Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: allaboutliverpool on March 19, 2010, 20:23:45
-
Here are some sobering statistics, this month being the 4th anniversary of taking on my plot (3/4 of full plot size).
Cost £4207 ie £1052 pa - but the average is going down.
Hours worked March 2009 to Feb 2010 = 430
Weight of crop March 2009 to Feb 2010 = 750lb
Therefore each pound of crop cost £1.40 and 35 minutes of labour.
I loved every minute and got tastier food, exercise, fresh air and many new friends!
http://allaboutallotments.com/index.html
-
i am minimalist and the low maintenance appraoch is a neccisty given lifestyle and work commitments. I reckon I average 3-4 hrs a week.
I use my plot as a crative outlet and somewhere to go. I dont push the kids but they are now looking forward to going to the plot. My wife has been ill with cancer for some time so we like the connection with nature for headspace, persective or even just focusing on something different. Also we use low maintenacne crops like perpetual spinach and even radish and turnip tops for low cost healthy juicing alongside the fab crops.
The kids love picking raspberries and strawberries and i like them learning about how things grow and the general social side of things.
In the circumstances, priceless. Not sure how much i spend but its not totally cheap but i'd spend it elsewhere anyway. I like it and the kids love it.
Simon
-
My goodness!! I do not bother keeping records like that. Life is too short! I would be very surprised if I have even spent £1000 over 14 years on my allotments.
But in any event, it is the useful exercise, fresh air, friendship that makes it all worth while, as well as all the fresh fruit and vegetables of course.
-
There's a lot more to it than the accounts!
-
ive had my allotment for 3 years this year and havent spent a huge amount tbh
there was a shed already on site minus a roof,ply timbers and felt was free paint £20
placed an ad in the local pages for a cheap,free greenhouse,have a 6 x 8 greenhouse free minus a few sheets of glass,£30??
slabs for greenhouse £20 slabs for area around shed and start to path free
horse manure free netting when i need it free
all i pay for is seeds and compost,although i do need around 100 slabs for a path,£60/70 maybe
i grab what i can through people i know before i get my wallet out
-
I do not think I spend £1000 even with my seedoholic tendencies! But is it worth it? Most definitely yes.
I just love the taste of super fresh vegetables.
-
Just answering the question - yes ;D
Ninny
-
Don't know where you get your cost from but on the whole allotment gardening can be a very cheap hobby. Anyone can work a plot - you don't need a lot of money
Allotments are also a great place to be inventive and recycle stuff - e.g. build a free or cheap chicken coop from recycled materials.
-
Money couldn't buy what I get from my allotment.
Sinbad
-
Don't know where you get your cost from but on the whole allotment gardening can be a very cheap hobby. Anyone can work a plot - you don't need a lot of money
Allotments are also a great place to be inventive and recycle stuff - e.g. build a free or cheap chicken coop from recycled materials.
thats where im at as i try to recycle as much as possible
things i have through work will get incinerated or dumped at the tip so why not,old timbers,old pond netting ect
other than that i place ads,amazing what people want shifting,as i said,i got a alu 6 x 8 greenhouse free,and slabs
-
thats where im at as i try to recycle as much as possible
Agreed!
The view of allotment sites being messy and disorganised due to accumulation of materials is wrong. Chaos on plots should be seen in a different light – it is about recycling and being creative.
Also, evidence suggests that physical access to nature helps people recover from illness quicker, reduces stress and lowers blood pressure.
Can't put a cost on this!
-
If you save seed you can get a lot of what you need via swaps. Postage is cheaper than seed packets, and you can get more interesting varieties!
-
Weight of crop March 2009 to Feb 2010 = 750lb
Five of my pumpkins weighed a total of 630lb!
-
I did not include the weight of the pumpkins, courgettes and runner beans etc. that I either gave away or composted.
-
Last year I spent around £140 on seeds, compost and sundries. Couldn't even hazard a guess as to the hours put in over the year. Well enjoyed though. I am working away this year from April-October so it wont cost me a penny - less my rent; I will miss my allotmenteering dearly. (Allotment DTs withdrawl symptoms coming on me thinks ;D ;D)
Money couldn't buy what I get from my allotment.
