Topic: newbie here- costs?

[Vegemite]

Hello, I am soon to move to a seaside home with a not very big garden, by the time i fit in my two year old's toys and my dog there won't be any room for a veggie patch, so I have put myself on the waiting list for an allotment, which I am very excited about!

To say I'm an allotment virgin is an understatement, but as i now work part time and my daughter will soon start nursery I may actually have some time on my hands!

so I will have a good trawl through the threads for tips, but i did wonder if someone could give me an idea of the costs involved in running a small allotment. I trully do know nothing! ::)

cheers,

kylie

[Tee Gee]

Do you mean rental or seeds & fertilisers etc?

If it is rental our plots are charged out at around £12 pa half that for pensioners but from previous answers to this query it can vary from area to area and also if the are council or privately owned.

If it is seed / fertilisers etc this is as long as a piece of string depending upon how you plan on getting your plant e.g. growing from seed (the cheapest way I find) or by buying in 'ready plants'

Fertilisers will depend upon your regime i.e. organic/non organic.

Sorry I cant be more helpful than that.

[saddad]

Like all hobbies it can become obsessive and fair gobble up cash... but you can also do it on the cheap... see refs to skip raiding etc.
You can also ask for a few seeds of anything you fancy to get you going...
 ::)

[Curryandchips]

Costs to me
- rent £24
- seeds £50 (large plot)
- other materials £20

Total £94 , lets say £100 per year ...

Savings on veg ... £300 ?

[sarah]

indeed, beyond rent and seeds and perhaps manure you can run a plot as cheaply or as expensively as you like. most of us here, i think i am right in saying, prefer to keep thinks cheap, i certainly do. rent is usually around £15/30 per annum. seeds - i have just bought my basics for the coming season and i spent around 20 quid (including flowers but not including seed potatoes). manure can cost anything from zero to thirty or forty quid a load depending on location and resourcefulness.  i dont think that cost would (or should) ever stop anyone having a plot - the money you save on shop bought veg must balance it out in the end anyway i would have thought. anyway good luck.
theres tools i suppose. . . .actually once you start to tot it all up....hmmm.  definately get second hand tools if you can; car boot sales are good for that. freecycle also.   :)

[Blue Bird]

Hi cost for our area is £22 per year rental but as others have said cost are kept to a minimum and everyone is very generous and very help full It is really a great the way people seem to go out of their way to help or swap

good luck with your venture

[Barnowl]

There should be some free seaweed available which would be cheaper than buying manure.

[supersprout]

Cost will always be relative to the enjoyment you get from your plot.
Good investments IMO (worth a few searches on this site for tips and sources):

Bulk buys of Enviromesh, black perforated or woven plastic
Good quality tools that suit your height and physical capacity, and somewhere safe to put them
Free manure and seaweed
Seed swaps for trials of varieties and plants before you go headlong ;)
The advice of your plot neighbours and seeds/plants they may offer you
Seed trays and root trainers
Sticks, stakes and string for marking out your plot
Woodchip mulch for paths
Straw mulch for beds
Organic fertiliser, blood fish & bone

If you enjoy making your own tools, buildings and so on, you can make a lot out of a little.You can spend a fortune or a pittance on your plot. If buying a good wheelbarrow or fork will make a big difference to everyday jobs, I'll buy a good one, and get pleasure in using it often.

Bargains will always occur. False economies include impulse buys and poor quality tools :-[

Take it slow and steady, you never need to spend more than you can afford :)

[LauraB]

I've just taken on a new plot, and my budget for the coming months is;

Seeds and fruit bushes/trees £50
Manure (truck load) £25
Roll of fleece £10
Tools - already have
Woodchip (truckload) £20
Timber for supports, canes, wire etc £30
Sundries - gloves, string, labels, odds and ends £25
2 Compost bins and bin for home scraps £16

I also fancy a greenhouse, trying raised beds for certain things, trying a hotbed, a nice deckchair for if I ever get to sit down.... I could spend a fortune!

[kenkew]

If you have the plot, don't worry too much about costs. It's suprising how plot people find ways to make do with next to nowt. Get a few basic garden tools and seeds of your choice from B&Q or such and do a bit at a time. I bet you'll soon have the oldies around giving you 'advice'.
Good luck....just enjoy it.

