[Kristen]

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

I may have done once-upon-a-time but now all I am interested in is:

Flavour - either because picked-fresh or because I have found & grow a variety not available in the shops (low yield? poor disease resistance? difficult to harvest?) that just plain tastes better

Provenance - increasingly I want to be sure that I am not buying food imported from somewhere that doesn't care about what chemicals were used on the crop (repackaged in the UK and then labelled "UK" is a scandal IMHO).  No chemicals used on my crops ...

Having said that, I buy 90% of my seeds in the sale (if I knew what I was doing and was more organised I could save my own seed), so my cost-of-seed is minimal, thus the economics of my crops are good

[Madame Cholet]

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.

I agree I have a whole plot planted as an orchard at the bottom of my veg plot in a few years it will be brilliant

[sunshineband]

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

I may have done once-upon-a-time but now all I am interested in is:

Flavour - either because picked-fresh or because I have found & grow a variety not available in the shops (low yield? poor disease resistance? difficult to harvest?) that just plain tastes better

Provenance - increasingly I want to be sure that I am not buying food imported from somewhere that doesn't care about what chemicals were used on the crop (repackaged in the UK and then labelled "UK" is a scandal IMHO).  No chemicals used on my crops ...

Having said that, I buy 90% of my seeds in the sale (if I knew what I was doing and was more organised I could save my own seed), so my cost-of-seed is minimal, thus the economics of my crops are good

I am increasingly in this camp too Kristen, and enjoyment of eating and growing has to be top of the list. More and more I save my own seed, or buy in those wonderful 50p sales, which certainly increases economy.  No chemicals used on my plants at all, which means I can happily feed them to the grandchildren without worry too 

[barley]

me and dad buy our seeds between us

works out about £20 each

we are both self sufficient in veg so I would say its all economical to grow

[compostqueen]

Tenderstem  broc and purple sprouting broc are very expensive in the shops but easy to grow

Berries are a boon 

[Growster...]

Although carrots are pretty cheap to buy, there is no comparison with those often knobbly things we dig up, and spend a few minutes chopping out the split bits, or the twisted pieces, and taste absolutely marvellous!

We just chucked a few seeds in two big pots of compost in the early autumn, and they have grown into the sweetest veg we've ever had, so they're an absolute must for next year.

[wbmkk]

OP here again.

Thanks for all the interesting replies.

Yep, I think more fruit is 'the way to go'

I planted two apple trees last winter, but they didn't grow very much this year ... maybe they were getting ready for a big push in 2015

I have rhubarb, so looking forward to pulling my first stalks this year.

Strawberries are doing OK too

But I think I'll order a few more soft fruit bushes now, so what are the best varieties for blackcurrants and gooseberries. I don't think I have tasted gooseberries since school dinner puddings, quite a few years ago.

Are redcurrants and white currants worth growing too, or would I be better off, just growing blackcurrants ?

thanks !

[Madame Cholet]

Red and white currants are the same fruit which is different from blackcurrants. They are good crop if you like to eat them.
I like the red dessert gooseberries. I've also been pleased with my loganberry.

[Yorkshire Lass]

I have only had my plot for a year so I feel I am not experienced, but in my first year beetroot, courgettes and peas are the way forward but I desperately want raspberries so they are on my wish list next year. 

[chillimummy]

I found that my raspberries gave me non stop fruit through summer and autumn when as others have said, so expensive in shops. Going to grow more strawberries this year as we eat a lot and wasn't happy having to buy them!.
Salad crops expensive even in summer and my favourites were my mini gem lettuces which were delicious. PSB also gives you an enormous crop and really tasty.
I always grow quite a lot of potatoes as have only had plot for 3 years so using them to break up soil. Same with onions, I grow them autumn and spring.  Although not expensive, they last me through until late autumn and taste lovely.
Has taken me til now to balance between what we all like and making the most of plot as half plot.
Some things are easier to grow at home in pots as more accessible when you can't get to plot.

[BabbyAnn]

I planted two apple trees last winter, but they didn't grow very much this year ... maybe they were getting ready for a big push in 2015

Tree fruit can take a few years to get going and is a long term project - but each year you should see more fruit than the year before (providing the spring weather doesn't spoil things and you also have suitable pollinating partners)

I like the red dessert gooseberries.

I'll go along with that!  Lovely and sweet.

Are redcurrants and white currants worth growing too, or would I be better off, just growing blackcurrants ?

I find my red and white currants are heavy producers - the white ones are sweet but seedy, excellent in mixed fruit salads though and taste a bit like wine gums.  Red currants ideally for me, are better as a jelly for savoury dishes or wine making.  Picking blackcurrants is so mouth watering and make great jams.  So a lot depends on what you want to do with the fruit before deciding.  If you've got the space, why not grow one of each?  You can always add more in the future if you like them or take out if you don't.  Just be aware of sawfly when growing redcurrant and gooseberry as the larvae can strip the leaves off (very disheartening to see) but can be controlled once you identify the problem.

What about blueberries?  They are another fruit which is expensive in shops but generally easy to grow.  To be sure of a good harvest, you should plant a few bushes and better if you have different varieties as this will spread the crop over a longer period.  You will need to net them off as the blackbirds in particular will strip the bushes clean before you do.

[Beetroot Queen]

courgettes, french beans, runners, spuds, currants, rhubarb. Its the taste that does it for us. We grow what we like. Lettuce has got to up near the top, I paid 99p for 2000 seeds. Job done as they grow like weeds, and a fresh lettuce a day is a beautiful thing.

I love the fact the kids are more likely to try it as they can plant it, water it, pick it and eat it. I find it takes a lot less convincing if its homegrown.

[New shoot]

In the last couple of days I have picked bay leaves, parsley and thyme from the garden for flavouring stock, raided the greenhouse for garlic bulbs and used dried chillies and mint, both homegrown.

Made me think how many basic flavouring ingredients I grow.  I use loads of herbs, garlic and chilli and it would cost a bomb to buy it in week after week

[archibtbm]

peppers for us, as they cost about .80p each in the shops

[grendel]

ditto on the raspberries, at a few punnets a week over a couple of months, when the donor raspberry originally came under the fence from the plot next door, its all a bonus, I can be picking for free what would cost £10-12 every week for 7 or 8 weeks.
Grendel