Your veg plot and an important source of food for reasons of lack of money?

[TrialAndError]

Do you rely on on your veg plot as a source of food because money is short? Bills for heating, rates and most importantly (for me) payments to ex-wives are all forcing me to rely on my allotment as a vital source of food.

What crops do you think are best for this purpose? Nutrition, variety, storage etc all seem important. Any ideas?

I'm not taken in by the self-sufficiency idea per se, it's more that my allotment is now an economically important part of my life.

[bearded bloke]

You need to look at successional growing possibly using the square foot method also look at crops with a long productivity period &/or good storage properties.

[veggiechicken]

If I could choose one crop only it would be beans for eating fresh and drying.
They're a better source of protein than most veg, crop well over a long season and can be dried to eat through the winter.

[WilliamD]

I think your approach is becoming more and more common T&E, as well as being just plain sensible. I'd echo VC's beans suggestion: very versatile, nutritious and filling, with good crops from a reasonable space. And pest risks are pretty easily managed.

For root veg I would've suggested carrots, but you can lose a whole crop to the dreaded root fly, so it might not be worth the risk. Parsnips are similar but reasonably untroubled by pests, and they can be delicious.

Onions too, but try varieties which are described as good for storing.

Statement of the obvious but a good amount of freezer space will be a key part of your plan, but drying and pickling are also good for many things. Not least the usual tomatoes we all grow, and the chillis and herbs you can use to add flavour to some of the plainer veg.

You might also want to start seed saving if you don't already. I saved cucumber seeds this year and it's so easy and satisfying that you don't need to buy any next year, nor ever again if you stick to it. It can save quite a bit of money.

But there's one caveat: you shouldn't normally save F1 hybrid seeds, but I think for the importance your crop has to you, you might want that reassurance of a sturdy, productive crop that F1 seeds claim to bring. Maybe F1s for your most important items, but standard or heritage seeds for everything else, which you can then save.

Would be very interested to know how you proceed.

[veggiechicken]

I wouldn't grow crops like parsnips that occupy the ground for a long time - better to grow quicker growing crops and take 2 or 3 crops from the same space.

[WilliamD]

That's a very good point actually. My parsnips will have been in the ground for 9 months soon, shading other things and generally being in the way.

[Feral007]

I really like veg I've grown, freshest there is, and no wastage as you pick as you want. Also like to keep the chemicals and so on out of the equation.
I only work part-time so I can be here with the kids, and it helps make up the difference between paydays and the erratic payments of the ex.

Chooks also help out there.

On especially hard weeks it's 'eggs and dried chickpeas and herbs'.

I'm not good with beans I've discovered. But rainbow chard has been a godsend. All year no matter what.
Zuchinni's (so prolific you get sick of them in season, but they're great in pasta sauces frozen for winter).

Potatoes are going great for us now. Hoping to get a long enough season for pumpkins this year. Sweet corn, snowpeas.
Bok choi, always lettuce, small globe carrots (no problems with forking) Rhubarb, apples, red onions, spring onions, garlic, herbs. Tomatoes are hard due to late frosts here.

[The Cobra]

I think people who grow their own veg have to rely on it to cut costs. Organic veg is just so damn expensive these days, especially at supermarkets. Also, I'm amazed at the amount of veg you see in supermarkets that is imported from abroad. It makes no sense at all to me. If I had a local farmer who I knew could supply me with cheap, organic veg, then I'd have less of a need to grow my own. Thats not to say I wouldn't grow my own though, as it's a hobby as well as a way of saving money and eating the freshest produce

[Feral007]

Yes Cobra, organic is expensive. And organic doesn't always mean what we think it does.

So I think growing your own has health benefits in that you only put on it what you believe is safe (not much for me) but you also can relax because you know what is in it.

It's like eggs really. I've got some ex batties. But eggs in the supermarket? Caged eggs, barnlaid, farm fresh (cage farm, but a farm all the same) free range (one bird per square cm?) eco eggs? WTH?

I don't want eggs with little smiley faces on them! I want chooks with smiley beaks laying my eggs!

Edited to add: and my organic veg and fruit is not totally perfect, but I delight in their idiosyncratic shapes of them, and the eggs - well you couldn't order them in such a variety of sizes and colours, or tell what day they're going to lay!

