Most Economic Veg/Flower ?

[JennieAtkinson]

What was your most economic veg/flower this year???

All my veg took alot of care and I might add money in terms of compost, feed, etc. but still didn't give me much in the way of returns, other than a great taste and lots of fun, but flowers ..........

Cosmos Dazzler grown from a packet of seed at a cost of £1.29 provided 58 plants for the garden which started flowering in August and are still flowering their socks off!

And a packet of Crysanthemum bulbs/tubers (Nick will tell me they are not bulbs but something else ) for £3.99 which again have provided cut flowers for the house for the last six weeks and still going strong.

What worked for you???

[Debs]

Jennie mine has got to be my dwarf french beans! One packet of seeds - started harvesting in June and still going strong! Enough frozen to go right through to next spring. Not far behind is the Pak Choi and Swiss Chard ( I use a lot of Pak Choi in Stir Fries etc and have saved a fortune as opposed to supermarket @ £1.99 for Two!!)

As this has been my first year GYO it has been a bit of an experiment but well worth it! The satisfaction of knowing exactly what is on your plate, how it has been produced, totally chemical free is amazing!

[annie trip]

I know what you mean on the expense front,seem to have spent a fortune on seeds etc but have plenty left for future. As a beginer i just impulse buy so hopefully next yeat will be wiser.

However one courgette plant for about£1.50 must have given me 40+ courgettes!Still producing had one for tea last night, but slowing down now.
OH is getting a bit bored of yellow bits appearing in t so next year going to try one of the 3 coloured variety.

[Shortie]

I bought 4 Chrysanths from the 99p Shop (99p each, not for for 99p...)

They're still in FULL bloom. Very impressed

I suppose my most economic veg is my Kabocha squash seeds which I got for a swap for some butternut seeds, so the pirce of a stamp and envelope! I got 4 Kabocha squashes, no idea what they taste like yet but intend to keep the seeds to grow even more plants next year.

Oh... no, my most economical are my perpetual spring onions that I was given for free by a lovely couple who I bought my shredder for. They were free are very healthy plants now they'v settled and will provide me spring onions forever more. Now that's economical

[Waffler]

My courgettes were star producers as well. Probably came in at around £3 as I bought 2 and grew 3 from seed (left over from last year). I grew them in loo rolls and they've been going great guns all over the summer. I threw the yellow one out last weekend (it was last to start producing and first to stop - anyone else notice anything similar?) Yesterday I went to check them again, thinking may be I'd harvest the last and bin them, but I cut 4 off and there are still diddy ones coming along, so I've left the plants. Only problem is knowing when to give up - a couple of them seem to be suffering some kind of rot, so I need to strike the balance between allowing them to get a bit bigger, and not losing them to rot.

However, off these 5 plants we must've had over 200 courgettes, which the neighbours have also enjoyed!

Runner beans were also stars - seed saved from last years, which were seeds saved from year before etc., so effectively free and produced beans all through the summer until a couple of weeks ago (a bit tough now).

[Snadger]

Jennie mine has got to be my dwarf french beans! One packet of seeds - started harvesting in June and still going strong! Enough frozen to go right through to next spring. Not far behind is the Pak Choi and Swiss Chard ( I use a lot of Pak Choi in Stir Fries etc and have saved a fortune as opposed to supermarket @ £1.99 for Two!!)

As this has been my first year GYO it has been a bit of an experiment but well worth it! The satisfaction of knowing exactly what is on your plate, how it has been produced, totally chemical free is amazing!

Have to agree with the dwarf french beans! 19p a packet and came home with a carrier bag full every visit to lottie, for what seems to be ages now!

[dexterdoglancashire]

A friend of my OHs at work gave me a courgette plant! super! kept us supplied with courgettes all summer! guess whos going to be growing them next year! DDL

[bramble]

My chilli plants have been a winner this year. Bought the seed last year. They wer'nt a bargin pack but the ammount i've had from four plants this year will keep me going indefinitely and i'm still harvesting them.

[heebiejeebie]

my leaf beet - bought one pack of seeds, planted about 30 in the spring, all germinated, planted out about 15 in the lottie and still eating the produce. The remaining plants are in a grow bag, waiting for space.

[Snadger]

my leaf beet - bought one pack of seeds, planted about 30 in the spring, all germinated, planted out about 15 in the lottie and still eating the produce. The remaining plants are in a grow bag, waiting for space.

I bought two packets of leaf beet but never got round to sowing it! Are they like spinach to eat?Or do you eat the stems? I must admit I aint to keen on spinach if they are!

Toyed with the idea of broadcasting it in my leek trench as a green manure!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi Snadger! I've grown three lots of leaf beet this year - and they are still growing strong! I like the flavour - I think its not at strong as spinach, although I cook it the same way - steam (chop the stems up as well) until soft, stir in a bit of butter then sprinkle with a bit of nutmeg. Well worth giving a try! DDL

[Earthbabe]

My courgettes are always a winner. The best of the two varieties was the Black Beauty that I was given. Far more productive than the striato di napoli which I bought. Reverse was true for the cucumber. Wautoma, planted three or four ended up with one that is still going and still healthy looking. Lovely taste and crunch.

Was given 15 runner bean plants, gave six away. They have been lovely, really productive and tasty. We pick them very small. Will be saving seed and growing those again next year.

Leaf beet has done well from a packet I bought last year. Strawberries cultivated from runners etc. produced enough in one day for me to have to make 7 jars of jam.

Giant red mustard seed - given by my mum who picked it up with a huge job lot of other seed at a car boot. Think it wants to take over.

[Alison]

Really struggled with beans this year - both runner and climbing French. In fact had problems getting the runner beans to germinate and by the time I'd planted another lot it was running late. However, courgettes and cucumbers went a bit mental, pretty good tomato crop and loads of soft fruit. Will try and harvest the sweet potatoes this afternoon so fingers crossed that there will be something there.

[sewer rat]

On the non-veg front, my star performers have to be my two fuschia magellanica bushes - two for 50p as young cuttings three years ago - both now stand 5ft, very bushy and very showy. Also, my Sambucus nigra "Black Lace" again bought as a cutting three years ago for £1 - easily now over 6ft, beautiful shrub.
On the veg front, my cucumbers, variety Topsy, were superb again this year, Courgettes, variety Goldrush, cropped long and heavy, climbing Runner Beans, variety Polestar, set easily and cropped heavily and Peas, varieties Early Onward and Alderman, were brill too.