[thebarefootgardener]

I find it helpful, Ice, to know what others do. If I am going to grow this produce I want to do it reasonably efficiently and productively. The link that mumofstig posted was just what I needed. It gives a guide of what can be done and if I can do that then I shall be happy. 

[GrannieAnnie]

I may be going of subject a tad but 15 crumbles!! I think you need a recipe book, i just had french lentils and rhubarb curry for dinner delish. I had considered with the price of rhubarb and all turning the whole allotment over to it , not much effort there as it has been trying to muscle in on the veg patch anyhow. No worries about selling as the allotment is part of a private association.

And what's wrong with rhubarb crumble??      Lentil and rhubarb curry?  Really?  Is it nice?  Do you have the recipe?

[JayG]

I'm sure this debate will run and run (it already has!), and I'm sure that no-one in their right mind would put a lot of effort into anything for absolutely no return, but surely somewhere in the mix is the sheer pleasure you can get from the whole process, from germinating and nurturing your own plants to furtling, picking and enjoying the fruits of your own labours (exercise and fresh air FOC!)   

[doubledug]

nothing wrong with a good crumble, but i like to experiment in all things.
 A recipe you say, well yes but if you search for rhubarb curry i am sure you will get a result. If not let me know

[PennyS]

so far i have eaten 15 rhubarb crumbles   at about 3 -4 sticks per crumble and ive still some left  so thats about 60 quids worth in tescos  and roll on the blackberry season when i shall go crumble mad   :blink:

Crumbles... can't get enough of them.  Hubby has trained our 5 year old to make crumble topping.  She's brilliant at it.  Our rhubarb is absolutely gorgeous so we're having rhubarb crumble at least once a week.  Don't get me started on blackberries... heaven!

[Aunt Sally]

Can anyone tell me what sort of volume of produce is likely to be obtained from a standard size allotment plot (which I believe is about 250sq. yds.).

I presume from this that you don't actually have an allotment but are wanting to carry out some research for a project.  Is that correct ?

[savbo]

I find it helpful, Ice, to know what others do. If I am going to grow this produce I want to do it reasonably efficiently and productively. The link that mumofstig posted was just what I needed. It gives a guide of what can be done and if I can do that then I shall be happy. 

i think i know what you're on about...it's just a sort of benchmark isn't it?

[Zippy]

... and what about the Barter Factor? If I grow four Turnips on a square foot of my plot and I exchange them with another gardener for 4 new potatoes and a couple of sticks of rhubarb - does that mean I factor in the cost of growing vs retail price of Turnips or do I consider that I have actually grown 4 new potatoes and a couple of sticks of rhubarb against the cost of sowing 4 Turnips.

Of course I am being flippant, but not very much so. In real life such exchanges go on all the time and they amount to a massive Fudge Factor in your calculations.

Bottom line - most allotmenteers would say the enjoyment (along with the frustrations) of the whole process are priceless compared to any cold retail calculation you could make.  The flavour and obvious goodness of growing your own compared to the tasteless shipped over stuff in the supermarkets are enough to make this calculation meaningless.

[Livinhope]

Why does money come into this?  Isn't it all about the pleasure derived from the experience?  My daughter and I get great pleasure from the growing and nuturing of the things we choose to grow to eat and the inventions we create to defeat wildlife determined to deprive us of them.  Any surplus we swap or give away.  We enjoy the chats with other holders and the knowledge that what we produce may not be to EU standards but it's fresh and wholesome.  After all if we took into consideration the unpaid hours we all put into our plots none of us would bother.

[joyfull]

another way to look at this is to add up the cost of how much you spend on veg and fruit at the supermarket plus the cost of the fuel etc then decide to spend no more than that on your seeds/plants/feed etc. Do not include the cost of the tools, shed, greenhouse, rent as you wouldn't include the cost of your car (to go to the supermarket), cost of your garage (same as the shed and greenhouse), cost of the council tax (equivelent to your plot rent) tools can be offset against garage bills, oil, tyres etc. This way you can see if growing your own is cheaper and then compare the taste of the food it's like comparing shop bought eggs with my free range organic fed chickens eggs - no comparrison (shop bought eggs are several weeks old before you may get them - mine are always less than a week old before I get to eat them often only minutes old.

[DD.]

Just come home with £18 quids worth of asparagus at Tesco prices.

But it's meaningless as no way would I have bought it and I can't swap it for £18 worth of stuff.

[thebarefootgardener]

Hi Aunt Sally,
Yes you have it correct. Thanks for the interest.

[Lewjam]

It also depends what you like to eat.

My method was to look at what i tend to like to eat seasonally, and then work out which is most expensive to grow.

So for my small plot i ended up skipping Potatoes and carrots and growing peas, beetroot, leeks, artichokes, courgettes and salad leaves because these are the things that save me the most money and are nice when fresh picked.

Its a matter of choice, best to have a go one year, grow what you fancy and then learn how good your plot is at producing the fundamental types of fruit veg  - or ask people on your plot what6 is prolific given the area.  This can be affected by soil type, amount of shelter etc…

If you love berries, you might want to plant a load of goose gogs, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, as these are always quite expensive.

[willnbirdie]

Hi

I know what you are talking about Barefoot.  In our first year I weighed virtually everything we harvested just out of a matter of interest to see what weight we had cropped and also what money we had saved.

Like others have said the best thing is to grow those things that you and your family like to eat - that way there will be no waste.

There is a downside to yeilding your crops.  In our first year we had the best part of 40lb of runner beans last year we were lucky if we got half of that so it was a bit disappointing my advice for what it is worth is to enjoy the flavour taste and pure pleasure of eating veg that you know you have grown - grow what veg you like and not worry about the costs you are saving at the supermarket.

willnbirdie

[Livinhope]

Exactly.

I got our allotment purely for the pleasure of producing something worthwhile, for the joy of meeting likeminded people and eating what we produced.  No thought of cost or saving.