[fallen angel]

Hi im just wondering if it pays to grow your own?

I know its great to know exactly what your eating and its better for your health as your exercising whilst keeping your plots in good shape but im just wondering after paying for everything you need to grow your own does it make you a saving in the long run?

I want to give it a go and hopefully will have a nice plot in my garden for next season but im just wondering will i see a difference in my pocket and if so when?

After all i will need equiptment and plants/seeds and so on so im assuming the first year will be the most expensive am i right?

Also what would you say it will cost me to get a decent plot going in the first year?

Sorry for all the questions hope they all make sense  :oops:

Kind regards Nicky

[wildeone]

Great question  Can't wait to hear the answers!!!

[WG.]

You might be interested in a Poll I started earlier :

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=3600

[fatbelly]

This is my first year and so far I have spent.
New Shed = £159
Pavers for shed = free from friend
Payment to transport pavers to Lottie = £20
New fork, spade and hoe = £12
Netting for Brassicas = £4
Round Up - £40
Black fabric to reduce weed growth = £14
Seeds = £6
Canes for Runner beans = £2

So that makes a total of just under £257 startup costs. Because my plot was so overgrown with weeds the Council have waived my first years rent so that would have been £50 making a first year total of £307.

Next year I will have to buy more seeds, so that will be about £30, because this year I was to late for many things such as spuds.
I also want a greenhouse for next year. So that could be anything up to £260 So next years total  including seeds, rent and other incidentals  will probaly be about £340.

So all in all setting up your plot is not a cheap business. So for this year and next it would have definitely been cheaper for me to buy Veg from the Supermarket, subsequent years will be much cheaper.

But the enjoyment my Lottie has given me and will give me over the coming years cannot be quantified. I have a very stressful job and in the past have suffered from depression. Two hours on my Lottie is the perfect remedy for both these ailments. Plus growing my own means I have total control over what goes in to the food that my family and I eat.

[fallen angel]

Thanks for that it makes for interesting reading i want to grow my own fruit and veg so i know what im eating and how its been treated after all who knows how long supermarket stuff has been lingering around for and in what conditions! But at the same time if its going to cost me too much to be able to do it then i will have to abolish my plans as cash is a concern in my house at the moment!

 I was lucky enough to be given a green house so thats one less expence and im starting it in my garden so i dont have to worry about rent for a plot and im paying rent for the house so we have somewhere to live so i dont see that as an expence for my plans.

 When you start talking about fertilizer, tools ect thats when the figures get scary i suppose, isnt it a shame we dont live like we used to and just trade everything would be alot more simple if we did dont you think?

 Mind you i suppose if you lived in the right area with the right contacts you could sell surpless plants ect to break even but i dont think many of us do do we?

Nicky

[brucesgirl]

I'm still in my first three months and so far I reckon it has cost about £800, but this is mainly because I spent over £600 on a shed with a veranda!!! Its lovely to sit and relax and just watch everything growing with a cuppa made on the camping stove!! We had it built to our own design so paid through the nose.
I spend about £15 -18 per week on veg as I always buy organic so I reckon shed apart I should save money quite quickly.

[Sally A]

If you change your menu to accommodate whats in season, there is no reason why you can't save money, eg bruschetta instead of pizza, some carol klein-esque risotto as a mian meal.  It's just that we expect certain meals in a week from pre- veg growing days.  If you can stock up your freezer with deals on meat, eg bogofs, and sell by date specials, and just harvest the 2 veg, you will be saving dosh.  Also freeze excess veg so you can extend that saving thru the winter.  It's do-able, but will need planning, and a change in the family's meal expectations.

[WG.]

Whatever you grow, organic or otherwise, the flavour is 6 times better than shop-bought.

