Grow Tomatoes for Just $1285.10!

What a deal, eh?
I think I'm nauseous. Nope, I know I am.

From Matt Mattus at Growing With Plants: (seriously, you have to go read it)
"Grand total for proper supplies to grow disease resistant tomatoes is
$1285.10. $5.14 per tomato."

Ummmm...

Seriously, what is there to say to that except, "Man, I wish I had that kind of money to blow on growing a vegetable!"

Does he really think that's what it takes to grow a disease resistant tomato?
God, I hope not or us poor people, who actually grow gardens to SAVE money (or not eat all winter) are doomed to starve!

OK, let's see - here's my price list from last summer (or at least close).

Tom seeds (I think we had 10 varieties not counting the weirdo volunteers we also grew out and harvested from): 10 cents per pack = $1.00.
And no, they weren't any special expensive, disease resistant variety, but they were still damn healthy and tasted good!

Soil for 20 plants, 2 of each variety (I mixed my own from peat, turkey grit and the cheapest potting soil I could find - which most of went for WSing and plants I grew for others) = approx $3 - and that's estimated on the high side.

Containers, recycled = free.

Transplanted outside to one year old hay bales = free.

Stakes = free.

Fert, homemade = free

Organic preventative spray, homemade = Although I know it's much less, ingredients, we'll say, a whole $1.00

So, that adds up to a whopping five bucks.
If I go by his figures of 15 toms per plant, times my 20 plants, it equals 300 tomatoes.

Drum roll....

0.016666666 cents per (disease free) tomato.

I think I win! Oh, yeah, and bonus - I get to eat this winter and still not lose the house.

It blows my mind what people are willing to spend growing a few veg. If people would really like to throw their money away, they can just hand it to me and I'll put it to good use, like paying for some freaking heating fuel.
Ack! I need to go play with some seedlings before my brain explodes from thinking about it.

Happy (and cheap) growing!