301k in debt and morbidly obese - things aren't great!

Igamogam

MrBloater wrote: »

Am getting lost in the world of forums here, now I've (ha-ha) cracked ebay I'm delving deep into the worlds of kindle and grow yr own. But, cos underneath all the bluster I'm a polite kinda guy who can sometimes say the wrong thing - I'll ask here rather than upsetting the legions of hoe-wielding folk in their own backyard - I would just like to know how moneysaving growing your own veg is? It just strikes me that the amount of effort (physical, mental and logistical) to plant onions far outweighs the 99p for 3 or 4 lovely ones that I can buy as and when at the supermarket. I don't dispute the health, enviromental and metaphysical virtues of growing your own, I just wonder how much of a good use of time it would be for someone like me?

Grow your own Kindle??

Oops sorry read that wrong - havent had adrink in months and one glass of wine and I have lost my reading skills;)

As far as 'grow your own' ( and round here lots of people 'grow their own' and not all legal :eek:) is concerned it is cheaper in the long run - I know not how I know cos I have never added it all up but it has to be does't it??? My take on it is grow the things that cost a fortune in the shops - strawberries and raspberries are my favourite. Also stuff you like and eat a lot of - in our household that peppers tomatoes cucumbers lettuce melons ,peas beans. I NEVER grow potatoes - dont have the room but as an experiment you could grow in big pots - but why people do this baffles me - children love it though. Involve the the mini B's and make sure its something they will like. I also have an extensive herb garden - always grow something like oregano or thyme or mint ( very rampant mint) All much better than dried stuff and cheaper!

Start off small and add to your repatoire as you get more confident/converted.

Hmmm the metaphysical whatnots - well you cant put a price on that

MrBloater

Am hoping the fact that I have just submitted my first e-book to kindle where it is currently sitting in the very austere sounding 'in review' status will inspire Mrs B to start talking to me again. Have been getting the silent since DS put his hand down the toilet whilst I was cutting up inordinate amounts of cardboard yesterday at bathtime (the kids', not mine) for the ebay packaging. The little Bloaters are spending the day with their grandparents today so Mrs B and I can spend some time together. What might detract somewhat from the wow factor of being married to a Kindler (well an apprentice one anyway) is that I miscalculated the cardboard count - I have oodles of packaging for 7" singles and CDs, but the batch of vinyl I sold this time around was all 12". So I'm going to have to ask Mrs B to go down the Co-Op and see if she can acquire some boxes from instore (the stuff in the bins out the back will be rainsoaked). And so another member of the family is gonna get sucked into the Cardboard Dinosaur tissue of lies. And no I haven't been for a run, I've been publishing a book. Hopefully saintliness will come along tomorrow.

Molly41

MrBloater wrote: »

Am getting lost in the world of forums here, now I've (ha-ha) cracked ebay I'm delving deep into the worlds of kindle and grow yr own. But, cos underneath all the bluster I'm a polite kinda guy who can sometimes say the wrong thing - I'll ask here rather than upsetting the legions of hoe-wielding folk in their own backyard - I would just like to know how moneysaving growing your own veg is? It just strikes me that the amount of effort (physical, mental and logistical) to plant onions far outweighs the 99p for 3 or 4 lovely ones that I can buy as and when at the supermarket. I don't dispute the health, enviromental and metaphysical virtues of growing your own, I just wonder how much of a good use of time it would be for someone like me?

It can be done cheaply using free seeds (RHS and CBBC), plastic pots, buckets and hand-me-down tools. It gives you a great sense of satisfaction and the veg taste divine. It would also be a great activity to do with your kids:T:T:T

mothsinmywallet_2

£3 and about an hour's work in total got us 78 onions.

Karmacat

scotdebs wrote: »

Hi Mr B not posted on your diary for a while but here are my thoughts on it. We dont have a huge amount of space - if this is the same for you dont waste time, money effort on things you can buy pretty cheaply in the shops ie onions! Also dont devote lots of space to stuff you dont eat loads of ie potatos (we like potatoes occasionally so do a couple of potato bags that dont take up much space of the nice early summer varieties). Where I have found big savings is growing cut and come again lettuce and other salads items during the "summer" this can amount to a lot spend in the supermarket of your choice and you can add it last minute and fresh to any meal..
We also grow stuff the kids will enjoy baby carrots, fresh peas, strawberries etc things they can help plant and then eat straight from the garden (perhaps with a quick wash for the carrots!) not sure how cost effective that part is but something warms the soul when you see your 2 yrd old sitting on an upside down plant pot eating fresh peas out the pod
I know from your diary your the kind of person who like results NOW - but give it a go and accept it might take a couple of summers to work out what works best for you all