Sinbad
Same here.
-
You ask allaboutliverpool, is what we spend on seeds, etc worthwhile.
YES, YES, YES.
At the moment we are going through the childish 'glee' of seeds that are germinating.
Broad beans, runner beans, climbing french beans, tomatoes, carrots, peas, etc.
We also have strawberry plants, raspberry canes black, red and white currants.
We are both pensioners, and to be honest cost doesn't come into it.
The delight of going out into the garden and picking 'fresh' fruit or veg, and eating them within a short space of time, on flavour alone, is worth it.
There is nothing quite like picking a sweetcorn cob, boiling it, and eating it within minutes from picking.
It's all about the taste, knowing you have not sprayed your plants with any noxious substances.
valmarg
-
Here are some sobering statistics, this month being the 4th anniversary of taking on my plot (3/4 of full plot size).
Cost £4207 ie £1052 pa - but the average is going down.
care to explain the costs? our plots cost £29 inc water and nsalg subs, manure for the year = £20, a few seeds and tubers = £20 ish, total is less than £70. how do you spend so much? it would be cheaper to go to M&S for the food.
-
Who cares about the money - its rubbish and you can't eat it!
-
no, it is not cheap - and some of you are disturbingly mean about your parsimonious boasts. Fruit bushes do not last for ever and yet, in 10 years on my site, I have not seen anyone replace old and gnarly bushes. Most of them have big bud mite or mildew. I was the same until I saw young vigorous fruit bushes - there is no economy in scrimping. Also, I am prepared to amend my soil and since you can NEVER make enough compost to just rely on that, there are costs to keep the soil in good heart. But then, it is not about money, at least not for me. I do it because I love it. I would pay 10x the rent for my plots with pleasure.
-
I never count the cost
I just like being on my plot, I can get away from housework ect and do my own thing. I like to sit back and drink my coffee and watch the bees and the butterflies in and out of my flowers, I love to listen to the birds singing, when was the last time you sat back and listened and watched nature. I can recommend it
In this busy rushing world we do not take time out to see whats beautiful all around us.
June
-
As everyone can see from my photos, all the paths in my plot are paved. I work as a GP locally and manage to nip to the plot in my suit and nice shoes and do a bit of work between visits and surgeries.
The worst part is keeping my hands clean as I hate gardening with gloves on.
Putting things into perspective, our annual 1 weeks ski holiday for three of us costs about £4000.
The same amount has given me 4 years of allotment pleasure.
-
well...there you are....
Im sure membership in gym and buying all the fruit, berries,flowers and veg would cost me many times more...
I don't think I could afford to buy that amount of fruit from supermarket :o....their prices for a punnet of raspberries etc.... :o :o :o
-
Is it worth it...yes. However I guess that depends on which way you look at things.
I couldn't count the cost or set up an accounting system primarily because I wouldn't know where to start as I share so much of what I get, be it extra veggies or extra seeds ....so why do I do it.
Growing your own is not just about veggies and fruit, there is an emotional bond with the earth that draws me..when I see what at a tiny seed can grow into and know I was responsible for that it gives tremendous feeling of accomplishment.
I sort of feel we should try to be somewhat self sufficient that comes from the Mennonite in me I suppose. I would not pay for someone to do anything for me if I was able to do it myself, that goes for just about anything from wallpapering a room to clipping a dog.
Picking something and eating ot on the same day just does not compare to picking something up from a shop that was probably grown a thousand miles away and is a week or more old. So if I want the best I have to grow it.
Finally growing my own gives me a wonderful chance to share, wether from seed to a new grower or by giving my surplus to someone who is unable to grow their own, it is a blessing on me to share.
Wether the paths are paved or grassed makes little difference in the long run. I used to get to my lotties in my business suit too between appointments and I managed to keep up appearances
So I repeat is it worth it... you bet it is!!
