Topic: How Much Have You Spent On Seed For The Year

[ruudbarb]

Just done a quick tot up and my seeds, including potatoes, shallots and garlic just crept over the £60 mark but like most others, I keep what I don't use for following years.  I roll the foil packets up tight and then put them into a plastic airtight container - actually an old Christmas peanut screwtop jar - and they stay viable for a few years.

............and not to mention the barerooted apple and pear trees and blackcurrant bush which is only a start on my mini-orchard  :o

Oh! And I didn't order leek seeds 'cos I thought I had some.  I haven't........  >:(

[Zippy Seale]

sent you pm clodhopper

[Paulines7]

Probably in the region of £60 for seeds, potatoes and onion sets.  It would have been more had it not been for the kind folks on here that I did some swaps with or just sent me seeds but didn't want anything in return.  Thank you to all those people.  :D  :D

I hope to get a good return this year.  Last year I didn't grow enough potatoes and they ran out just before Christmas.  I have about a dozen onions left and a few sprouts.  I have been buying parsnips at extortionate Supermarket prices as I didn't grow any last year.  This year I hope to be self sufficient in vegetables from about July and will hopefully have enough to see me through to the following summer.

[Hyacinth]

just says  tall african marigold.
just grab a packet as they were in the bargain box when I took Mrs CG shopping today.
like I said, I am not a flower lover.  Apart from Lillies, never been interested in them.

C-G, in case they're not too scented & you'd like some of my saved tagetes as well, PM me.

[cb]

It's surprising how it soon mounts up. You seem to have got an excellent price on your onion sets. Where did you get them from?

[Meg]

Just think how much other people pay for their avid hobbies and get not a thing back. We also get that huge enjopyment factor. Even today a horrible one no way would I have been outside if it hadn't been for the love of lottie. Plus the friends I have made. I am lucky to be on the end of a chain of people who have a green house and plant far too much and just love to give their leftovers to me or even their produce!!! I am welling up here it is just priceless don't tell the council they will be billing us more!

[Robert_Brenchley]

We should work out the value of what we produce as well. I've never weighed up the veg, but last year I had all sorts of problems with my hives, only one produced anything, and that gave me 60lb of honey. There's no comparison with supermarket syrup at all, but if I reckon £3.50/lb, that's £210. Hopefully this year will be better; I've only got two through the winter, but I do have locally bred queens.

[CityChick]

I can't possibly comment on the grounds I might incriminate myself  ::)

The seeds didn't cost much considering how long some of them will last. And it doesn't come to that much more adding on the potatoes and onions thinking about how much I'll get back in return.

But then there's the asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, tayberries, blackberries, redcurrants, white currants, black currants, tools, roses, lilies, gladioli, enviromesh, fleece, heated propogator, mini plastic greenhouse etc, etc, etc  :-[ :-[ :-[

Still undecided about the greenhouse....  ::)

But, over the year it still works out a lot less than the organic veg box I've been getting each week.  And I hope to be self sufficient in veggies this year from about June...

And a lot of it will go on for years :D

It was just a bit of a shock to add it all up at once :-[

Shhh.... no-one tell my OH ;)

[dicky]

I reckon about £40 all in, including seed spuds and onion sets.

Went down the gardenstall in the local market yesterday and they have loads of seed spuds in, quite cheap, all looked good.

Ended up buying my canes for runners there.

[Zippy Seale]

We should work out the value of what we produce as well. I've never weighed up the veg

I have a set of hanging scales from a old grocers shop that closed.  I ll have to dig them out now...lol.  but I always weigh what I picked, more out of interest, because I like keep a record of what a season produced.  Also helpful in seeing which sowing produce a better crop and adjust sowing times.  Idea as I have a new plot and not worked this heavy type of soil before. Gardeners are very good record keepers generally, I have found.

[misterphil]

Until I saw this thread, I thought that I'd been quite sensible with my orders, then I started to tot things up!

seed potatoes	48	I'm aiming for 8 months of self sufficiency here (275 seed pots!)
tomatoes	11
allotment society	18	Less than 1/2 price seeds - whey hey!
fruit (aldi)	12	I asked my father in law to get me a selection of what was available - he did mention some angry glares from people behind him in the queue
fruit trees (aldi)	24	I'll need something to plant at the new house!
other tomatoes	9	I like tomatoes! (37 varieties so far this year!)
garlic	20	(We get a lot of vampires round here)
onion sets	9
other seeds (1)	6	otherwise known as "I can't walk past a seed display" ...
other seeds (2)	6.5	... especially when they are half price!
plus packets from last year	20
total	183.5

but I do have 2 allotments and a large garden (that's my excuse, anyway!). I think that I have around 160 + seed packets so far (There's still time yet!)

