Growing ur own fruit and veg, worth it?

trollopscarletwoman

Parsimonia wrote: »

All your replies have provided great food for thought.

Despite your warnings about this not being necessarily good economic sense, I think I'll have another go this year at growing a few simple staples, namely salad leaves, tomatoes and beetroot, as well as a few strawberry plants.

We already have lots of well established herbs, which tend to pretty much look after themselves; I'll supplement those with others throughout the year.

If I can manage to get the lettuces and toms reasonably cheaply, this should lead to a genuine cost saving. We still have lots of salad leaf and spinach seeds left over from last year - would they still be usable this year???

We also have 2 unopened large bags of John Innes organic vegetable growing compost. We have a SMALL amount of home-grown compost. We have our 1.5m square trug and an abundance of sturdy pots and bags, ranging in size from 6" to about 2' in diameter.

Mulch isn't an issue - I have access to as much bark and leaf mould as I need, as I live really close to a wood.

If I need manure, I live close by a riding centre.

We have a full water barrel....

Presupposing I can get some tomato and strawberry plants cheaply I'm good to go; then I'll have to shop around for cheap tomato food...

Is there anything I've overlooked (that's going to cost me money that I haven't thought about???)

I really appreciate your insights and advice, everyone!

Last years seeds should be fine
Lidl is good on seeds-3 packs for a pound on number 1 -(packs have different numbers and cost.

A trick to check for germination for the larger seeds such as runner beans, broad bean is to place some moist compost in a clear plastic bag, threw in the seeds, cover them-place in a warm place. Give them about 10 days, tip them out and see which ones have started to sprout with the little white tail.

Those that have pot on. Those that haven't put them back in. This method takes out some of the hit and miss of starting them in pots or ground. Shows if they are still viable.

Generally the larger the seed the more its longevity.

Runner beans can be grown in pots particularly dwarf varieties such as Hestia.

Tomato feed such as Tomorite can be bought at shops such as B&M, Wilko. You can also make a drink by putting stingy nettles in a bucket, cover with water, put a lid on, leave for 2-3 weeks, stir and dilute in the watering can about 10-1 but opinions vary on that.

Living in a seaside town I also add seaweed. Toms and cucumbers love that.

If you really get into growing I would suggest joining your local horticultural society. Here its £4 per annum and money well spent. You can fertilisers, loose seeds, onion sets cheaper than mainstream. And you will meet fellow gardeners with a wealth of knowledge.

Any more advice please just ask.

Parsimonia

trollopscarletwoman wrote: »

Last years seeds should be fine
Lidl is good on seeds-3 packs for a pound on number 1 -(packs have different numbers and cost.

A trick to check for germination for the larger seeds such as runner beans, broad bean is to place some moist compost in a clear plastic bag, threw in the seeds, cover them-place in a warm place. Give them about 10 days, tip them out and see which ones have started to sprout with the little white tail.

Those that have pot on. Those that haven't put them back in. This method takes out some of the hit and miss of starting them in pots or ground. Shows if they are still viable.

Generally the larger the seed the more its longevity.

Runner beans can be grown in pots particularly dwarf varieties such as Hestia.

Tomato feed such as Tomorite can be bought at shops such as B&M, Wilko. You can also make a drink by putting stingy nettles in a bucket, cover with water, put a lid on, leave for 2-3 weeks, stir and dilute in the watering can about 10-1 but opinions vary on that.

Living in a seaside town I also add seaweed. Toms and cucumbers love that.

If you really get into growing I would suggest joining your local horticultural society. Here its £4 per annum and money well spent. You can fertilisers, loose seeds, onion sets cheaper than mainstream. And you will meet fellow gardeners with a wealth of knowledge.

Any more advice please just ask.

Ooooh, what a helpful post - thank you! I'll definitely look out for the seeds next time I'm in LIDL - is that a regular thing, or one of their weekly offers? I do my weekly shop in Aldi, so I'm no so familiar with what LIDL offers in its regular range.

I'll also definitely try your tip to see which are the strongest seeds - it was a bit disheartening last year when so many of the things we tried to grow from seed were weak and spindly.

We have a Wilco ...not to mention lots of stinging nettles in the vicinity!

How would I find out about the horticultural society? I googled it and couldn't find anything local, though one of our parish voluntary groups is a Gardening and Horticultural Group....is that likely to be part of the same organisation?

RAS

Lidl is 5 packs for £1 at the moment, even cheaper than last year and they do it all spring. Their more expensive packs (peas, beans and F1s) are 5 for £2.

If you have salad leaf and spinach seed from last year, you may not need a lot more this year.

Does the salad leaf include winter hardy stuff like corn salad, leand cress, mizuna and mustards?

Go for a small number of large containers rather than lots of little pots.

