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Best use of of $100 in my organic vegetable garden?

The best answer to this question will be the most insightful one. I'd like to improve my suburban, California garden to be productive, organic and sustainable. What I'm really asking in this question is what sort of investments would give me the most bang for my buck, particularly in the long term. The suggestions could be for plants, tools, infrastructure, assistance, and so on. What I want out of my garden: Food (fruits, veggies) Exercise Satisfaction Something to look at besides a flat, weedy, square back yard What I already have to put into my garden: A 50-foot square back yard, of which about a third has been cleared of weeds and the process of soil improvement begun. Five existing fruit trees Various seeds, already saved or otherwise acquired A library card and an Internet connection A gardening staff of one small woman (me) Basic tools, including two compost bins

Public Comments

1. tomato seeds of course early girl tomato seed pack 99 cents at walmart ,20 pelleted seeds for 100 bucks you can buy 100 they will produce between 20 and 40 plants each so it is 2000 -4000 plants each can produce 50-80 lbs of tomatoes so potentially you can grow up to 320 000 lbs of tomatoes at price of $ 2.99 you have about 1 million dollars worth of tomatoes :)
2. drive around and find a farmers market and question the sellers , volunter your time to any type co/ op gardens are not that hard to start but you need to understand the sweat that it envolves , the love of knowledge and the food production of pure quality, the compost bins are ok but your just inviting alot of unwanted bugs that do damage and do not leave and multiply .cow manure and sand are two of the best for soil builders horse is ok sheep is a nono.Water morning and evening , be sure when you plant to trough to trap the water for each plant , top watering is not enough.remember squash and other like plants take alot of room.good luck small woman
3. I can give you a one word answer - compost! There's absolutely nothing better you can do for your veggie patch than dig in loads of compost and, if you can get it, well rotted manure. If you're near the sea then pop down to your local beach and get a load of seaweed to dig in as well. I know you've got a couple of compost bins but it'll take months and months before you get anything usable out of them and you really want to start enriching your soil imediately - if not sooner. If your soil is well composted then anything you plant later will grow that much better and you'll get much better crops out of your patch. I know it's not the "sexy" answer - but it's the truth. Good old compost - you can't beat it.