[arpoet]

The first couple of years seemed to be all pay out and poor returns, so one year I kept a spread sheet and recorded all costs, no matter how small, and on the other side the retail value of whatever we harvested.
Up to July we were in the red, and slowly the spread sheet turned black.
At the end of the year I worked out which crops were worth growing to turn a profit and what to avoid.
I also analysed all costs and was staggered that petrol costs (to and from the lottie, picking up manure, etc) wiped out most of the profits. And if you factored in your labour cost, at minimum wage, it would have run at a loss.
I now grow just at home so don't have rent to pay or petrol costs, but don't have anywhere near enough space to be self sufficient.
Roger

[Feral007]

Arpoet - you'd need to factor in the costs you're saving on mental health appt's as well.

It is more than diet, it's physical health and mental health in my mind.

When every thing is going to crap in my world then I can play in the garden and come away feeling that life is still worth living.

[Bill HH]

To turn a truly costed profit on a veg plot is extreemley difficult. Freezing stuff is ok but I think the cost of leccy would surprise you.
Best for me would be beans and spuds, providing you dont lose them all to disease. Salad stuff like toms and cucumbers seem to offer a good return. For maximun financial return, ignoring the health benefits and sheer pleasure of GYO you would be better off with a second part time job and buy the veg.

[marcofez]

I would stick to crops that you enjoy eating at first. Make a plan of said crops and try to maximise the growing space with second crops, when these have finished. Also over time try out new stuff, and if you like it and is possible to grow then grow those as well. If you are lucky enough to get a polytunnel/greenhouse you might be able to grow stuff all the year round. If allowed you could also have chickens and that means eggs!
Lots of other stuff, like health benefits, fresh air, fitness and many more to mention. Hope this helps

[Littlefox2000]

I got my half plot at the end of May this year. Getting it part way through the year did limit me somewhat in what I could grow, as it was probably more like the end of June/ July before I managed to get the beds ready for crops. Nevertheless, it's been a great experience and I've tried really hard not to buy veggies from the supermarket. I'm quite pleased that I've really only had to buy the odd bag of carrots, onions and mushrooms (which I have a real weakness for).

Although I had a lot of great successes this year , there were a few things which became long term staples, as they just grew and grew. These were kale, spinach/ chard and celery. The kale and spinach/ chard just kept on growing. I used them both as a cut and come again crop. Even now, I have loads of spinach and chard plants growing nicely. The kale came to an end in October, but I still got a good 3 months cropping off it. The celery was pretty much the same...although took a bit longer to get going. Rather than cutting whole plants, I just took stems as they reached a reasonable size. They were still looking great, until the frosts came.

In addition, thanks to all the advise from the lovely people on this forum, I learned to make use of more than one bit of my plants. This really helped make more my plot. So, things like taking beetroot leaves, as salad, or like spinach, brassica leaves as greens, celeriac tops for salads and stews. This meant I could still use parts of crops that took a longer time to grow. I also planted things too close together and then used the thinnings, as I went.

I should also mention courgettes, squash and French beans were wonderful croppers too and not cheap in the shops.

At the moment I am still happily eating from the plot, larder and freezer. I'm not sure how long that will last, as it's my first year.

Like others have said, I'm not really sure whether I've saved much money growing my own. I pretty much bypass the fruit and veg section in the supermarket now, but I didn't keep tabs on my expenditure on the plot. I would estimate that I'm in the red this year, as getting set up, with raised beds, shed, tools and poly definitely set me back, despite doing everything on the cheap.


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[Thelma Sanders]

Even if I didn't have the lotty I'd still be running a freezer - as I don't shop every day.
So I wouldn't need to consider the electric costs if it happens to be choc full at this time of year

I grow a lot of beans, as others have said - and a third of the plot is under potatoes. I don't grow late maincrops - so have always managed a fair yield even if the tops were cut off early because of blight.
Leeks always follow the early potatoes.
Salads are good value spacewise- but only if you eat them, obviously. I also grow reliably productive squash for winter storage/use and courgettes for summer.
I grow quite a few early sown peas and whip them out quickly once they've been picked and follow with a different crop, often perennial spinach which will crop through the spring hungry gap - just when we need some fresh greens.