, Chard and Mustard, you’re eating leaves… that continue to sprout from the plant. Getting 2 – 3 lbs/sf should be easily achievable. I think broccoli can yield at least 1 lb/sf.
Trimming your expenses while investing in your health… that’s real value investing.
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