Molly41 wrote: »

It can be done cheaply using free seeds (RHS and CBBC), plastic pots, buckets and hand-me-down tools. It gives you a great sense of satisfaction and the veg taste divine. It would also be a great activity to do with your kids:T:T:T

scotsdebs and molly both make really good points. I wondered about the financial efficiency myself, and of course you can spend a fortune on the latest tools and plantpots and whatnot. This year, I have a well established blackcurrant bush in my new garden - I wasn't well earlier in the year, so a lot of the fruit rotted on the branch before I got round to picking it, but even so, I picked the equivalent of 3 punnets that you find in supermarkets - so, about £6? Its a big bush, admittedly, and if I'd picked as it ripened, I'd have got at least double - so, £12 saving from one bush.

Thats the economics! I'd say, go to a car boot sale for anything you need. There are massive great ones between you and the south coast held at aerodromes, for instance - its quite a weird day out, but quite fun, stuff will be cheap (make a note of what you want, and what price stuff is in, say, Tesco or Sainsbo, before you go, because you'll always get merchants who try it on).

Good luck with MrsB notspeaking

thevinternet

MrBloater wrote: »

I would just like to know how moneysaving growing your own veg is? It just strikes me that the amount of effort (physical, mental and logistical) to plant onions far outweighs the 99p for 3 or 4 lovely ones that I can buy as and when at the supermarket. I don't dispute the health, enviromental and metaphysical virtues of growing your own, I just wonder how much of a good use of time it would be for someone like me?

It depends what you try to grow. Two things I would definitely recommend next year (if you eat these things) - chilis and lettuce. Chilis you can grow indoors on a windowsill (so easy), lettuce I was completely innundated with this year...it must have cost me about £3.00 outlay for the pots, seeds and slug pellets, but we didn't buy a single lettuce or bag of salad from June until last week. As those bags of salad can be quite pricey, I thought we did well there - also it makes a good sandwich filling with a bit of cheese or ham.

Also, I have extremely happy memories of helping my dad grow food in the garden when I was a little girl, your kids might love it, and it will teach them where food comes from...this is surprisingly useful as an adult, I'm not fussy about buying funny shaped carrots, or veg that has a bit of soil on and needs a wash, as I believe some folks are!

Butti

MrBloater wrote: »

I miscalculated the cardboard count - I have oodles of packaging for 7" singles and CDs, but the batch of vinyl I sold this time around was all 12". So I'm going to have to ask Mrs B to go down the Co-Op and see if she can acquire some boxes from instore (the stuff in the bins out the back will be rainsoaked). And so another member of the family is gonna get sucked into the Cardboard Dinosaur tissue of lies. And no I haven't been for a run, I've been publishing a book. Hopefully saintliness will come along tomorrow.

Do you think you are going to have to have to change your cover story. 'My DD has won a modern art competition to display at the Tate. We are filling the Turbine Hall with cardboard dinosaurs of all different sizes.'

In terms of growing things I always do tomatoes in grow bags which just like a sunny spot. This year I also put a lattice frame against the fence and successfully grew green beans against it. If you plant about 8-10 plants you should get plenty of beans. I survived for most of the summer on 4 plants.

B

mizmir

All this talk of growing vegetables is drawing me in - is there anything easy you can start growing now that will give you stuff over the winter? Have a small plot here I could use but as we may not be in the house after next May don't want to wait until Spring!

Verbatim

Raspberries are easy. We get loads from our "Autumn Bliss" from about May/June until the frosts. And they cost a fortune in the supermarkets. Courgettes and runners are pretty foolproof too and you can freeze the excess. We also do leeks, parsnips and broccoli for the winter and try not to buy much green veg when we can pick our own or find it in the freezer. Never have much luck with carrots but try anyway and dwarf climbing beans tend to carry on after the runners have had it. This year I grew rhubarb from seed, about 10 seeds, compost and growing tray for 99p from a pound store, and I have 6 strong plants planted out but not yet tasted. Because we make our own compost we get bonus spuds around the place which we allow to grow and then harvest when they're still young. Have also got a wonderful asparagus patch which is glorious from April to early June. Had a few sglobe artichokes around but for the flower heads/thistle but this year I've done some properly and will see if I get any next year.

Karmacat

Starting now ... I was just reading about landcress, miz; lettuce would still do okay outside I *think* - might well need to put some bubblewrap over it till the leaves are up - as I mentioned to Mr B, check out the library, blogs, and the greenfingered board on here. I found Alys Fowler's Edible Garden in the library, which is absolutely gorgeous, and very informative too, for the real world.