XX Jeannine
-
I mainly do it for the kids. When they are older hopefully they will remember the time spent down the allotment picking fresh fruit and veg, unlike their computer game playing friends that are stuck indoors all day.
Neil
-
KTLWSON asked me where the money went, I replied to him and thought the reply might help.
Hi Tommy,
The bulk of the money was spent in the first two years on a shed with double thick walls - it has already paid for itself as I have an extra strong hasp and padlock which resisted being broken into last year. Wood for the raised beds and structures, paving stones, fence posts for the perimeter, plastic and netting.
The cost of seeds is minimal as I mostly use the classic varieties that are free with magazines, large ones like peas and beans, I keep myself. Most of the special stuff I buy in Nice at a really old fashioned gardening shop in the middle of the city. Most of the seeds are from a company called Les Doigts Vert (Green Fingers) - www.lesdoigtsverts.com
A lot is written in postings about buying the "Best" seed, but I find that it is care that counts, from germination to cropping.
There are absolutely NO weeds on my plot! so no competition for light and nourishment.
At the moment I have hundreds of seedlings growing, tomatoes, chillies, peppers, aubergines, cucumber, squash, celery, celeriac, sprouts, calabrese, cabbage, and sweet corn. They are in a 6x6 greenhouse at home with brassicas now moved under cover to the allotment.
Any plants that I do not use are donated to the allotment shop for sale to raise funds.
I also have hundreds of Strawberries, Blackcurrants, Gooseberries, Boysenberries, Box, pansies, Euonymus, Hebe, Fuscia etc all for the shop.
All I ask is that the shop replaces the pots and labels and compost.
Regards
George
The above may also explain some of the time spent!
-
Havent worked it out exactly but have probably spent over £2000 on my plot, but once its up together I'm hoping the costs will go down. And I spend 30+ hours a week up there in the summer so its my main hobby. Trouble is I keep spotting things I really really need right now, like decking and a pergola and a polytunnel...
It keeps me out of the pub though - drinking all afternoon with my mates at the weekend used to cost way more!
-
another reason for me is the variety - i now eat a wider variety of veg and fruit - turnips, radish, salsify and fennel were never on my shopping list previously. Also he sheer amount of perpetual spinach is marvelous and saves a fortune on that bagged stuff from the supermarket.
Also berries from supermarkets and expensive and the food miles disturbing so my own gooseberries, raspberries and blackberries continue to amaze me. How much would I save if I ate the equivalent amount of shop bought berries....
Also, I now adore the idea of eating seasonally - it just feels right.
great thread by the way.
-
Is it worth it? A million times yes! I really like the process of clearing and setting up an allotment..you kind of hate it at the time, but it is so rewarding when you start getting crops.
There is also the fact that I can grow varieties of produce that you simply can't buy in the shops, and as many others have said before me, the advantages of being able to grow crops how I would like them to be grown, I can control to a great extent what I feed them with and what they are exposed to.
I have been surprised that I also enjoy the social aspects of swapping seeds with like minded souls, growing veg need not be exclusive, and I would ague should not be exclusive, bearing in mind the threats of modern seed companies to try and limit access and tinkering with 'terminal genes' in seeds to prevent amateur propagation.
I also really like the recycling/ scavenging/and dare I say 'artistic' aspects of running a plot. The way different people approach their growing, and all the plots are different......Vive la difference! ;D
-
I am addicted and any addiction costs money but the good feeling I get from working hard to produce our food is immeasurable
-
Yes ;D 8) ;D
great thread AllAbout ;D I love the way different gardeners approach things, but essentially we all love the growing aspect of it, how we achieve it differs. And I'm sure we all benefit from being outside, eating our own fruit and veg, and I imagine in your circumstances that going to the plot in your breaks is a great stress buster! I know going to my plot, even when I don't actually get much done, does me the world of good.
