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cost of your pepper grow
- Thread starter Swartmamba
- Start date
$50-$100 per year on peppers. If you count the rest of the garden our household spend is probably around $250-$300 in a typical year. We grow everything outside and most of it is in the dirt. Some years we spend more if we are putting up new/replacement trellis or building a new bed, but I don't think it's ever topped $500 in any year.
If I had more money to spare, that number would be much higher. We have been plagued by a number of pests the last few years and I could easily drop $300 just on biological pest control. As it stands I do have a few extra pennies laying around, so I am going to invest in some predatory nematodes for fungus gnat and thrip control, and possibly predatory mites if the adult thrip population starts to get out of hand.
If I had more money to spare, that number would be much higher. We have been plagued by a number of pests the last few years and I could easily drop $300 just on biological pest control. As it stands I do have a few extra pennies laying around, so I am going to invest in some predatory nematodes for fungus gnat and thrip control, and possibly predatory mites if the adult thrip population starts to get out of hand.
Start up infrastructure cost are a big one.
My light shelves and fixtures were probably $500 which will hold 16 -10x20 trays
First year of pots, trays, nutes, soil/medium, heating mat, timer, and the likes was another maybe $500
Then there is heating expense, the first year, ~$30 x 2 months.
This year I bought them into a heated utility room.
Light expense ~$20/ month.
Second year, I've bought $60-80 worth of Ocean Forest soil.
And another $200-300 in soil building components. This is getting into material for the outdoor space as well.
$100 in pots and trays this year in moving toward a 3.5"deep pot and 5" pots and getting away 2.5" from for peppers.
This yielded in-ground plants of about 115 peppers, 18 eggplants and maybe 75 tomatoes. Plus a few odds and ends, kale, chinese greens, basil, lettuce and onions.
Starting quickly like I did cost a little more. You can scavenge and find better deals by thinking ahead.
2015 I'll still buy a few amendments to construct more potting soil. But if you have the room to make dirt, there's no time like the present to start.
Build a wire screen to fluff it up nice. Start worms. Start composting. It's way cheaper if you're going to be using more than 6 cf of container medium per year. Otherwise I'd be tempted just to buy a high grade mix off the shelf at a grow shop.
So 2015 and there after, my guess-goal is to spend less than 300 dollars on all garden supplies and electricity yearly. That would be to maintain and plant a 60x100 row plot that includes 300' of raspberry canes, about a 1000-1200 sf of raised beds, a little row strip ~6'x 60', and 18 young semi-dwarf fruit trees.
Everybody has a different scale. Peppers are my primary focus but I grow and preserve lot of other things too.
So let's say 2 years of plants -450 nightshades only- total expenditures from seed to plant out only, about $1600, or 3.56 per plant or segregated cost of
265 peppers for both 2014 and 2015 equals about $945 including infrastucture.
My light shelves and fixtures were probably $500 which will hold 16 -10x20 trays
First year of pots, trays, nutes, soil/medium, heating mat, timer, and the likes was another maybe $500
Then there is heating expense, the first year, ~$30 x 2 months.
This year I bought them into a heated utility room.
Light expense ~$20/ month.
Second year, I've bought $60-80 worth of Ocean Forest soil.
And another $200-300 in soil building components. This is getting into material for the outdoor space as well.
$100 in pots and trays this year in moving toward a 3.5"deep pot and 5" pots and getting away 2.5" from for peppers.
This yielded in-ground plants of about 115 peppers, 18 eggplants and maybe 75 tomatoes. Plus a few odds and ends, kale, chinese greens, basil, lettuce and onions.
Starting quickly like I did cost a little more. You can scavenge and find better deals by thinking ahead.
2015 I'll still buy a few amendments to construct more potting soil. But if you have the room to make dirt, there's no time like the present to start.
Build a wire screen to fluff it up nice. Start worms. Start composting. It's way cheaper if you're going to be using more than 6 cf of container medium per year. Otherwise I'd be tempted just to buy a high grade mix off the shelf at a grow shop.
So 2015 and there after, my guess-goal is to spend less than 300 dollars on all garden supplies and electricity yearly. That would be to maintain and plant a 60x100 row plot that includes 300' of raspberry canes, about a 1000-1200 sf of raised beds, a little row strip ~6'x 60', and 18 young semi-dwarf fruit trees.
