So, how much has this year cost you in money and time ?

As I harvest all the lovely food, I'm always interested in the money and time I've spent.
I have a fully utilised 200 square metre plot., and looking at the old spreadsheet, I see my total extravagances this year, including some extra dry root leeks from the garden centre today, have totalled £192.21. My time spent toiling up at the plot, musing and staring out to sea is nearing 250 hours in the same 12 month period... doesn't sound a lot of time when put that way. Feels like it though 

Try as hard as I may, I don't seem able to reduce the cost, as if truth be known, I usually have a yearly favourite project that I put a bit of money into if other costs aren't much. This year it was more enviromesh, a couple of cherries, and a slight increase in the size of the greenhouse. Manure, water rates, composts and manure has cost the usual £60ish.
Reckon I could reduce the expenditure to £150 and time spent to 1 hour per sq matre per year, but I do like the muse up at the plot. So, £1 a sq. metre approximately. How about you other toilers ?

I don't pay to go the gym, and I know I spend less on the plot than that would cost......... so I'm quite happy with that 

Plot rent, seeds and the odds and ends I buy cost around £150 per year for an 1/8th of an acre plot. The hours I spend there are priceless for the peace and quiet, fresh air, exercise, the company, the chat and the laughter, and at the end of it, the pride in being able to feed my family fresh, healthy food.

What other hobby could one have that gives all that, all for about £3 per week?

Despite only growing first early spuds I've only just had to buy the first ones since late June - since early June I've not bought any salad stuff nor much in the way of any other veg.

There's a sense of accomplishment in achieving that, and the season's not over yet - I'd hate to spoil that by going into a detailed cost/benefit analysis of the whole process, but my guess is that in the long term it's on the right side of breaking even, although since acquiring a GH in the future that may depend on circumstances beyond my control to some extent. 

I never weigh my harvest- where's the fun in that?  Far too calculated for such a beautiful thing that feeds my soul.

It doesnt take long to forget how well things have done, this year we have had 130 sticks of rhubarb. 73lb spuds from three small beds. Figures are soon forgotten yet I have a record of how its done from year to year. And I make the kids total it up against tesco, all part of learning how to grow stuff and how to feed a family, calculated yes maybe but if it helps my kids learn something and not get into debt trying to feed a family then that cant be a bad thing ....... Can it 

I love weighing it all and so does Florence we guess how heavy it is and then see who is nearest. Just the way it works here

I don't go there now, it's more money that I'd ever want to spend on something, so why not enjoy such a great pastime without putting a price on it!

Shoving my wheelbarrow around all day is much better that piddling about in a gym anyway..;0)

I must admit I don't add up what I spend or calculate the value of my harvest.  Even if I did, it wouldn't stop me buying the odd pack of seeds 'just because' or veg plants to fill gaps 

Its my main hobbby and costs next to nought compared to anything else.  Plus there are the added benefits 

-Stress busting as I can switch off and go into digging or weeding mode and forget about everything for a while
-Bodging together contraptions and structures, which I love doing, but am really bad at
-Seed choosing, which for self confessed seedaholic is dangerous but highly enjoyable 
-Chatting to my fellow plot holders, who are a lovely bunch of all ages and character types 
-Staggering out of the gate in a warm glow of satisfaction laden with bags of produce
-The first taste of those homegrown grops which money could not buy you, at even the poshest supermarket
-Kitchen sessions processing all the crops, that satisfy my squirrelling away cravings

Plus you can come on here and chat to like minded folk who completely understand how you feel    

So far this year - spend £293.44, hours - lots more than any other year as i've not been working since end Feb
Value of harvest to date: £173.48 (at Sainbury's prices, as that's our nearest supermarket)

Outlay more than in "usual" years, as we bought a greenhouse off ebay for plot 29, and also hired a turf cutter for the day to get us up & running quicker, so that accounts for £110 of the spend, although as others have mentioned we tend to find a "project" each year, which will cost us something. Next year it will need to be something to cover the fruit plants we've inherited on the new plot.