[aquilegia]

So far this year - about £20-£30, including potatoes and garlic. Which is much better than last year, when I spent about twice that.

But then I do have a lot of seeds left from last year and beyond. I banned myself from buying any ornamental seeds this year, so it's purely veg and herbs.

Last year's £60 really was not value for money as I had pretty appalling harvests of everything apart from spuds, garlic, sweetcorn and broadies.

Oh well - there's always this year (and next, and the one after!)

[MutantHobbit]

Well, I had a shock when I worked out what I've spent, but I've recovered from the shock now! :o  I've spent £40 on seed alone and thats not the whole story...

Bearing in mind I've the start-up costs associated with taking on an allotment, it works out about £25 odd a month.  I reckon I'll probably break even next year.  I'm going to weigh the harvest and price it at Tesco for a rough comparison, but I reckon I should break even at the end of year 2 (Late2007)! :-[

Shed                     £100
Seed                     £  40
Brassica Plants      £ 15
Tools                     £  25
Poly Cloches          £  20
Fruit Bushes          £  15
Soil Conditioners    £   5
Garden Organic      £ 14
Potatoes                £ 12
Alliums                    £ 13
Rent                        £24
Patio Greenhouse   £20

I think I'll go and lie down for a bit now... ;D

[moonbells]

£21 on seed so far
£9.50 on potatoes
£10 on water butt
£30 on wood (raised beds and new support posts)
£5 on sundry nails etc for above beds
£5 compost
£20 on allotment rent
£4 on plastic sheeting

oops over £100 already... but then how much is a gym? Round us they won't even quote prices unless you visit them!

There will be more seeds, more compost,  and a box of sulphate of potash in the next week or so.

Oh and perhaps a new bird box :)

moonbells

[robkb]

So far this year...

£30 seeds
£12 spuds & onion sets
£25 water butt
£30 approx odds and sods (netting, fleece, pots, seed trays, mini-cloches etc)
£45 reconditioned petrol strimmer (major bargain!)

and still got the £51 rent to pay in April!

I reckon whatever I grow this year, if you cost it fully (including my time) will be the most expensive veg I've ever eaten! Still, it's cheaper than a season ticket to the footy...

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[snoppers]

about £80 but some of that will do for next year

[Common_Clay]

Oh. My. God.

Wish I hadn't read this board. I've probably spent £50 or so on seed, and around £60 late last year on raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb, but that isn't my main concern. I've just done a very generalised 'totting up' of what I've spent in the last year and I'm feeling rather faint... think I'm off for a lie down...

Mind you, a shed and the complete extravagance (but oh, worth it) Mantis will add it up a bit... and then there's those scaffold boards from eBay for raised beds, and ground cover and... yes, yes, these things will last and it's all worth it. ;D

[Trixiebelle]

Oh Good Grief! I can't BEGIN to add it up  ::)

But I HAVE found myself in possession of 3000 beetroot seeds etc. so if I divide the cost between this year, next year, the year after next, the year after that then the bill might come to about ... erm .... £50  ::)

Cheaper than a coke habit though :D

[Common_Clay]

LOL@Trixiebelle...

Is it cheaper? I think I could go on a binge, put myself through rehab and still have change left... hmm, now there's a thought. ;)

[Lady of the Land]

Seeds including flowers £33.50
Potatoes, onions and shallots £8.75

£290.91 Since this time last year, not including above- includes various wood for stakes, fleece(roll), large cloche, mini green house (polythene), petrol strimmer(shared), copper tubing and blue plastic alkaline pipe, canes, manure, thermometers, 4 bags compost, blackcurrent, redcurrent and blackberry bushes, mouse traps, sand, lots of general bits, includes £34.00 for my half of timber, nails, roof sheets, roof felt and brackets for shelves for shed we have aquired- reduced size to 7x5' and made some repairs. We are also putting new roofs on our 3 other sheds.