[mc55]

my rent is £40 a year (£20 of that is for water supply).  I try to buy my seeds in the sales, got loads from Wyevale (.25p a packet).  Got my greenhouse for free from a friend, manure deliveries are £25 and pond liner cost around £60.  Had to buy some basic tools - tend to buy cheap incase I get broken into.  I've spent quite a sizeable sum in the last year, but what price satisfaction, enjoyment and stress therapy.

[okra]

The benefits far outweigh any costs. All that exercise for free (just think what gym costs would be). Lots of organic food (if you organically minded) at a minimal cost. I have been keeping a log (which irk my sons) for at least five years now, and after taking all costs into account and using supermarket prices as a guide, we are over £500 in profit per year (although the soft fruits - used for lovely jams -do account for a large amount of profits).

[Rose.mary]

I just dare not go there :o :o :o

Rosemary

[okra]

costs can be kept to a minimum, in the following ways
(a) seeds can be purchased cheaply at Wilkinsons or at allotment shops
(b) check skips for anything useful, fencing, materials for to make clothches, bird scarers - the ideas are endless and allotment holders are very creative
(c) check boot fairs for cheap tools
(d) ask around for old carpets - good for clearing weeds
(e) keep yoghurt pots etc - cheap pots for transplants
(f) grow from seed, keep your own seeds and ask friends for cuttings

[Vegemite]

aw thats brilliant folks thanks!

I do have decent quality tools (and my daughter has some very stylish pink ones to boot!), its more the running costs- all your ideas are so helpful thanks!  - and i do freecycle, never thought of posting in the "wanted section but when the time comes i just might!

in the mean time (until i get my space) I will make do in pots in the garden for this year, so i will keep popping in for advice.

seaweed shouldn't be a problem as we are moving to Herne Bay- any particular stuff to look out for? obviously i'd prefer to use that than manure as then i can let my daughter handle it

[supersprout]

hi vegemite (love the moniker ;D), if you search on 'seaweed' on this site, lots of useful suggestions.
Lucky you, Herne Bay is blissful - remember those pictures, pleeeease!
SSx

[emmy1978]

Hi vegemite, I ahve just got my allotment, and I am lucky to have tiny shed but not a lot else. going to build new compost bin out of freecycled timber (pallets probably) I have been told that local councils often have offers for water butts and compost bins cheaply in the summer, so will be looking out for those.
You will find that allotment holders are really friendly and within a week of owning mine I have seed pototoes, the offfer of some tom plants when they're ready. There is rhubarb and figs there already!!yay! seeds are really cheap at wilkinsons and I have been busy carbooting for tools. Really nice D handle spade for a fiver and have asked for tools from my family and friends for christmas!!
I waited so long for my lottie and when I got it found it's totally overgrown (see my por little allotment) I passed the time reading allotment & gardening books and drawing jolly little plans and devising crop rotation systems- all good fun. Let us know when you get it- it's so exciting!! :) :D

[GrowingChillis]

heres the link to all the freecycle groups in UK
http://www.freecycle.org/display.php?region=United%20Kingdom
I am sure there are people in your area giving stuff away for free.

Plus you have the swap shop on here

[kt.]

My plot costs:

£25 pa Rent
£40 Seeds and spuds but you can almost half this if you stick to one variety of foods as this covers 3 varieties of some stuff.
£15 on a load of manure that will last me 3-4yrs
Compost bins I got free and made some from pallets.
£10 on Potting compost

Possible Initial outlay is the worst in the first year:
Shed if one is not on the plot - or make one with scrap wood.
Padlocks x2. One for shed and 1 for gate.
Tools - Rake, Gripe(garden fork), Spade, Secateurs, These vary in price depending what you want.

Once I had done the initial outlay then my annual costs are around £100. I save tons on food produce. Once you get going I am sure you will add a little at a time. Any livestock would increase these costs.

To get started I would buy:
Spade,Fork,Rake,Watering Can, Seed trays, seeds & 2 bags of potting compost. Shouldn't cost more than £40-50 initially. Keep tools at home till you can get sorted for storage on your plot.

[AndyC]

Hi Vegemite

My plot is £42 per year, but I have spent a lot on seeds etc, probably around £80 to £100 but I missed all the sale bargains unfortunately!  Aside form this probably £50 on polythene, ground cover etc.  But like a few others have said, it is worth it for the exercise, relaxation and company.  Far cheaper than any gym!! :D