Adding up the cost??

[vicki]

I feel the same Alice. I haven't added up the cost but I am enjoying it so much I'm not too bothered and like you I haven't bought lettuce, potatoes, onions, garlic or courgettes for ages. And my 3 and 8 yr old children are learning loads from it too! Thumbs up all round I think!

[nick the grief]

Last year I spent about £6 on seed tatties & they kept me in home preoduce spuds till about feb/march this year I think. That alone paid for the allotment at £20 then there are all the leeks that I've had every week, Brussels at Christmas, beetroot, lettuce & my neighbours all hid as they were as sick of tomatoes as we were by november when I dug them out to make room for my Chrysanths !

[sewer rat]

Dunno how much I will have saved but at our local farmers market on Saturday, one of, if not the, largest organic farms in the Highlands was charging 75p a lettuce !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've got hundreds of the things in every shape size and colour.

[nick the grief]

Och !!! You'll be doing that soon Rat, bet you can't wait. If ever you want a greenhouse forman PM me

[Slug]

I think if I just looked at the amount of money saved on runner beans.... I'd be quids in! I'm starting to get over-run....!

[User Removed]

We have worked it out how much you can save , not me personally as i am not that sad.
From a very small 20 ft X 8ft very productive plot saved over £300 a year, but this was growing all the expensive things (asparagus, strwberrys ect) to get this total

[JennieAtkinson]

I was so pleased the other night, after a meal of all home grown veg, OH said he didn't care how much it all cost, it was just delicious and wonderful to be eating such tasty veg. Bless him.

Now what else could I get .............

[User Removed]

I agree with Jennie's OH, it doesn't matter what the cost is as long as it taste's good

[pigletwillie]

There was an article in last weeks Times (I think) that said the average allotment of 10 rods returned about £300 of produce. I get at least that in soft fruit and when I have finished "adding value" to it by jaming or making pies etc its probably 3 times that and when you add in the valuables such as asparagus, banana shallots etc the savings rocket especially as some ofthe stuff you just cannot buy.

As Jennie says though be it expensive asparagus or cheap as chips carrots, the difference in taste and its provenance is priceless. and food miles free.

[jrricko]

Hi, this is my first post. I agree with all the comments about the superior taste of veg that has only travelled the length of your garden. I also haven't bought any courgettes, baby sweetcorn or tomatoes for months now and my peppers are even starting to turn red, very exciting! I'm not sure I've recouped the outlay I've spent but I think I'll break even by next year. It's just a shame my aubergines aren't performing.... at about a pound each in Tesco the savings would really rack up. Does anyone have any good ideas about what I can grow in my greenhouse when it gets too cold for tomatoes, peppers and aubergines?

[JennieAtkinson]

Taste and freshness is really important for us here on a remote island. Heaven only knows how long the fresh fruit and veg at the two major stores are in transit. I know the shelf life once bought is only a couple of days!

[nick the grief]

.......... Does anyone have any good ideas about what I can grow in my greenhouse when it gets too cold for tomatoes, peppers and aubergines?

Hi jrricko, welcome to the vine. A lot depends on your greenhouse. Is it heated during the winter & do you have beds in there or is it all paved ?

If it is heated (even to frost free) you can grow early carrots, spuds, lettuce, Cauli's the list is endless. If you have beds in there it means you've got as lot more space. If you go for Cauli's etc, pick the close cropping varieties (Mini-veg is another term you'll come across) you can get more in then. You can even grow a few peas for some early crops.

Spuds you can grow in tubs now for christmas and Carrots if you pick a quick maturing variety (Amsterdam Forcing or the like).

After Christmas you have all the seed raising for next years plants (plus follow on crops of spuds etc. The work is endless

You can roughly extend your growing season by 10-12 weeks (5-6 either end of the year) by growing under Glass.

Next problem will be your Greenhouse won't be big enough !!

[soobeth]

I grow purple sprouting and i love the fact of how much money im saving

[Lesley Jay]

I like your signature soobeth!!

[Earthbabe]

I agree that if you add in sheds/greenhouses etc. and are buying everything from new it does take a while to recoup. But on a day to day basis once up and running and collecting manure from stables, saving your own seed etc. the costs start to come down. Some of the plot holders here don't seem to spend anything much over their rent and keep themselves in produce all year round. The council provide us with leaf mould and wood chip which also helps. Although we are still only in our second year as allotment holders and everything this year is late we are starting to see the cost benefits and as Jennie's OH very rightly says the taste benefits outweigh some of the costs. It's also worth it to see our daughter enjoying helping us and eating the produce. Didn't get that from supermarket shopping. At the moment I'm only buying a little bit of fruit and the occasional carrot for the rabbit in terms of fresh produce. Hopefully with more time to spend next year and onwards things can only get better.