But most of all I'm impressed that you go to your plot in your suit! I'm such a mucky pup I would dream of it :P
1066
ps - I'm too scared to add up what we spend annually on sking! But then I wouldn't change that either!! ;D
-
I try to spend as little as possible and recycle as much as I can, but I sometimes wish I wasn't so mean, as I think some investments would pay off long term, such as decent cloches and robust crop protection. I think it would be different for a lot of us if we owned the plots rather than renting them.
-
the enjoyment we get from our plot is priceless my young son enjoys his time down there.
ihave met some wonderful people,learnt new things,and have grown and eaten so many
diffrent things,also i collect up stuff i think might be useful oneday(and most of the time it is)
and with the a4a seed swaps i am now growing stuff i had never heard of and have plots that are
made up of recycled and often scavenged materails.
with an abundance of fresh fruit and veg at hand that far out weighs any costs
-
I have just spent £50 on seeds and feel v guilty. I've also bought and planted a number of fruit bushes and trees, so my expenditure is unusually high at the moment.
I take cuttings from my established bushes and have passed many on to others. My site looks like a rubbish dump because I collect any wood I find, and currently have an industrial looking structure made from plastic and glass roofing and windows found on a skip (owner's permission, indeed encouragement).
But yes, it must be worth it. Being outside is enjoyable and relaxing and keeps me fit - I would NEVER go for aimless walks, join a gym, take up any other form of exercise.
It's wonderful to pick veg and fruit and take it home and share it with my offspring and friends.
It's a large open grassy site with trees and hedges where I can take my grandsons - they can let off steam without annoying others, light bonfires, cook their own food, help with picking and digging - it's priceless for that alone.
Recently my new daughter-in-law has developed a passion for joining in, and we have spent hours together working and making plans and getting to know each other.
I can't believe allotments are so comparatively cheap for such freedom and enjoyment. (I pay £50 for what amounts to three half plots on two sites).
-
I think it would be different for a lot of us if we owned the plots rather than renting them.
I don't think there's any doubt of this. Until the Council took it over at the end of the 1960's, plots on my site were let on long leases, so they were effectively owned by the tenants. They were valuable property, and people invested in them, with about a third (I think) having brick summerhouses built by the better-off tenants. All that stopped with the introduction of annual tenancies.
-
From been very young I was always up to my eyes in muck as my grandparents had a veg patch at the end of their garden.
Mum would save me egg shells so I could grow cress, I thought it was wonderful.
I would plant seeds from melons, apples, lemons etc, anything I could get my hands I wanted to see if I could get it to grow.
Things have not changed much now that I am all grown up - it is just on a bigger scale.
Being on the allotment and growing my own veg brings back many happy childhood memories, this for me is priceless.
-
The answer is yes which ever way you look at it. I reckon I spend between £120 and £250 pounds a year on the cost of plots, seeds, compost, pots, materials, and save between £250 and £120 a year on my food bill - or rather it allows us to spend the extra on stuff we wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.
But the raw figures don't tell the full story - because I can grow it we get to eat far more of certain things in season than we would ever consider buying, Asparagus, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, runner beans, and french beans are all good examples.
-
Two reasons -
One - almost all of the stuff you buy in supermarkets (including the organic stuff) will have been sprayed with something, even if it is only to make it shiny!
Two - it is nearly impossible to get certain things in supermarkets, with my particular bug bear being properly ripe tomatoes that actually taste of tomato. Unless you buy the most expensive version all the time, which is not always what I want to be doing, you get a bag of water! The ones I grew last year were delish. No comparison really for such a small amount of cost/time input.
-
I am not an allotment holder yet but have my name down. I have a small veg patch at the back of house at the mo.. however, would it be worth it?
Yes. Why...
1/Social aspect, meeting like minded people who share an interest in growing produce.
2/Health aspect, gardening is a little exercise, regularly. you cant beat it
3/Carbon footprint, the more you grow yourself the less you are putting on importing food from other countries cutting down air miles
4/Mental health, gardening is soooo relaxing, just chilling out in the garden (actually gardening) beats a skin full any day (although gardening with a half a shandy has its perks)
5/Knowing where your food comes from and that is has been produced in line with my own believes (not full of chemicals, picked when ripe and grown for taste not looks)
6/Keeping alive generations of gardening skills and heritage seed lines
just my opinion though
CJB
-
I think that growing your own is definitely worth it for me, both in social/health and monetary terms.