[Trillium]

You've got that right, WG. Organic produce from shops is nice, but you can pay through the nose for them as well. Like any occupation, eg welder, accountant, etc, there are always startup costs, which decline with time. You also need to weigh your time, it's value and limitations, against what you grow. I buy peaches rather than grow enough for us to can, but I have some peach trees for fresh eating and what a difference! We do, however, grow all our spuds, and when we run out, we do without until we can steal a few earlies from our plants. I don't grow a year's worth of beans, but do have quite a few bags in the freezer. Between them and other crops like asparagus, we stretch things out. Tomatoes are a high repayment crop; we have various sauces, soups, etc coming out of our ears and on our shelves in jars.
Being 'self sufficient' is a pretty loose term these days, but rather than pricey vacations, use your time and money for your veg growing. that alone can be a huge saving. All depends on your priorities.  

[Annie]

I grow for the pleasure of it,even on a year like this you can wander round and find something to smile at,and to see my little person snipping peas and late strawberries.The taste is a bonus and also because we can grow different varieties to the commercial choices.Some crops may not make economical sense,but if you can only fit ina few potatoes then new earlies or a late pink fir are costly in the shops,as are shallots(almost foolproof),red onions,purple sprouting broccoli,peppers,aubergine  and any type of mixed salad leaf you care to think of.There are probably many more but the growing food that you will eat is priceless.

[splodger]

i reckon you can save a fortune on just the basics.

tasteless supermkt spuds over a quid for a dozen - not for me thanks when i can get 1.5kgs of seed spuds (35 odd tubers) for £3 or so.

each tuber producing 20 odd great sized, great tasting spuds. go for good tasting, high yielding spuds that store. how can you not save money?

you don't need a shed - but you will need a good fork, spade, hoe and rake.

onions, shallots and garlic are other good savers - and store well. i store carrots and beetroot too. add a few bean plants and some greens and a few toms + salad - blah blah blah you are going to be quids in.

a few chooks - and you're well away.

grow what you eat the most of -  use your space wisely - buy seeds when there are sales on... use a bit of nous  

[David.]

It's a lifestyle choice, and all the better if you have children who can join in.

You need to be able to preserve/ferment/exchange  excess.

[ziggywigs]

Watched the River Cottage Treatment tonight and i don't care if it pays.....it's about quality of life.  Mind you he did some costings and reckons it was about  the same or slightly cheaper if you managed to reuse stuff such as bones for stock etc.

It made me realise just how supermarkets have folk brainwashed.

[fallen angel]

Reading through some of these responses i just want to clarify when i say does it "pay" to be self sufficient im not meaning does it pay a profit i am just wondering if it leaves you at a massive defecit i do understand that the taste and quality is far superior to the supermarkets which is what attracts so many people to grow their own including me.

I am just keen to hear peoples views on the cost of starting up and if anyone has got to a point of breaking even or actually saving money long term?

Im also keen to hear from anyone who grows fruit/veg to last them the whole year so they never have to buy fruit or veg from a supermarket at all unless the awfull occurs like this years floods.

I am drawn to the idea of eating my own grown fruit and veg and am working towards my goal of a lovely plot soon but dont want to get half way through to realise that i just cant afford to do it as its not just a case of buying some cheap seeds throwing them in the soil and reaping the rewards it takes hard work dedication and money and im sure the minute your own produce touches your lips it is all worth it im in no doubt over that. Im just wondering at what expense?

Kind regards Nicky

[GrannieAnnie]

If you think of it like a hobby too, and an alternative to joining a fitness club, how much would joining a fitness club cost?  or if your hobby was say photography, that would cost you money too wouldn't it?

So you shouldn't really think, oh its cheaper to buy my veg from the supermarket, but like most of us do, its a different and more interesting and a more satisfying way of living!

Also, there is a BIG difference between growing your own and being self sufficient.  Most of us can only touch on the surface of self sufficiency, wait until you have read John Seymour's books, now THAT is self sufficiency!!!!

Also, remember, you can save a lot of money by buying from Ebay, and by joining Freecycle, where you can get stuff for free!  And a lot of seeds like tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers are easy to save, and then you can swap with other people for different seeds so you can grow more varieties of stuff.  I grow 18 diferent varieties of tomatoes now!

So you have lots of fun, and it really can be quite cheap.  Have you got any auctions around you?  I know I live in the country, but our local auctions always have tools really cheap.  They may look a bit tatty, but the old stuff was made to last!

Good luck with all your endeavours anyway.     Ann