Allotments not worth it? !!!

[no_akira]

From a bean counter point of view they arent worth it...

Ive got friends that spend more in a week down the pub than I spend all year at the allotment.

It all about the shinning successes amongst an ocean of failures.

Each year I lean a little more.

One of my big successes this year is growing a pumpkin out of a dalek filled with 6 month old horse manure.

[Snadger]

One of my lemon trees has five lemons on it, just about ready to be picked!

[Baldy]

Blackcurrants.

Vodka.

Hmm - it all starts to make sense

my new blog- "The Infusion Garden - its worth it... then you're dead"

[veggiechicken]

When you have a garden, you have to maintain it, whether by mowing the lawn, pruning the roses or turning it over to fruit & veg. I prefer to eat raspberries than mow a lawn.
I don't measure the food on my plate by food miles but by food steps. Bananas and lemons I buy but I will not buy an out of season tomato, strawberry or courgette. In fact I won't buy them in season either but rely on being able to grow my own. If I can't, I go without.

[Jay-ell]

I'm not getting involved in the grammar and punctuation aspects of this - its far too silly for me... with that "I'm oot"

Who called for the gra'ma police?

[Mark_Riga]

Well I have a plot and over the years it has produced well I should say. Each year the successes tend to outnumber the failures. This year my pea harvest is going well (previous years I've lost a lot to mice) as also onions, garlic tomatoes cabbage and cauli, french beans new potatoes courgettes, beetroot.
Strawberries were doing good. Went to collect some more last week - and there were none, next day I caught sight of a pair of squirrels that have just moved into the neighbourhood. I went to check on the gooseberries and there were hardly any, I'd left it too late (I disturbed a blackbird that flew cackling away). Carrots don't look up to much yet but parsnips should be OK later. Red currants, blackcurrants and raspberries more or less take care of themselves (these are in a fruit cage I just finished - previous years, the blackbirds took most of the red currants but left me most of the raspberries and blackcurrants. Though the squirrels have been eating the raspberries lately. I'm just a bit worried what else they will turn their attention to. I have some french beans planted for drying that may be at risk and also the peas if they were to try them.

[Small pumpkin]

I see it like this

How much is an hours therapy? ( for arguments sake ) £20
we all know it's been scientifically prooven that gardening is good therapy
How much is an hours gym membership? ( anything from £1 to your full membership cost, because if you're like me you would only go once! )
How much is an hour veg shopping?
(The cost of the actual veg, the cost of getting there and back)
You get to do all 3 of those things in your garden / allotment at the same time. As far as I'm concerned it's very worth it. It's bl@@dy priceless!

[sparrow100]

It'll take years for me to recoup the money I've spent on the plots because I wasn't a gardener when I started and I've bought a few things I don't need - along with many that are essential on my space (hello mattock and extending ratchet loppers!). In 5 years my spend is nearing £3k. But if I didn't have the plots, my shoe & cocktail habit would have cost me more than that. Horse riding costs me about £2k a year just for lessons. I make an increasing amount of profit in harvests per year on the overall spend, and we eat almost exclusively from the plots for a good bit of the year but then I wouldn't buy 7kg of redcurrants if I didn't grow them...

The learning & sharing is the most fun bit for me. That, growing stuff you can't buy and stealing all the peas.

As a proof-reader and a signed up member of the I Love Grammar & Punctuation Soc, your points were correct. They just weren't at all friendly. And this is a friendly forum, please be nice.

[Jimmy]

Re "Allotments not worth it? !!!"

The big question is what's the definition of "worth"

Is it financial or something more valuable?

Jimmy

[Dalrimple]

With you 100% Snadger.....

Whats the cost of a gym membership?.........is pedantic easy to grow?

yer dead easy you just stick inbetween a couple of ,, lol ,, atb Dal