Just seeing people and having a chit chat about things that are completely apart from the daily grind is worth its weight in gold, and the exercise is great, and I don't have to wear a soppy leotard to get it.
Can honestly say that after having a good think about what I spend in a year that it's very cost effective. I totted up on an annual ongoing basis - £45 rent, about £35 seeds, about £10 compost, average £40 in new and replacement permanent plants, say about another £20 in gloves, wire, string etc = £150 a year.
Then there's more permanent start up costs like a few seed trays, rotavator, petrol/oil, mypex, concrete for posts, straining bolts, nails, which probably comes to about £600. Spead that out over 10 years to £60 a year, so the total is about £210 a year. I'm not including paths, shed etc, because the materials were all scavenged, wood and slabs, and a wheelbarrow or 2 other folk were throwing away. Horse muck is free nearby for those who go and get it
I reckon to cover all vegetable costs for an average of 6 months of the year which would work out to £35 a month - I can't buy the veg we eat over 6 months for that money in the shops! The fruit I grow, masses of it, and all the things I do with it is therefore FREE.
So all in all, well worth it and I reckon I make out of it too.
-
Yes deffo worth it
No idea of the cost though
Most stuff is free or cheap if you get the bargains
Skip savaging for netting, wood and so on
Free pots at garden centres
Freecycle offer loads of stuff
I get a lot of stuff from work, pallets, netting, wood, sand paving stones etc
I was lucky when I started as my mate got us a load of scaffold boards and boarded around my whole plot.
I send off for all the free seeds and buy in the sales for the following season
Exercise and freshish air is got to be a plus as I'd be down the pub if not
I'll spend about 15 hrs a week down there in the growing season
Fresh food that tastes great
Meeting folk I would probably never get to meet
George has had to spend the money on raised beds and paths as he has explained about doing a bit in between surgery and keeping clean but I think he'll regret telling everyone about being a GP, as all the sick notes will be coming out the woodwork :-X
Lastly George I've been getting this pain in my arse lately and I wonder if you could recommend anything. ;D ;D ;D
-
This has been a very interesting post. I have looked at George's website and often refer to it for information. His allotment is what I see as ideal but for me unattainable. However, if I had the money it is exactly what I would want. Good luck to you George and I bet you are a better gp for having arrived fresh from the allotment in the morning. When I looked at the allotment when you took it over and then watched your progress I was amazed at your hard work and dedication and impressed at the end result.
Cost? Yes. More than we thought. Having just retired and accounts being a bit of a habit, I too started a spreadsheet back at the start but I gave up after 2/3 years. We keep chickens and ducks too and have spent far too much on them too.
We recently had our rotavator stolen from the plot and it hurt as I had bought it for my partner Rob for Christmas 2008 and we had only had the benefit for one season. I mulled over buying it for ages as it was expensive but in the end me and my three sons clubbed together and went for it to save wear and tear on his back. Now we don't even have a good fork. ah well C'est la vie.
-
Allotments were intended for poor people to grow fresh food to help feed the family. They were an essential part of 'the war effort' too
Several decades on we have canned and frozen all sorts cheaply available. Exotic fruit and vegetables flown in from all over the world, we are assured are fresh.
Eggs which cost less than the chips they go so well with.
No accountant would suggest any one took on an allotment in the UK to save money on feeding the family but I see there is at least one doctor who recommends having one.
Stress reduction
Exercise
Even companionship
And many a treat to the taste buds, each or which is priceless.
-
I have just prepared Sunday lunch. The allotment produce is :-
Potatoes,
Sprouts,
Broccoli
Butternut squash (stored in the attic)
Sweet dumpling squash (stored in the attic)
Parsnip
Garlic
Shallots
The lamb and anchovies and red wine were bought!
http://allaboutallotments.com/Butternutsquash.html
I am now going to the allotment, will cook it later.
