comments:
Yeah, it definitely doesn’t have to cost much, although admittedly I also treat seed starting / gardening as a main hobby so I don’t mind investing in some stuff I can use each year. The only noticeable cost was grow lights as I only have a limited amount of sunny windows. But even then, on Amazon you can get 6 4 foot full spectrum bars for $140 (link to the ones I bought after much research, (and trying to find a more local source which doesn’t exist)). 2 bars can sufficiently start 4 1020 trays, which when potted up to normal 3” seedling pots means ~60 plants. So $140 for 180 tomatoes or peppers or flowers ready to be hardened off. Not to mention that it’s not an annual purchase at all, and I did find some individual lights for less on Kijiji. But ultimately, a sunny window is free and a single 1020 tray can hold 15 red solo cups, and my bet is that very few people would use 15 plants, or if they would, they likely have space for 2 trays or more 😅 The most challenging part was the default / necessity to use 1020 trays. They’re great when the seedlings are small and there’s less needed, but once they’re expanded, it was a bit of chaos having like 18 trays that I then had to carry individually outside to hard off, back inside, outside, inside, for a handful of days. I did start using the tops of storage bins as they fit on the storage shelf perfectly and hold 2x as many in one, but the downside is that they aren’t very deep so watering wasn’t as consistent. Nobody took too many / were greedy one bit, although that may have been because of how I framed what to expect. I went into it with the belief that everyone is an adult who can make their own decision on how they want to use the good will I’ve put out there, and that if someone is going to use a plant then that is great. If they did in fact abuse it, they hopefully feel bad and will learn for next year. Also, everyone’s socioeconomic situation, age, or anything else wasn’t to be judged as the core belief for the project is that everyone deserves free vegetables, herbs, companion plants and native wildflowers. I want to model a library where I can, and thats certainly the case there so why couldn’t it be here, i figure. I would say too that the majority of people said “well, i don’t want to take too many..” to which i would say “these are here for you to take home and plant if you will use them, don’t worry about taking less”. And in the end, my reaction to running out within a day isn’t that people took too many each, it was that we need to start way more next year to meet demand :) I can only imagine if i did have an abundance and the people who would then come out of the woodwork to grab a plant or two. I didn’t ask for any donations, but I did receive ~$150 from unprompted donations anyways, which I used to offset the light costs. I also applied for a municipal grant and was approved, where they provide co-funding for community initiatives that bring wellness and connection and food security. The manager who received it is someone I know through other town things, and she replied indicating it was exactly up the alley for things they want to fund haha. So with that I specifically asked for funds for a bigger temporary greenhouse and for shelving from Costco. I priced it all out and they approved it all, totalling $520 of the overall budget, which with the in-kind costs I incurred (soil, grow tent, more shelving, more lights, one greenhouse, and most importantly the hours I was putting into it unpaid). I could’ve made due with the smaller one if need be, but the scale was able to really be amped up knowing I had the 12x7 greenhouse to store things in. Oh, and I got the local landscape depot to donate $100 of garden soil for free. Next year I’ll be partnering with a local feed and seed so that I can either buy the seed starting mix and potting mix at cost, or more preferably, get it donated too. That, plus donated containers en masse from everyone now which I’ll store, plus my current equipment, and saving seeds so those have $0 to them, will make next spring even more affordable while scaling up :)