Topic: Value for money?

[Palustris]

Our polytunnel is in desparate need of a new cover. The cost with all the bits etc. is about £200. The cover is expected to last 5 years. So the question is are we going to get £40 value of stuff from it? At present we use the Tunnel for tomatoes, peppers, gourds, chilles, overwintering and early starting. (Plus chicken dust baths and dry cat toilet). Your opinions would be most welcome.

[Roy Bham UK]

Unless money's no object, I'd be inclined to patch the old cover and make it last another 5 years, otherwise you may as well go down the super-market for crops. ::)

[Palustris]

The old cover is really beyond any repair, and worse still, the light can no longer get through the moss growing on it!

[ina]

Unless money's no object, I'd be inclined to patch the old cover and make it last another 5 years, otherwise you may as well go down the super-market for crops. ::)

I disagree with you Roy. I doubt many people grow their own veggies and fruit in the first place to save money, I know I don't.

[Roy Bham UK]

Ina I thought Eric was talking about the economics, I was offering a solution ???

[john_miller]

It has been pointed out before that I look at things differently from others when it comes to economics but I'm going to throw in my 10 cents worth anyway. Can you just look at the value of the cover simply in terms of the value of the crops it produces? Even if you do, you should do a price comparison between your crops and the price you would have to pay for other premium products (which the local supermarket probably doesn't have), including the cost of transport. Even with our relatively cheap fuel it costs about 18p a mile (that is the standard deduction for the Internal Revenue Service to run a vehicle connected to business work), that adds up pretty quickly compared to the cost of the poly.

[ina]

Ah yes Roy, I see. Even purely economically I doubt it but not taking labour cost into account of course.

[Wicker]

Have never counted the costs involved against the cost to buy produce from shops.  Just never think about it, not the reason we grow but then ours is sinmply a lottie and I do know that we eat loads more fruit and veg than we would if we had to go out and buy it no matter what the cost/cheapness.

I know £40 sounds quite a lot but then we paid about £30 a couple of years ago for another two mini g'houses  and the cover of one has been torn by winds - to replace the cover alone  I have seen one at £15.  Not as much "produce" as from a polytunnel (would we had the room!!) but look on it as necessary expenditure anyway.  All depends whether you feel you benefit from using it I suppose.  :D

[Roy Bham UK]

If you regard running your lottie as a hobby then I would say yes go ahead and splash out on a new cover, it’s only 77pence per week but then there’s the replacement strimmer, new shed, greenhouse etc but so what, ??? how many peeps would think twice over a new set of fishing rods with reel at a pricey sum, come on admit it you wouldn’t give it a second thought, and all just to catch a fish and throw it back.
I do wonder though what lottie peeps would think if a economics boffin was to break down every little bit of expenditure and give us the true cost of our produce, just thinking what I’d do if I found out every potato cost me 25p each. :o ;D

BTW bought a bag of about 8 big sweet banana's Saturday from our local supermarket for just 99p how do they do that? 8)

[Palustris]

Thank-you all for your input. Growing vegtables and fruit is more than just a hobby for us. It has to be economic. Our income is rather less than what the Govt. itself reckons is the 'poverty' line. As I have said before on this site, if we don't grow it, we don't eat it. The Garden, believe it or not does actually pay for itself. Even planting up new areas and buying replacement tools etc. can be financed from the savings made from what we would have to spend on food, transport, amusements and all those other things which people spend their cash upon.
BUT we still are undecided about the tunnel. We could well get as much return from a simple mesh cover to keep out the birds. We will have to see. Thanks again though, given us food for thought, and how much is that worth?

[Spurdie]

Hello, Eric  ;D
Did you see River Cottage whe it was on tv? I seem to recall Hugh growing rather alot in his polytunnel and selling it at a Farmer's Market? Do you think this might work for you? I also remember him stripping off and using it as a sauna on a hot day ... now there's a thought!

[rosebud]

Hi Eric  would it be worth waiting for the sales to begin you could save as much as £10 or even more , Just a thought. Rosebud :).

