Geb’s World

I was glad to see some detailed numbers on vegetable farming costs. Most of these are calculated for a 100′x4′ row. Since there are 43,560 square feet/acre, and these calculations are for 400 square feet, they can be multiplied by 109 to find the costs/profits per acre. However, the extension document says that there are 70 such plots per acre. Perhaps this includes access paths and roads.

Here are the bottom lines, for the 100′x4′ rows and per acre from the Iowa Extension service.

1. Basil $164.19 $11,493.30
2. Specialty Green Beans $140.27 $9,818.90
3. Red Raspberries $131.50 $9,205.00
4. Salad Greens $102.90 $7,203.00
5. Eggplant $85.02 $5,951.40
6. Potatoes $61.65 $4,315.50
7. Snow peas $58.45 $4,091.50
8. Strawberries $3,881.97
9. Carrots $54.02 $3,781.40
10. Garlic $43.89 $3,072.30
11. Asparagus $35.47 $2,482.90
12. Sweet Potatoes $27.48 $1,923.60

As I understand it, one of the main challenges for growing these crops is covering the seasonal manual labor, which is costed at $10/hr. Different crops require different amounts of labor.

Basil doesn’t involve much labor, roughly 2 hours/year-bed.
Specialty green beans, however, is dominated by labor, 15 hours/year-bed.
Garlic requires about 3 hours/year-bed.
Snow peas requires 4.
Raspeberries requires 2-5 depending on the year. Figuring 70 beds per acre, $10/hour and 15 hours/year-bed for green beans. That means another $10,500 for green beans.

After a hiatus for the summer, I’m back to blogging.

I’m going to try to focus more on design and construction of ideas and a little less on the purely academic, with the hope that my practical efforts will yield something more practical to work on.

I’m also thinking that I should begin to transition away from space research and towards food production without petrochemicals, as this seems to be the direction in which the greatest needs are likely to be manifest.