Hey: the pots ran up your costs this year, but you’ll be able to reuse them for future crops. Over time, you should recover that expense. Right?

True it is that tomatoes grow better in the ground. You might find, though, that cherry tomatoes do pretty well in pots–they like hanging pots, if you have a beam sturdy enough to support a good-sized hanging box or plastic pot.

And LAL is right on about the basil. Most herbs like pots…some of them seem to do better in pots than in the ground, oddly enough. Once I got tarragon to grow in the center hole of a cinderblock (I’d used the cinderblock as part of a garden’s outer perimeter) when it absolutely positively would NOT grow in the ground. Lettuce grows well in pots, too.

Just planted some bush peas (from seed) in a big pot: we’ll see if that works!

Leaves, pinenuts, olive oil and blend! Do you know how expensive Pesto is?

If you are going to resuse the growing medium, then you need to take steps to ‘rotate’ it – can you mix it together and add other organic material and bring it up to a decent temperature to kill disease, weed seeds etc. Other wise I would toss it.

The ‘black’ bottom on the Roma Tomatoes is a Calcium deficiency, called Blossom end Rot, quite common in container grown tomatoes and certain parts of the country in native soil. Causes can be from not enough calcium in the soil and overwatering.

Plus to get true costs, I always factor in a “It tastes better” because I grew it and I now what I added to it.

Next year I think we’ll use fewer plants, though our greatest cost this year was “capital” (pots, compost, etc) that can be reused.

Hydroponics is a good idea though…

That said, though, you have to consider the other advantages of gardening:
1. It tastes better if you grow it yourself.
2. It gives you something to care for (rather like a pet).
3. Whatever you reap from your garden benefits the environment by reducing transportation costs.

What is missing that gives commercial producers the edge for cost is:
1. Economy of scale
2. Sense of “good enough” versus “perfect”
3. Hordes of low-cost labourers to do the work
4. Displaced costs
5. Mechanization

Some things that can improve your return:
1. Save seed rather than purchase it.
2. Get as much re-use of your existing organic materials as possible (i.e. compost)

On another note, I have been wanting to try hydroponics. My situation doesn’t really call for it, though, so I haven’t gotten around to it. Your situation, on the other hand, sounds like it is screaming out for it.