-
A friend in the development where we used to live asked me yesterday if I remembered her pulling around her little red wagon selling vegetables when she was little which she and her dad grew on their allotment.
She is now 40 but remembers sometimes earning $11 selling her vegies in one trip going house to house.
Not bad pay for the 1970s. That was on a free allotment of land not being used by an industry which they allowed employees to garden.
-
I didn't take on my allotment to save money although I didn't figure in the costs or work involved. I've now set myself a budget of £20 a week to spend on my site and I'm still nowhere near finished and that has been since last May.
I'm not on a council owned site, I'm on a private site run by a farmer costing £2.20 a square metre. My site costs £180 a year, nevertheless because of a lack of council owned patches, there is no shortage of takers on his land. I would say there is at least 300 tenants. I've just noticed he's ploughed another field and put paths in for another 100 or so plots.
It will be 10 years before the council offer me a plot.
-
A fascinating thread that shows how much people value their plots - whether it saves them money or costs them! :)
Every time I take a bag of redcurrants out of the freezer, I get a kick from knowing that when I froze them, the supermarket ones costs a penny a gram! I had 8 kilos of them last summer, at no cost whatsoever. That went some way to encouraging me to spend, spend, spend on more fruit trees and bushes.
One further point in the 'Is it worth it?' debate is the environmental cost of packaging: When you buy produce from the shops, much of it is necessarily packaged, particularly strawberries and raspberries. Growing my own fruit and veg gives me the opportunity to recycle plastic punnets (maybe lined with a sheet of clingfilm), as well as plastic pots and boxes of various shapes and sizes. This means I get better value from the packaging I have paid for along with my shopping and, given that my local council doesn't take these items for recycling, very slightly reduces landfill waste.
But for me, the top benefit is the chance to fulfill the instinct to gather - like women in different cultures all over the world. :)
-
LOL! was that from checking the ground for the spuds, Kev?
My granny would have said, you caught a chill in your arse, so warm it up, it'll be grand!
I've built some raised beds and did need lots of compost as most of the soil was clay mixed with Builder's rubble. We're the last house in a block and I think they used it as a dumping ground to be honest. I probably spent £300-£400 in year one. and about £150 yr 2 so far but I want to build myself a greenhouse so I'll check on Freecycle first.
I work from home but need to visits hospitals in the southeast and go to our main office in London about 3 days a week. On the other days I spend coffee breaks, lunch breaks or longer as needed on the garden and it is a huge pleasure to see things grow and to harvest my own food.
Another interesting thing for me is I'm the life and soul of the party at every social function, I'm a people person and I honestly never knew I could be so happy with my own company. For so many years it was busy, busy busy with the career, then the kids, then hubby's career hit a glitch and he needed lots of support, this is the first time it just me in the garden doing stuff that makes me feel happy. Women particularly can be very bad at putting their own needs first, in a way this is the most family friendly selfish pleasure I can have!
I do love the fact that my son is really getting into it, and cooking our own food gives me enourmous pleasure because I was brought up in that big family enviornment where Mum shows her love by cooking up masses of food. But most of the time I'm in the garden by myself, when I want, doing things I enjoy and content with my own company and thoughts.
Feel's a bit like the L'Oreal ad I grow my own "because I'm worth it!"
-
Yes! Dirty fingernails - because I'm worth it! ;D ;D ;D
-
No accountant would suggest any one took on an allotment in the UK to save money on feeding the family
Our 1 asparagus bed produces the equivelent of over £100 worth of asparagus?
I make approx 8 - 10 gallons of wine from fruit and roots on my allotment, how is that not a huge cost saving?
-
There is a lot of sense in growing things which are dear to buy in the shops.
Fresh fruit, leeks, asparagus and all sorts, especially if you go for organically grown.
We are not just growing the stuff for food though are we?
There is a sense of fulfillment about it too and those experiments with weird stuff which we are just growing for fun.
Don't forget the flowers too. The sweet peas every day you can not even buy them in a shop.
