Growing ur own fruit and veg, worth it?

Leif

It can be cheaper, unless you buy wood to make raised beds, fancy pots, a greenhouse and so on. You can dig beds in the garden, and grow veg and fruit that cost a lot in the shops such as leaves - rocket, lettuce etc - asparagus, blackcurrants, rhubarb, chinese cabbage, chillis and so on. Flavour is better, probably because you eat on the day you harvest, so it is fresher, and sweeter. And you can grow unusual crops such as quince, asparagus pea, and so on. But this year the gods have not been kind to us. Beware the slug.

SailorSam

Poppy7 wrote: »

Wow thanks so much for all the replies. I am going to look into it for sure. My little toddler is fast becoming a fruit-aholic (in fact getting him to eat much else is the hard part)

You're lucky Poppy that your toddler wants to eat fruit, it seems that it's often difficult to get kids to eat fruit and veg. When they can help growing things it's more likely they may start eating it.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I think if you do it right then yes you can save lots of money..

especially when supermarkets are saying about large price hikes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2212516/The-vanishing-fruit-veg-Warning-shortages-price-rises-British-crops-hit-bad-weather.html

Poppy7

Sailorsam - everyone says that to me and i know im lucky. But its pretty much all he eats at times and it isnt good for his sugar levels and his teeth. But am really interested to look into it further thanks to everyones replies. So thanks a lot

valk_scot

I wouldn't bother with grapes, they're not so easy to grow without a greenhouse in our climate. But raspberries, strawberries, red and black currants and gooseberries all do well in our climate and are pretty easy crops. Tomatoes and potatoes are simple too but just need a little more attention. How about salad crops like mixed leaf types? French beans? Peas in the pod?

There's a great wee story book for toddlers about growing and eating vegetables btw, called Oliver's Vegetables. Great fun, good pictures. My kids loved it. It's just a story though, not a set of instructions. But fun.

What kind of garden have you got? Room for beds or are you going to grow in pots?

SailorSam

valk_scot wrote: »

But raspberries, strawberries, red and black currants and gooseberries all do well in our climate and are pretty easy crops.

Most of my berry bushes i bought in the £shop and they've done quiet well, even this year saved me a lot more than a pound.

cheeswright

interesting question o.p.
the fruit and veg themselves I find I more than break even on - and mojisola is right about growing high value crops..e.g. rapberrys are hugely expensive in the shops - and I've had 20 lbs for nothing this year

you can also add value to your crops this year Ihave turned 70 + lbs of blackberrys into wine ..should make for a merry christmas..cost £5 in sugar
also
I dont pay to go the gym but am really quite fit ( although if i dont get some mates round to drink the wine I may suffer from liver failure!)

I never have nothing to do - so I never go shopping because I'm bored
and my kids will eat anything..well at least try it

I think the benefits hugely outweigh the time spent - but if you find pottering in the garden a chore then its not going to work for you

realfood

It has been estimated that an area of 250 sq ms, should be able to produce some £1500 worth of fruit and vegetables a year, a sum not to be sniffed at in these difficult times.

twiglet98

Definitely worth growing soft fruit as it's so expensive. I only wish I could grow bananas!

castlelough

Hi Poppy!

I was a first timer this year. I only dug a small bed to start with.
I planted potatoes (I think I may leave these next year, they had to be dug quite deep and they got blight and weren't very productive - disappointing - and they are reasonably affordable).
My onions were the easiest to sow (just push into the soil bed with your finger, could sow a lot in close rows, and they did very well from a €1 bag from Lidl.
Strawberries were disappointing in the bed. I think pots or raised beds may have suited them better. I didn't put down straw beneath them developing fruits and they mostly were rotted/inedible.
My biggest success was my blueberry plant. It didn't even make it out of the pot! I got lots of berries, and the leaves of the plant have turned a fabulous autumnal deep wine and red colour which I hadn't expected - very pretty! Going to try to take cuttings or invest in more of these for next year as blueberries are expensive. So in a way it was the best investment, as I usually avoid buying blueberries due to the price. And when I do there are too many in the box and they don't last and half end up being dumped. I was able to pluck a handful off the bush to add to my breakfast in the mornings!
Hope that helps!
I've heard raspberries are easy too.....
And I definitely want to plant some apple trees (cooking and eating) pear and plum too.......