Self sufficient gardening

[Aberdeenplotter]

You are making an excellent point VC. Most folks who have an interest in developing a hobby do a bit of research beforehand and buy the odd magazine. Anyone doing so with a view to growing vegetables should make sure they buy the magazines with seed giveaways. problem is, the magazines are getting to be so expensive as well.

Note to GYO. ^^^^^^

The other point I would like to make is that it isn't necessary to buy the most expensive seeds. The economy supermarkets in particular have a range of seeds at low prices that will produce a decent yield.

In some parts of the country, it just isn't possible to collect/harvest seed because the growing season is so short and in any event, many of the popular varieties are hybrid strains and are unlikely to come true.

is there an advert on the go just now that goes something like, give a man a fish and he can feed his family but give him a net and he can catch his own fish? It's that mentality that needs to be fostered

[veggiechicken]

A gardening mag costs about £4 these days - that's the equivalent of 8 packets of seeds from a cheap shop and borrow a book from the library for nowt. I'd hate gardening to be perceived as an expensive hobby when there are ways around this.
I'm starting to lose my own thread now but I just want everyone to have the opportunity to grow their own. I'm sure you understand

[Aberdeenplotter]

My dad was a prisoner of war in the early 1940's. He came from a farming background and knew how to grow vegetables. He was allowed to cultivate a vegetable garden which supplemented the meagre diet of all the prisoners. He was convinced that it was having that knowledge that kept him alive and he made sure that I was educated so that if I encountered hard times that I would be able to help myself and be able to educate others so that they too would be able to grow their own veg and help themselves.

So we are singing off the same hymn sheet.

Costs have gone through the roof though as supermarkets/garden centres have capitalised on the resurgence of interest and it is difficult persuading folks that there is lots that they don't have to buy and that the basics are adequate. For instance, you don't need compost, you can sow in soil which is free

[lottie dolly]

Why not ask friends ext,for any veg peelings ext,also lawn clippings,even suitable weeds,if if needs be,do peeps need their lawn racking for the leaves/moss,as this will increase your volume of compost,

[veggiechicken]

My grandfather had an allotment but my parents lived in a little terraced house with no garden - with very little money - and were used to having to get by on very little. It was make do and mend and don't moan. So I'd like everyone these days, especially those who are unemployed, to have the opportunity and enthusiasm to grow their own food and find the satisfaction that can come from being independent of the retailers.

[Aberdeenplotter]

After the war, My dad got a job at a distillery up in Speyside with a tied house and a huge garden. he worked shifts and of course at that time, entertainment was what you made it and he just loved growing veggies. I had a wee corner where I played with my dinkie toys etc and where I made roads, tried to dig out a telephone pole with a teaspoon etc and that area was called the hole. As I got bigger, so did the hole until one day my dad persuaded me to have a go at growing veggies. Started with the easy things like radishes which were quick to germinate and quick to mature. I got the bug and it has stayed with me.

[zazen999]

Thanks for this VC - you have just made me completely redesign my Growing on a Budget course that I'm running next year!!!

Cheers for that. [And that's not sarcasm!!!].

[veggiechicken]

That's good, Zaz. Spread the word - and send me your course notes please

[zazen999]

Will do.

[Bigmallly]

I don't buy a single packet of seeds until around Feb/March time when Aldi & the likes start selling them @ 19p per packet.......if I can't find what I want then I will look elsewhere...........I know, I'm tight.

[Bren In Pots]

This year I bought a multi veg pack from B&M for 89p it had parsnips, leeks, carrots, sprouts, cabbage plus swede, there were plenty of seeds left over in each little packet

[planetologist]

This year, the sum total of my gardening spending should be £8.80 for participating in two seed swaps, including Z's general circle here. And I mostly do that because it's fun. I've just started a circle in Norfolk for 2013, though the participants live relatively far apart, so it may still be postal and not reduce the cost. I made a new spade handle from a holly tree last week. I make compost from the food I eat. I haven't bought any fruit and vegetables since 2009. Eventually the carrot fly mesh and cabbage netting will need to be replaced.

[planetologist]

You can't buy "weather" Lottie - it costs nothing to start with!!

When we were evaluating the growing year at Norwich Farmshare Community Supported Agriculture last month the growers were saying that last year we paid £800 pounds for irrigation, and that this year they would have gladly paid the same amount to have the same amount of water removed.

[planetologist]

Well, excuse me, but cheap non-organic seeds are a typical example of externalised costs.

[veggiechicken]

Planetologist - can I ask how much space you have to grow your crop? Are we talking back garden, allotment or CSA share? or anything in between