Well, where is the Health and Wealth from Growing Tomatoes?

Where are We, Half way through?

This Blog was started in order to share with everyone the Business Plan Experiment I created early in 2008. Being deeply involved in the dynamic Resource Membership Community, Beginners Marketing Class,

I wanted to show the members anything that we have a passion for and enjoy can be developed into a Wealth and Health Benefit. Creating and Implementing a Sideline or Full-time Business is FUN and rewarding on many fronts.

We have discussed the original premise of 24 well tended Tomato Plants could be expected to yield 50 # per plant during the Northern California usual growing season. And we could expect to sell the Tomatoes locally for at least $1.00 a pound, therefor the little garden ( approx 360 sq ft) could produce a Gross Income of $1,000

Writing down the objective and date to finish, drawing up a plan of action and budget projections area necessity to keep the Focus. We budgeted $140. Here is recap of Cash Flow Chart to 07-11-08

In July I found out my "competitor", a fruit stand on the other side of Town, is getting $2.50 per pound for his "slicer" Tomatoes, so being a Market driven entrepreneur I raised my Prices to$1.75, and Green Beans to $1.75. No loss of sales.

Tomatoes for Health & Wealth Cash Flow Projection
	Projected	Actual	Projected	Actual
	Expense	Expense	Income	Income
Tie Posts	$30.00	$32.78	$1,000.00	$48.00	June
Tie Twine	$20.00	$10.75			July
Fertilizer	$35.00	$22.89			August
Irrigation equip	$35.00	$21.75			Sept
Extra plants	$20.00				Oct
					Nov
Total	$140.00	$88.17	$1,000.00	$48.00
Time Budget		Actual
Projected		Hours
March	2 hrs	2.5
April	6 hrs	6
May	6 hrs	9.5
June	6 hrs	11
July	6 hrs
August	6 hrs
Sept	6 hrs
October	6 hrs
Nov	5 hrs
	49	29

The next item regarding the Health Aspects of Growing Tomatoes on a small plot will addressed in the next post.

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Yes, Sustainability from Small Plots is Reality!

Hello again from Orland, California.
We are experiencing typical first of July weather,
100 degree days and high 60's at night.

But our Tomatoes are rapidly coming to ripe.
I am picking in the morning and then more in the evening.

Yes, 24 Tomato plants are producing plenty for our needs and
my neighbors are enjoying the purchase of Fresh Quality Vine-ripe
Tomatoes at Market price.
Harvest today July 6, 2008 to the right
So far since June 22, 2008 we have harvested over 50 pounds for a total Gross Income of $35.
But that is along with our green beans, eggplant, cucumbers and red onions harvested and providing us Fresh wholesome Vegetable portion in our daily Diet, and generating some more cash flow to offset our costs and adding to our "gardening expansion budget"



Can everyone enjoy this healthy exercise, have fun and eat better?

Yes, if you put your mind to it.

I was excited to find the following Video by a a kindred spirit, who never really lost the faith and is in CONTROL of the health and wealth of his family.

There is so much negativity and gloom and doom about Financial conditions...

But we all can make a dent in our own Budgets by taking action and learning to become more self sufficient and Gardening is a perfect way, be it a patio Garden, a complete yard as the Dervaes experience in Pasadena Ca, or larger plots as we use.

The results are not measure in largess but in the fact it is being done. Most can save well over $1,000 a year having fun in the garden.

Watch their Video and get of your Duff and Have FUN!


Grab any of the book on the right, read them and Plan your Fall garden Today.
Take a moment and visit the Progress of our

Green Garden Back Behind the Barn

Lycopene show up again as Major Wellness Asset

There has been controversy about the real effects of Lycopene and Wellness issues such as Cancer and other diseases.

Here is recent article on some new Findings
Found in the July 3, 2008 issue of




Lycopene as effective as statins for artery health: rabbit study
By Stephen Daniells

03-Jul-2008 - Supplements of the lycopene, the carotenoid that give tomatoes their red colour, may be as effective as statins to reduce the formation of plaques in the arteries that cause atherosclerosis, says a new study with rabbits.

If the results of the study, published in the journal Nutrition, can be repeated in humans, they will add to a significant body of research supporting the potential heart health benefits of lycopene, predominantly associated with benefits for prostate health.

Lycopene is an antioxidant that is present in red- and pink-coloured fruits and vegetables. As well as being used as a food colouring, it is also used in supplements. The role of lycopene in heart health and in reducing the risk of certain cancers is supported by a body of research.

Min-Yu Hu and co-workers from the Central South University in Changsha, China divided 40 male adult rabbits into five equal groups to consume a standard diet, a high-fat diet, a high-fat diet plus 4 or 12mg per kg of lycopene, or the high-fat diet plus 10mg per kg of fluvastatin. The animals consumed the diets for eight weeks.

The researchers used a relatively high dose of lycopene (4 and 12 mg/kg of body weight) because rabbits reportedly do not absorb the nutrient efficiently. These doses produced blood levels of the carotenoid of 0.19 and 0.24 moles per litre, respectively.

"This corresponds to low plasma levels of lycopene in humans who may achieve five-fold higher levels already with the intake of only 0.3 mg/kg of body weight," explained the authors.

At the end of the study, the animals fed only the high-fat diet had higher levels of total and LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerols, oxidised low-density lipoprotein, malonaldehyde, and interleukin-1 than animals fed the standard diet.

However, animals fed the high-fat diet and supplemented with lycopene or fluvastatin had improved levels of these biomarkers, and the lycopene of both doses was better than the statin.

"The results of our experiment in the high-fat diet rabbit model showed that lycopene and fluvastatin lowered serum levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, improved lipid metabolism, and reduced the amount of triacylglycerols," wrote the authors.

"Lycopene intervention reduced the increase in ox-LDL levels in rabbits on the high-fat diet, whereas fluvastatin did not show such an effect. The cause of this difference is at present not known, although the result speaks in favour of lycopene," they added.

"These findings provide a theoretical rationale for the use of lycopene as a preventive in atherosclerosis," they concluded.

Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and is reported to cost the EU economy about €169bn ($202bn) per year.

Source: Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, 30 June 2008, doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2008.05.006
"Comparison of lycopene and fluvastatin effects on atherosclerosis induced by a high-fat diet in rabbits"
Authors: M.-Y. Hu, Y.-L. Li, C.-H. Jiang, Z.-Q. Liu, S.-L. Qu, Y.-M. Huang