How much do you save?

[Waffler]

Just catching up on posts, so only skim read all your posts on this one. But, at the risk of being controversial, could I just point out that it may not necessarily be 'money saved' as such; what I mean is this: Pigletwillie - would you really have 'bought' 2 bunches of flowers a week? Likewise with other more expensive crops like artichokes. I completely get what you mean, but don't necessarily think it's as easy as looking it from a 'money saved' point of view.
That said, I haven't had to buy potatoes since June (but unfortunately will need to in the next couple of weeks ) and we've got apples coming out of ears (not literally, I'm glad to say). I wouldn't have bought that many apples - partly because they are too expensive - but the desserts I make with them will save me money on buying other dessert ingredients.

In the end I'm not sure I've made myself very clear, but I hope you got the gist of my post!

[Mrs Dobby]

Balance sheet 5th June 2007

Costs for this year so far:-

Plot 1 &2 rent £60
Subs £10

Total rents £70

Compost £40
Grow bags £20
Pots £10
Wheelbarrow £15
Wellies £30 (3 pairs)
Gloves £15 (3 pairs)
Tools £45
Hose / fixings £30
Propogators £35

Total Tools/sundries £240

Greenhouse fixings £25
Greenhouse glass £50

Total greenhouse costs £75

Seeds £45
Seed Tatties £10

Total plant costs £55

Fertilizers / garlic spray etc £25

Total costs for this year to date £465

Quite a bit more than I'd have originally estimated, but a lot of the costs are things that we wont need to buy again, so next years costings should be significantly reduced, I'd anticipate it being less than £200 including rents and a load or two of manure!

Total harvested crops value so far this year:-

Rhubarb (at £2 for 3 stalks as currently priced in Tescos) £30
Radish / lettuces / cucumber / cnca salad leaf £10
Herbs £5

Total edibles monetary value so far £45

Cant wait for our growing crops to reach harvestable sizes, when the onions, potatoes, tomatoes and garlic are ready we should suddenly see a large increase in the values!

Then again, in we factor in the price of gym membership for the past 9 months it does become much more financially sound, and of course all the fun, relaxation, improved taste and reduced carbon footprint plus the sheer satisfaction of eating what we have grown ourselves is absolutely priceless!

It'll be interesting to see just how much value the crops we are growing end up at, I'll be happy if we break even for the year!

Hows everyone elses balance sheets looking?

[HeyWayne]

I'm still yet to see a return on my investment. All I seem to have done thus far is spend out.

I still keep my gym membership because there are certain excerices I have to do which cannot be done on the plot - without the decency police turning up anyway.

The rabbits, pigeons, mice, deer and Gawd only knows what else are better off (for now), but as I am yet to harvest a single crop I am starting to feel "the pinch". Hopefully I'll soon be digging up some Maris Peer spuds, so perhaps all is not lost.

Speculate to accumulate I guess..

[Matt.]

My return on investment will definitely be negative but as its my first year there have been one offs I've needed like water butts (£30), a well hose (£60)and I hired a rotovator (£40) to get me started. Subsequent years should be very profiatble though as rent is only £12.

To be honest I don't think it will ever translate to savings because I'll offset the difference with better quality produce. I'm planning on buying more premium meat and fish from local butchers/fishmongers, rather than supermarket. Also I'll proabably give away a significant amount to freinds and family and hopefully a few more will see the benefit in GYO and have a go themselves!

[heebiejeebie]

Oh my!

I'm assuming that once the crop gets going I can stop getting my weekly veg box. So If I think of the crop value being what I don't spend that I would have with no veg plot... £12 for every week that I skip the delivery.

Not counting my spuds before they're dug up though!

Expenditure - rent £1.92 per month, about £20 worth of seeds, maybe £30 on compost (home made stuff next year), about £30 on tools and whatever the huge tub of fish blood & bonemeal cost, GYO magazine, some books (about £30). However, what would I have spent to entertain myself during the hours I've spent on the lottie?

So I need to feed myself & OH for about 15 weeks to break even. I can live with that!

[rustylady]

Mrs D - how long did it take you to work all that out? When I just had a small garden I used to weigh my produce and work out the equivalent supermarket prices, but now I'm just too busy planting, weeding, digging and harvesting. Had about 10 pounds of strawberries over the last few weeks, so I reckon they're worth a bob or two at M & S prices.

[johnty greentoes]

Mrs Dobby

I've nothing to add to this thread apart from my amazement at your totally impressive mathematics. Brill.

[Moglets]

Because I'm doing everything in pots I've had to buy them 20 @£5
Compost to fill them - seems like a million bags @ £3
Seeds £30 ish
Irrigation system £125 although enough piping left to do a friends.
Books & mags £10
Calls to Mum asking for advice £??

So far I've not had to buy spinach or courgettes for 2 weeks, lettuce for 3 weeks. Once the tomatoes and spuds arrive then I hope to be just buying meat and cheese. I make my own bread and cakes.

I guess next year it'll start to pay for itself.

As said before - the fresh air, sense of achievement and chance to meet new like minded people are priceless.

[pigletwillie]

This week we have harvested

rhubarb, £20
Lettuce £ 5
Beetroot £1.50
New tatties £ 3
strawberries £ 3
cut flowers £12
scallions £1.80

A saving of £56 and a bit. With two tunnels and two greenhouses yet to come on line, and the majority of the soft fruit not yet ready to harvest. This must be ofset by the cost of building the tunnel (I take the skin to have a 5 year lifespan so will depreciate it by 1/5 every year), plot rents, compost, seeds and plants which comes to about £360.

I estimate a net surplus in value of my crops to be well into 4 figures and as I add value by turning produce into bottled bolognese sauce etc this can be factored at least twice over.

[nick the grief]

Well so far I'm about £12 up ( not including the cost of the new plot as that won't really cost me anything apart from the rent this year)

[Alice]

I hope we can all save a few shillings over the bit, but for me, it's just not what it is about.

[pigletwillie]

I concur Alice but its nice to actually see what savings you make and even the 60p bunches of spring onions soon add up. I do grow my own for many reasons and the financial savings are a very minor part of them.

[TonyF]

I tried to do the sums a couple of years ago and gave up when I costed in my time - if I'm doing the garden, I'm not earning money from my business so factored in that cost as well. That proved to me that doing what I do in the garden is not cost-effective so I decided not to bother with the calculations and just have the potager because I wanted it and because I can have it.

Yesterday I picked enough cherries, raspberries, red and blackcurrants to make a pie and a tart and lifted my first lot of spuds. Today I'm going to a friend's house who has 10 cherry trees and will be picking his cherries for him.

To me just growing and picking is enough because food here is so cheap, especially if I wanted to buy from the farmers, it probably isn't cost effective to have a potager at all. But the alternative is just grass and flowers so it's fruit and veg for me!

[Mrs Dobby]

Balance sheet at 11th June 2007

Total costs for this year to date £465

Total harvested crops value so far this year:-

Rhubarb (at £2 for 3 stalks as currently priced in Tescos) £45
Radish / lettuces / cucumber / cnca salad leaf £15
Herbs £5
Strawbs 5lb (at £2.50 for 400g in Tescos) £12.50
Garlic / Onions £1
Mange Tout £0.50
Tomatoes £1
New potatoes £1

Total edibles monetary value so far £81

Still a long way to go to break even, but its getting better!

Hows everyone elses balance sheets looking?

[heebiejeebie]

I've just gone for the small vegbox so I'm saving £2.50 this week.