PROJECT: Summer vegetable garden

TIME: Late spring and all summer

COST: About $130 for plastic, $150 for a stand and $225 for plants last year. About $130 for plastic, $250 for plants and $40 in miscellaneous items so far this year.

HOW HE DOES IT: Jeff's mother, Laurie, writes: "Jeff has always been an outdoors kind of guy.

"About five years ago, he started helping with the hay for the horses and working for an older couple that he has adopted as his grandparents. He does their yardwork, gardening and repairs. They have taught him so much and inspired him to start his own garden.

"Jeff currently cares for over an acre of vegetables and hundreds of flowers that he has planted. He really enjoys horticulture at school and plans to pursue agriculture in the future. He loves to plan and landscape, too.

"He built his own stand last summer for the neighborhood and has a little of everything -- strawberries, potatoes, okra, snaps, corn, peppers, radishes, squash, butterbeans, tomatoes and more."

Jeff is a 15-year-old rising sophomore at Lee-Davis High School who lives in the Old Church section of Hanover County. He earned $1,000 last summer off his garden, which is at 8229 Candleberry Drive in Mechanicsville.

TELL US HOW YOU DID IT: Share your home improvement or garden project in 250 words or fewer with Julie Young, Home & Garden, I Did It Myself, P.O. Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293, or e-mail jyoung@timesdispatch.com. Include your name, address, phone number and, if possible, high-resolution photos. The project must be one you actually did yourself.

ONLINE ARCHIVE: Read about others' projects on inRich.com. Keyword: Home.