[campanula]

Eric, I am sure you could do better, price-wise than £200. Is this for a ready made cover? Have you considered buying sheet Polythene and cutting it to shape. You can easily buy appropriate glue/tape to hold it all together. My polytunnel is a totally homemade bodge using timber, PVC piping and polythene sheeting. I seem to remember buying some really heavy duty Polythene from Kays for around the sides but I bought the top covering from my local ironmongerers for around £1.30 a metre (2m wide). A staple gun might be a useful bit of kit too.
Anyway, how much pleasure do you get from nurturing tomatoes and peppers in your tunnel. Whatever, either buy or make another. You surely deserve it.
cheers, suzy

[Justy]

check out ebay - there is poly sheeting for sale there which may be ok to use.

[aquilegia]

BTW bought a bag of about 8 big sweet banana's Saturday from our local supermarket for just 99p how do they do that? 8)

Probably by paying the farmer something like 1p per tonne (maybe an exaggeration - but some really low amount). That's why I only buy fair trade bananas.

[SpeedyMango]

Palustris,

I recall reading somewhere (Kitchen Gardener? Can't remember) that some market gardens/professional growers change their polytunnel covers at fairly frequent intervals, whether or not they "need" to, to maintain optimum light transmission or somesuch. If you can find somewhere like this you might be able to get hold of a serviceable cover that will fit (or be adaptable to) your tunnel for much less than new (or maybe even free if they were going to "skip" it anyway).

Just a thought.

[Palustris]

Just to add a couple of points. The £200 was top price and included timber for the bottom rails and door frames and all fittings and so on. I am sure that I can get everything much cheaper.
We used cheapo plastic on our first tunnel too long ago for comfort, and it proved to be a false economy. You really need to use a UV resistant material otherwise its life is one season  or 2 at best.
One further point is that since the cheapest supplier is next door to my sister-in-law's dwelling, we can get a discount for collecting the sheeting ourselves.
Oh and as to using tape/glue to hold the cover together. We have tried to repair this cover before with everything from sellotape to Duct tape to the top of the range special tapes sold for the said purpose. None of them have lasted for more than a few rain storms. It gets wet, flaps in the breeze and bye bye tape!
Still undecided, but plenty of time. Thanks again folks.

[PeteandFran]

BTW bought a bag of about 8 big sweet banana's Saturday from our local supermarket for just 99p how do they do that? 8)

Sorry had to respond to this as I read an online report today about how supermarkets obtain produce cheaply.

It was about a new book by Felicity Lawrence called Not On The Label. It was reading this that has prompted me to get my own allotment and grow my own fruit and veg and can be read here http://www.heureka.clara.net/books/notonthelabel.htm

The part about bananas specifically goes like this:

 

In 2002, Wal-Mart asked banana suppliers to bid for its worldwide banana contract. Only a handful of global players were in the running. This forced down the retail price of bananas, but also forced down the price paid to growers below production costs.

The price of bananas in Asda fell from £1-08/kg to 81p/kg. For every £1 you spend on bananas in a supermarket, the supermarket gets to keep 40p, the grower receives a mere 10p.

At the new prices (81p/kg), a grower in Costa Rica would receive less than the legal minimum for a box of bananas. At these prices the grower in turn would have to pay his workers less than the legal minimum wage.

Bananas, like bread, are a known value item (KVI), that is shoppers note the price. Very often these loss leaders, like bread, are examples of predatory pricing, used to force the competition out of business. The supermarkets rip us off elsewhere, by pushing up the prices of other goods.

I wanted to introduce myself before posting and wasn't going to register just yet but after reading your post and being so hyped up still about what I read I couldn't help but respond!

[ACE]

The price, must be of some concern, but if you weigh up the enjoyment of pottering in the tunnel, I would have it recovered. I used to have a table ouside the house with my excess plants for sale and it helped with the running costs.

[Palustris]

Glad to see this thread is still getting postings. We have still not made any decisions, mainly because we have not been up to visit my sister-in-law yet.
As to setting up a table outside the house. The average number of vehicles down our road per day is 6 and 5 of them are farm traffic, ie tractors, feed lorries and such like.
Oh and we are also on a blind bend so anyone stopping to look would be in danger of getting a boy racer up the rear, but not too much danger. See above traffic numbers. ;D