Everybody has a different scale. Peppers are my primary focus but I grow and preserve lot of other things too.
So let's say 2 years of plants -450 nightshades only- total expenditures from seed to plant out only, about $1600, or 3.56 per plant or segregated cost of
265 peppers for both 2014 and 2015 equals about $945 including infrastucture.
My seeds were mostly free from a youtuber, I just bought a couple of varieties for 2 euros and soil for about 6. Others things like pots and germination I had just laying around the house.
overall, just about $10, it's a labour of love and time, I have much more of it invested than money.
overall, just about $10, it's a labour of love and time, I have much more of it invested than money.
Startup:
T5 4x4ft : xmas gift
Cups : $10 (costco)
Give-aways: $0 ---pepper-people are the best!
SASBEs : $8 ---you guys rock!
Seed Train: $10 ---pure awesomeness!
Sharing seed shared to me: maybe $12
Mix $15
Tray: $5
Mat/Thermostats/Timers/Fan/Temperature gauges: On-hand from another hobby. (Reptiles)
Plant out:
Pots: $30 and free leftovers from the nursery totaling ~80 3 gallon on average
Mix: 5-1-1 for 60 3gallons $125 + 2 bale of promix $20 (on sale!)
2ft Stakes: 12 for $1 ($8)
Cages for tomatoes: on hand/free
Nutes: Free. Family had a costco surplus so I figured since the ratios were right why not. Will still have to pick up some micro nutes.
Anything planted inground: 1 bag of manure and some time release ($3 and free)
Nursery plants: $20 basils tomatoes tomatillos and annuums.
Total cost... around $260. What I got for it... nearly 100 pepper plants, over 50 different types to try, 6 types of tomato, 6 basils (planted together family style), and a big tomatillo pot with a few in it so they can pollinate properly. So about $2.50 per plant, mostly in 3 gallons each or in ground, toms in 10 gallon.
Projected costs on the way: micro nutrients ~20 + a big bag of diama-I-can't-spell earth to thwart a slug problem before it gets too nasty...guessing another $20 .....
Budget was around what I spent. I think I did pretty good and plants are thriving so far. Happy happy happy.
In the future I am sticking with around $200 per year for this hobby, likely a lot less because I'll be reusing the 5-1-1 mix, until I own some property at which point we will splurge for an organic and more well-rounded garden with plots and beds galore.
I think it's also important to note that, at the end of last season, I planned on 20-30 plants max. I do not know what happened. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
T5 4x4ft : xmas gift
Cups : $10 (costco)
Give-aways: $0 ---pepper-people are the best!
SASBEs : $8 ---you guys rock!
Seed Train: $10 ---pure awesomeness!
Sharing seed shared to me: maybe $12
Mix $15
Tray: $5
Mat/Thermostats/Timers/Fan/Temperature gauges: On-hand from another hobby. (Reptiles)
Plant out:
Pots: $30 and free leftovers from the nursery totaling ~80 3 gallon on average
Mix: 5-1-1 for 60 3gallons $125 + 2 bale of promix $20 (on sale!)
2ft Stakes: 12 for $1 ($8)
Cages for tomatoes: on hand/free
Nutes: Free. Family had a costco surplus so I figured since the ratios were right why not. Will still have to pick up some micro nutes.
Anything planted inground: 1 bag of manure and some time release ($3 and free)
Nursery plants: $20 basils tomatoes tomatillos and annuums.
Total cost... around $260. What I got for it... nearly 100 pepper plants, over 50 different types to try, 6 types of tomato, 6 basils (planted together family style), and a big tomatillo pot with a few in it so they can pollinate properly. So about $2.50 per plant, mostly in 3 gallons each or in ground, toms in 10 gallon.
Projected costs on the way: micro nutrients ~20 + a big bag of diama-I-can't-spell earth to thwart a slug problem before it gets too nasty...guessing another $20 .....
Budget was around what I spent. I think I did pretty good and plants are thriving so far. Happy happy happy.
In the future I am sticking with around $200 per year for this hobby, likely a lot less because I'll be reusing the 5-1-1 mix, until I own some property at which point we will splurge for an organic and more well-rounded garden with plots and beds galore.
I think it's also important to note that, at the end of last season, I planned on 20-30 plants max. I do not know what happened. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.