Watching the insects and the birds when stopping for that well deserved break from digging.
Sticking the fork in a moving mole hill and catching one of the beggers on the spikes.
-
We started two years ago, but only really got stuck in from last February. We pay £13 per year per plot (we've took a 2nd this year - they are 10m x 25m plots) - we've bought a shed for £125, 3 water butts at around £20 each (I think), spent about £60 on the greenhouse (all the timber was free), money on decent tools probably totalled another £75, and around £50 on bark chippings. I've just pulled enough wood out the skip this week to sort out most of the building needs for the 2nd plot.
I spend around 10 - 15 hours a week down there this time of year at the moment, clearing and preparing. My wife organises seeds and planting - I dig and she plants - seems to work well.
Apart from all the benifits of fresh air and exercise, I love the smug feeling when walking through the fruit and veg section in the supermarket and seeing the price of the stuff we've just picked. There's weeks when we must have saved £30 plus on shopping from our plot, so I recon even with the setup costs, we're quids in.
-
During my lifetime I have lived during some incredibly hard (financially) times. Now I am coming up to retirement - I have never got involved in pensions or anything like that - I have had a good life and lived it to the full but I always felt that I would be OK if I could at least grow enough food to eat!!
When I eventually do give up work I will be living on a minimal pension (plus I know there are other bits to help) but equally it will not be a "decent amount". But I have my allotment which - even if times are REALLY REALLY HARD I will not have to worry about buying food - good food at that!
I do pop up to my allotment at least twice a day to check the chickens etc and get enormous pleasure from very simple things - like seeds setting a decent parsnip etc. When I retire properly I will probably spend a lot more time up there - pottering and the like! I did spend a fair bit setting up ie the polytunnel being the most expensive and the chicken house - but these are lasting things which will last for a number of years.
I would not be without my lotty - I do sell spare plants, eggs - some spare veggies - which does help with the costs and not counting time costs would probably say that now I will be running at the lottie costing me nothing. (Having sold the eggs/spare plants/excess veggies/saved seeds)
Peace and quiet is priceless!
O B
-
You can grow lots of things which are really pricy or unobtainable otherwise. How could it not be worth it?
-
Read this thread with interest. Is it worth it - you bet. The break from work stresses, being out in the fresh air and getting mucky. Something that is often lacking in our modern sanitised lives. The varierty of vegetables eaten in our family has increased and the buzz I get strolling down Christmas morning to get the veg for dinner is fantastic (although it was hard to find the parsnips under snow this year)
We harvested around 80lbs of raspberries last year - way more than we need but our friends and family are grateful and it's led to an interesting barter system as people bring us wine, recipes, beer, chutney, etc in return
We love it
-
Hard to estimate for us. We needed to buy a shed, a few extra flags to fill the gaps on the patio from free ones and a decent amount of timber (build lots of raised beds and a pergola). I would say £350 for the shed and probably £400 in timber. We also have a rotovator and, recently, a petrol strimmer. In addition to this the annual costs are probably less than £150 for seeds, manure, straw, sets and tubers etc. The rent is £37.
Averaging of £437 a year over the 3 years (including this year) or £35 a month. Taking into account preserves and chutneys (I never buy any of these), homebrew and all the veg we probably don't save quite that much, but not that far off. Obviously the large costs are not annual so the annual cost will come down drastically. We will then be saving money.
I don't do this to save money. We have the plot because we love the gardening, the social aspects and the creativity.
-
Agree with all of this - I also make christmas presents (chutneys, vodkas, sauces, etc) which are great for either supplementing other pressies or on their own. I would pay a lot more for this hobby (although half the fun is in 'make do and mend' mentality of allotmenteers)
-
I just blooming well like it ;D ;D
XX Jeannine
-
i wasnt able to get things done on the plot last year,i was between homes,and other factors involved also, felt like i let myself down and the site by not showing willing.... :(
but im back now and getting things done and enjoying every second of it,and theres no stopping me
havent spent a fortune as previously stated, but.. "is it worth it?"
ohh yeah ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)