Lidl 5 for £1 range

Radish
Lettuce
Carrot
Beetroot
Swiss Chard – Lucellus
Spinach
Sweet pepper
Aubergine
Tomato – Marmande and Moneymaker
Leek - Carentan
Courgette (round)
Pickling Gherkins
Cucumber (Chinese)
Watermelon
Sweet melon
Giant pumpkin
Onion – three including white one that may be a salad onion but the cultural instructions suggest it is good in storage.
Cauliflower

Parsley
Dill
Chives
Thyme
Marjoram ???
Basil

49p packs or 5 for £2

Runner beans
Climbing French beans
Dwarf French beans
Peas
Mange tout
Courgette - long
Chinese Cabbage
Mixed cherry tomatoes
pattypan squash

More radish, gherkins, lettuce and pumpkin plus.......

Parsimonia

RAS wrote: »

Does the salad leaf include winter hardy stuff like corn salad, leand cress, mizuna and mustards?

No, sadly not....

But thanks for such an informative list - I really appreciate it!!!

RAS

Parsimonia wrote: »

No, sadly not....

But thanks for such an informative list - I really appreciate it!!!

The list is just nicked of a thread last year and up-dated.

OK

Check out Aldi as last year they did a very few packs of seeds; a single box with 16 sections in which I found 12 veggies but they were less interesting then Lidl (smaller seed count and higher price).

However they did some multi-packs some of which were interesting. For allotment holders their allotment pack of 6 had 4 brassicas that would be hard to find elsewhere under 3 for £1.20 plus leeks and summat else.

The one that might interest you was their salad pack: all except the lettuce were winter salads/stir fry material. Corn salad, land cress, mizuna, rocket and "spicy mix" which looked like mixed mustards.

Think it was £1.79 per pack????

Parsimonia

RAS wrote: »

The list is just nicked of a thread last year and up-dated.

OK

Check out Aldi as last year they did a very few packs of seeds; a single box with 16 sections in which I found 12 veggies but they were less interesting then Lidl (smaller seed count and higher price).

However they did some multi-packs some of which were interesting. For allotment holders their allotment pack of 6 had 4 brassicas that would be hard to find elsewhere under 3 for £1.20 plus leeks and summat else.

The one that might interest you was their salad pack: all except the lettuce were winter salads/stir fry material. Corn salad, land cress, mizuna, rocket and "spicy mix" which looked like mixed mustards.

Think it was £1.79 per pack????

I'll look out for the seeds on Sunday - thank you!!!

JayneC

Just to add, land cress, rocket, mustards, corn salad/lambs lettuce and chinese greens all self seed really easily, so if you let some go to seed they'll pop up all over the place for you next year. Same with chard. Don't forget you can add small amounts of herbs to your salad greens to bulk up and some flowers are edible too - nasturtiums, calendula, viola, primrose. You can also forage quite a few greens - dandelion, garlic mustard, ransoms, bittercress, sorrel.... A good book for foraging is Food for Free - Richard Mabey. It will make you own salad leaves go further.

Regarding last years seeds - I put some little gem lettuce seeds in last year with a use by date of 2009, got loads!! It may be worth asking around if anyone you know grows their own, they may have seeds to spare. I got a carrier bag full from a friend - just mentioned I'd gotten an allotment and next time I saw her she gave me a bag full of seeds!

I've also had success with sowing the seeds of shop bought peppers and with planting shop bought spuds. Not tried shop bought tomatoes, but it would probably work ok (better with organic grown ones).

trollopscarletwoman

Parsimonia wrote: »

How would I find out about the horticultural society? I googled it and couldn't find anything local, though one of our parish voluntary groups is a Gardening and Horticultural Group....is that likely to be part of the same organisation?

That certainly sounds very similar.

If you know anyone who has an allotment ask them. Chances are they will be a member of a local horticultural society.

Have you got any plants going at the moment?

Parsimonia

trollopscarletwoman wrote: »

That certainly sounds very similar.

If you know anyone who has an allotment ask them. Chances are they will be a member of a local horticultural society.

Have you got any plants going at the moment?

Only herbs and rhubarb...no salad leaves or tomatoes yet....

There are allotments in our village - I'll go along and ask around...

valk_scot

Parsimonia wrote: »

Mulch isn't an issue - I have access to as much bark and leaf mould as I need, as I live really close to a wood.

Umm..you can't just go and help yourself to this, you know. Unless the wood belongs to you of course and maybe not even then. Otherwise even if it has public access you're not actually allowed to go in and destroy part of the ecosystem, it may be a managed woodland or a valuable natural habitat that's being conserved. It may even be a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and you could be prosecuted for causing damage.


Best to make your own leaf mould using swept up leaves, and buy bark chippings from the garden centre.