cost of OS. Not always worth it. Maths only here

puss14

I agree with Ceridwen that if you are enjoying what you are doing it is very worthwhile, thats why I tend to spend more time cooking and gardening then house cleaning:p

Also in regards to vegie growing, i think you need to factor in the organic factor as I can't afford to buy organic veg at the moment so growing my own means I can ensure that a good proportion of my vegies are organic and I also swap stuff with neighbours and friends, so feel as tho i am in a small way escaping the capitalist economy. Plus the health benefits surely should be factored in as gardening is healthy for the body and mind and health issues are a definite factor in a persons ability to earn money.

I know that my gardening and cooking save me money, but to be honest even if they didnt i'd still do them as i enjoy both and it is reassuring to know in a crisis I have enough food in my garden that i could survive.

geordie_joe

twiglet98 wrote: »

Am I the only reader who has never cooked haricot,

No, I have never cooked them, in fact I don't even know what they are or what they would be used for.

thriftlady_2

geordie_joe wrote: »

No, I have never cooked them, in fact I don't even know what they are or what they would be used for.

They are the bean used in baked beans. They are small white beans. Most beans taste more or less the same so use them in any bean recipe -salads, soups, stews, casseroles with pork, bacon or sausages.

They are sometimes called navy beans.

geordie_joe

thriftlady wrote: »

They are the bean used in baked beans. They are small white beans. Most beans taste more or less the same so use them in any bean recipe -salads, soups, stews, casseroles with pork, bacon or sausages.

They are sometimes called navy beans.

Wow thanks for that. I'll look out for them in the shop today.

charliee_3

geordie_joe wrote: »

Thatb is true, but if you choose to work in your allotment for an hour instead of watch the TV for an hour you can't say working in the allotment COST you £5, because that is what you think your time is worth.

But to say doing something is costing you money, when if you weren't do that you would not be earning money anyway, is just silly.

well while i agree that time spent on the allotment doesn't cost money, i would argue that it is 'work' as there are things that have to be done that wouldn't have to be done if you bought all your veg from the shop and unless every second you spend on your allotment is a pleasure there is a certain amount of graft and the time could have been spent on leisure activites... i think this time spent should be taken into account when deciding if its 'worth it' and if you are doing it to save money but dont have unlimited time, you need to put a monetary value on it if that is what your criteria are.

eg. you can wash your car yourself for pennies, or you can pay several pounds for the car wash, if you decide to pay it is because your 'time' is worth more than your money... ie.. my hour saved washing the car is worth at least £5 as that is what i have paid someone else to do it for me.

you can grow all your own veg and spend 6,7,8,9, 10 hours a week tending it and buy your seeds for pennies and get crops worth pounds, but if your time is more valuable to you and you hate the hassle of it all and you dont see it as a relaxing pursuit for your free time, then buying all your veg is better value for you even if it looks more expensive on paper... and basically £5 an hour is what you might be able to pay someone to tend your allotment for you to get the same investment to yield without the work...

so without reference to provenance, etc, the value of growing your own is
the cost of buying the harvest from the shop minus the outlay on tools, seeds, rent, fetilisers, etc and minus the cost of labour put in to produce it.. you are being your own farmer

im rambling.. hope it makes some sense.. lol

i am planning to start growing my own next year, so i read these threads with interest!

culpepper

Depends how you compare things really..if you paid for a gym membership and did 10 hours of gym a week, the allotment would give you as good a workout in those 10 hours and be massively cheaper plus you would have the produce at the end of the season.
My veg garden this year cost me virtually nothing (about £5 in new seeds) and has given me cabbages, broccoli,potatoes, tomatoes ,lettuce ,courgettes and spinach,there will be brussels later on too.Plus raspberries, strawberries,tayberries ,blackberries ,blackcurrants and gooseberries. I have not been down there very much at all this year,nowhere near 10 hours a week maybe 3.

greenbee

calleyw wrote: »

Surely it is more productive to be out doing something in the garden working off calories than sat in front of the TV or on the internet all night.

So maybe the saving on gym membership and the health benefits should be added into the equation (not sure how you can put a value on the latter

culpepper wrote: »

Depends how you compare things really..if you paid for a gym membership and did 10 hours of gym a week, the allotment would give you as good a workout in those 10 hours and be massively cheaper plus you would have the produce at the end of the season.
My veg garden this year cost me virtually nothing (about £5 in new seeds) and has given me cabbages, broccoli,potatoes, tomatoes ,lettuce ,courgettes and spinach,there will be brussels later on too.Plus raspberries, strawberries,tayberries ,blackberries ,blackcurrants and gooseberries. I have not been down there very much at all this year,nowhere near 10 hours a week maybe 3.

Great minds...

I do remember my dad saying that while he was working, the veg garden was a luxury as it cost a lot (they had help with it), but then again, they lived 15 miles from the nearest town and there were no farm shops or anything similar, so without it life for my mum in particular would have been very difficult. Now he is retired, it's a past-time (mind you, he also appears to have discovered his shopping gene!).

I work full time, long erratic hours, travel for work etc, so can barely keep up with the garden let alone a veg garden - however, I really do enjoy the few tomatoes, mangetout, herbs, aubergines and woodland strawberries I manage to grow (and the home-grown stuff donated by friends and relations!).

Dried pulses - again, its the convenience of having them in the quantities you need them in, and knowing how they've been cooked. They also take up less room in the cupboards than tins, and are more sustainable as the cans have a huge environmental impact (if you think it uses a lot of gas to cook your beans, think how much it cost to cook the can :rolleyes:)

geordie_joe

charliee wrote: »

i think this time spent should be taken into account when deciding if its 'worth it'

I couldn't agree more with that. But what I was comment on was people apparently adding £5 per hour to the cost of growing their veg as they think their time is worth £5 per hour.

They said something along the lines of "I spent £3 on seeds and spent 3 hours in the allotment. My time is worth £5 per hour, so the veg I grew cost me £18". Then went on to say they could get it cheaper from a shop so growing your own is not worth it.

It didn't cost them £18, it cost them £3 and 3 hours of time.

geordie_joe

charliee wrote: »

so without reference to provenance, etc, the value of growing your own is
the cost of buying the harvest from the shop minus the outlay on tools, seeds, rent, fetilisers, etc and minus the cost of labour put in to produce it.. you are being your own farmer

But you did not pay that cost, so it can't be a cost. If you did you would have an income equal to that cost, as you would be paying yourself. You would need to deduct the income from the result, so one just cancels out the other.

Or to put it another way, if you would have to pay someone £5 per hour to do the labour for you, but you do it yourself, you have SAVED £5 per hour. So you would need to deduct the saving too.

geordie_joe

Bummer, Morrisons don't sell haricot beans :mad: