how productive are you?

[solway cropper]

Early this year I read somewhere that the aim of the self-sufficient gardener should be to produce at least one pound of food for every square foot under cultivation. (apologies if you're metric)

Well, I like a challenge so I've kept a record of my produce this year to see how I was shaping up. I know it's a bit anal to weigh everything so I've just taken an average of what I've picked.

Anyway, my little growing space, consisting of main plot, fruit border and greenhouse, amounts to just over 400 square feet and I've had 457lbs of food crops. And I've still got 100+ leeks and the other winter veg to go at!

Not sure if I'll be able to maintain this in coming years but if I keep bunging on the muck I should be OK. I aim to get two crops from as much of the area as possible each season and I achieve this by block planting and using follow-on crops, ie. leeks after early spuds.

I suspect Snadger, with his hatred of bare soil, will be able to do better but I wonder how do other grapes maximize their yields.

[Suky]

Hmmm, will have to measure plot but have kept a record of produce this year. Didn't weigh cabbage etc (counted them as individual items) but harvested 105lb so far and still have leeks, parsnips and cabbage to go plus Christmas spuds.
I have changed the way I record for the coming year, weighing everything and calculation the monetary value (see allotment posts).

[Two_Sheds]

Good on you, how satisfying. It's very interesting and hats off to anyone who manages to weigh and record all their produce.

A pound per foot, hmmmm.

While a pound of lettuce won't give you much nutrition, a pound of kidney beans would feed you for a week or two.
I'd say we're (2 adults, 3 pets from one plot) pretty much self-sufficient in veg (except we'll have to buy in potatoes & onions this year).

[piskieinboots]

I'm in awe of people that weigh and record produce as with the 'costing' threads - I always start off well and then find myself grabbing 'stuff' and cooking it - then remembering I haven't weighed it.

[womble]

This doesn't make alot of sense really, as everything wieghs different amounts.
You're not going to get much value from sweetcorn in this way of working it out!

Wouldn't this make more sense if you did it as one £ per sq foot?

[SarzWix]

I'm in awe of people that weigh and record produce as with the 'costing' threads - I always start off well and then find myself grabbing 'stuff' and cooking it - then remembering I haven't weighed it.

Exactly so...

I started off doing the weighing/costing thing earlier this year and then kinda fizzled out One thing I do know - I'll never be able to grow enough potatoes, carrots and onions...

[SueA]

I don't have an allotment & my garden is tiny (about 29ftx17ft-ish) & my veg. plot is only 4ftx4ft, so along with the various containers & bags I use I only get small crops, my fruit & veg. probably works out more expensive than Fortnum & Masons!
Come to think of it I spent £9.99 to try 3 grafted tomato plants of Zebrino this year & only got a couple of dozen decent toms. from them at the most so at the price that worked out they should have been gold-plated!
If I planted up the entire garden with potatoes though I might get somewhere near the 'lb per square foot' ratio!

[gojiberry]

Seems to be two trains of thought on productivity one based on weight the other on monetary value. Only occasionally do I bother thinking about either but to give an example :- Blueberries, space taken up 4ft by 8ft total 32 sq feet. Yield 16lb of fruit so only half pound per sq foot but at tesco price of £1.99 per 4oz that is total value of £128, which gives a yield of £4 per sq ft. That is going to be far greater than most veg will yield in monetary value but far less weight wise.

Ian

[Bren In Pots]

I grow in 5 small beds in my garden and if i can eat something I've grown each day even it its just a bit of lettuce for a sandwich I'm happy with what my garden produces.

[Two_Sheds]

Seems to be two trains of thought on productivity one based on weight the other on monetary value.

I've picked over 7 kilos (what's that, one stone?) of elderberries this year and about the same of blackberries from the hedgerows on my cycling commute.

I've turned them (or will turn them) into 14 jars of jam and 30 bottles of wine. If I paid for those ... I've saved myself about £135

Then there's the (free) blackberries that have been turned into about £70 worth of chutney (and blackberry whisky)

[Snadger]

Don't do weighing, or spread sheets or ground plans! Can't be arsed!

If you do the best you can thats all that matters!

[stella]

I grow what I can in pots in the uk and I am happy with anything, never enough to weigh

[solway cropper]

Interesting replies and thanks to those grapes who responded. The only reason I bothered with all the weighing is sheer curiosity, just to see if what I was producing came close to the 'ideal' as laid down by the author of the original article. I won't be bothering again because, like most people, I simply grow what I like to eat and enjoy doing it. As for costs, I never think about it. Money couldn't buy the freshness and quality I get from my own produce.

[Alison]

Don't do weighing as really don't have time, especially when harvesting in peak season can take a couple of hours . What I do know is that I haven't bought things like potatoes or onions for 18 months and not bought any veg at all since about April / May. Did resort to buying the odd cabbage or carrot last winter but looking at the plot think I should be self sufficient this winter so am happy whatever that equates to in weight.

[LolaLou]

I've been trying to weigh everything this year, purely out of curiosity too, as the enjoyment I get from growing and eating my own produce as a hobby outweighs (no pun intended ) any cost involved (I like ski-ing as a hobby too and spend a lot on that all in one week!). We'll have to start buying garlic and onions around christmas time as I've not nailed the art of growing large ones yet, but the only fresh veg I really buy at the moment is salad items. Weight to space, I'm not sure i'd come out so 'profitable' but according to my chart, we've made a profit since I cropped the first (rotten ) garlic in May, of about £200 to date (winter veg and outrageously priced PSB still growing away). All in all, that is the cherry on top of a very happy pie for me!