[sunshineband]

I think beesrus' point is a valid one: I would never buy 5 kilos of raspberries at supermarket at the prices they charge, so is it 'economy' to consider the supermarket value of the crop you harvest, or the cost of the fruit & veg you would actually buy if you did not grow anything yourself, against the similar produce from your plot?

[Madame Cholet]

j artichokes if you like them grow any where and only need to buy once. I bought raspberries a couple of years ago and they were tasteless home grown are delicious.

[Christine]

First thing to ask is what fruit and vegetables you like. Then decide what is cost effective. You may need a freezer if you get say a lot of peas.

The other side of the coin is that experience helps. You will need to find out what grows well on your plot and what you need to do to improve the soil to get better results.

Things are only economical if you like them and can grow enough of them. To do the second, you need the know how.

[surbie100]

I totally agree with what others have said about growing what you like. I'm very keen on growing things that are expensive or not available in shops. And after a geeky year of weighing and comparing prices my top things are gooseberries, PSB, saffron, rhubarb, strawberries, broad beans, courgettes and squashes.

But for spuds I disagree with you - I planted 51 spuds, cost me £7 in total plus perhaps another £7 in fertiliser and compost. The harvest was 41.5kg, which more than pays for them and I do think they taste a heap better than bought ones.

[Growster...]

Those lovely small new potatoes will make the year sing...

And tiny broad beans, and peas, and tomatoes which are still warm from the patch or the greenhouse!

Then there's salsify, celeriac and chard shoots for the winter as well!

And carrots, perhaps not on the allotment (they're for soup), probably pulled from deep pots of pure compost at home, just like we did today!

[theothermarg]

IMHO the sheer freshness of beans (both runner and climbing French) and sweetcorn when ate before it realises it has been picked is priceless 
marg

[Goosegirl]

Having had to cut down what I used to grow, what works for me are sugar snaps (pick regularly and those you miss can be shelled as peas), summer calabrese (pick the main head then you get lots of side-shoots), sweet corn simply for the exquitite tase as opposed to those you buy in shops (you can also under-plant with French beans - another prolific one to grow), leeks, and many fruits. It's a balance between your available space, time, price in the shops and taste.

[beesrus]

Also, as implied by a couple of posters above, crops that fit in easily with another crop as an under crop like GG's beans under corn, or are short early or short late croppers around the main crop, are in effect a land freebie.... early peas in a greenhouse for example. I'm trying the same sort of logic with my buckwheat next year as the normal green manure, but also as grain to be eaten, and it will be interesting how that turns out.
Under my own allotment creative accounting, I can cost early greenhouse peas in my mind as zero outlay and ground assets consumed. In fact they could be considered as weed suppressants and an actual plus on my make believe  balance sheet.

[Nobbie]

As the OP mentioned, I think salad crops and herbs can be the most cost effective per square metre. We have a lot of salads and cook using a lot of herbs. It's amazing how quickly it can add up when you start buying salad in bags and herbs in pots. Chard is a wonder crop for me, use it in salads, or cook it as spinach and it can be harvested all year round. Just had a great curry with the chard thrown in for the last 10 minutes to wilt .

The downside of the salad/herbs is that you need to keep on top of the successional sowing to ensure a constant supply throughout the year.

[Kevin67]

....on my make believe  balance sheet.

I do that! Without hijacking this great thread, I wonder how many of us do that? I'll bet it's quite a few!

[wbmkk]

Chard is a wonder crop for me, use it in salads, or cook it as spinach and it can be harvested all year round.

OP here

I actually grew Swiss chard this year, the rainbow variety. It was OK, but I wondered why so many of the red ones bolted, where as the other colours were fine.

... or was it the yellow ones that all bolted ??

Whatever, one colour nearly always bolted

[ptarmigan]

I find the red chard bolts more often than the other colours.  Fantastic crop though - stands for ages, even through the winter and can be added to almost anything - and I really like the taste.

As other have said I like to grow things that taste almost like a different vegetable when picked and cooked young or fresh.  Asparagus, peas, small beetroot, new potatoes - are all fantastic when cooked as soon as possible after picking.  And I grow a lot of fruit - it's expensive to buy, quite easy to grow - and people are quite glad to take some off your hands if you have too much!

Also pumpkins - keep for ages and you get varieties that you just can't get in the shops - at least not where I live...

[Limey153]

As others have said, it's fruit for me. With supermarkets charging £2-3 per 200g of Raspberries, Gooseberries, blueberries etc its a no-brainer for me to just grow a heap of fruit, at least half of my plot is just for fruit and i have just this week planted dwarf apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. Also, in my house we never have any trouble at all in eating up a glut of fruit.

Veg wise I would always have courgettes in as they crop so heavily and I love growing squashes because there are just so many varieties to try that you could not possibly ever find in a supermarket.

[fatcat1955]

The most economical vegetable you can grow is the one that you enjoy eating the most.

[Goosegirl]

The most economical vegetable you can grow is the one that you enjoy eating the most.

FC - so succinctly put.