Challenge: From Dirt to Table to Dirt.

Hello friends!
We are just two ordinary people who have decided to embark on an epic journey: we will grow our own vegetables for a year. We had our first vegetable garden last year, and were able to reap a pretty significant harvest--not bad for two young kiddos, starting out with just grass and a dream and balancing work, school, and our wedding.
This year, we are hoping to kick things up a notch: we will grow vegetables, herbs, and fruit and preserve our produce (freezing, drying, and canning) and use our home-grown bounty in at least one meal each week (we would do more, but winters get long...).
So that's how we get from dirt to table. To get back to the dirt, we are composting everything we can, from our zucchini butts to our corn husks and turning them right back into dirt. The dirt that we will use to grow more vegetables, which will lead to more meals, which will lead to more waste, which will lead to more dirt. Full circle. (So that's where the name came from).
So the nitty gritty: We live in South Saint Paul, just outside of Saint Paul. Allison, a teacher, will get the pleasure of tending the garden this summer when not in class. Desmond, a law student and research assistant, will get to enjoy the fruits of her labors (and probably help quite a bit, too!). Our garden plot was tilled right out of the lawn. It's about 6 'X 15'. We also have a little plot where we grow herbs, a separate place for our raspberry bush, and a little plot for the windiest of plants (squashes and melons).
What's going into jardin de los Jensons?
Raspberries Cucumbers Rhubarb Spinach Lettuce Pole Beans Soy beans
Tomatoes Carrots Winter and Summer Squash Sweet peas Melons
Radishes Cabbage Broccoli Hot Peppers Sweet Peppers Onions Potatoes Sweet Potatoes Various herbs Flowers (and maybe some other stuff too)

Total spent so far in 2010: about $105 on seeds.
Total saved so far in 2010: about $40 (on fresh herbs grown in our little indoor grow lamp).
We aren't budgeting for time...I suppose we've spent a few hours raking out gross leaves and turning our compost from last year into our soil.

Tune in soon for some pictures and more as we gear up for planting. We are excited to see how far we can take this: it is my dream to grow almost all of our produce but be able to stay in an urban area...hmmm....pretty sure I've got this one.

Peace,
allison and desmond