All Year Round Tatties

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

You can save money by growing your own, if you have a decent sized garden. The cost of driving to and from an allotment probably cancels any gains. But, some home grown produce does taste better.

I would challenge that in a very polite way and suggest the best option to make money from your garden would be to grow flowers, dahlias and christhanths to be clear. Fog them in the summer.

Then plant bedding plant seeds, geraniums, lobelia and petunias, flog them buy the mini pot load.

Pansies, Pi*s easy and colour from late autumn untill now, digging mine out today.

Secret to cheap gardening is to not buy plants

Leif

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I would challenge that in a very polite way and suggest the best option to make money from your garden would be to grow flowers, dahlias and christhanths to be clear. Fog them in the summer.

Then plant bedding plant seeds, geraniums, lobelia and petunias, flog them buy the mini pot load.

Pansies, Pi*s easy and colour from late autumn untill now, digging mine out today.

Secret to cheap gardening is to not buy plants

And I would challenge that in a very rude way, with a loud saliva laden raspberry. And that is a home grown raspberry too, not a shop bought one. Seriously though, I wouldn't want to bother with the hassle of setting up a business to sell plants. Growing expensive things such as rhubarb, blackcurrants, chilis etc makes sense to me. I've grown some beetroot this year, an orange variety, and it needed very little attention, as did many other things. Seeds can be bought cheap, if you are careful.

rhosynbach

we have not brought potatoes for several years, as we grow all our own we plant at different times and harvest up til xmas and we store to last us through to the first new ones which we get from the poly tunnel or greenhouse usually in may.. we feed 5 at home and eat a lot of potatoes i also give a lot to my dd family. we do not do it to save money i do not think home grown is always about being cheaper but because we enjoy the taste of home grown potatoes and knowing they have no rubbish on them , we only grow what we eat and enjoy not what costs more in shops and i can not see the point of growing flowers to sell it may give you a few pounds in your pocket but you cannot beat the satisfaction of producing your own food or the taste.

uncommonadvice

Well done to rhosynbach

What's your storage method?

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

And I would challenge that in a very rude way, with a loud saliva laden raspberry. And that is a home grown raspberry too, not a shop bought one. Seriously though, I wouldn't want to bother with the hassle of setting up a business to sell plants. Growing expensive things such as rhubarb, blackcurrants, chilis etc makes sense to me. I've grown some beetroot this year, an orange variety, and it needed very little attention, as did many other things. Seeds can be bought cheap, if you are careful.

No, neither would I but, a few packs of bedding plant seeds are so easy that they yield far more than you can use.

My local garden centre or rather "proper nursery", does a 4" pot of petunia, geranium, lobelia etc seedling for £1.50 to £3.

anything from 50 to 150 plants from each pot.

That's real moneysaving and if you do it yourself, you can get 3 to 4 pots from a single pack of seeds and share or sell/exchange the surplus


None of us do it to make money, my point is that we can actually do it for free:T:T:T

Leif

But I don't want bedding plants, and I don't want the hassle of selling them, it's not worth the hassle.:think:

Anywya, to show no hard feelings: :xmassign:

cyclonebri1

rhosynbach wrote: »

we have not brought potatoes for several years, as we grow all our own we plant at different times and harvest up til xmas and we store to last us through to the first new ones which we get from the poly tunnel or greenhouse usually in may.. we feed 5 at home and eat a lot of potatoes i also give a lot to my dd family. we do not do it to save money i do not think home grown is always about being cheaper but because we enjoy the taste of home grown potatoes and knowing they have no rubbish on them , we only grow what we eat and enjoy not what costs more in shops and i can not see the point of growing flowers to sell it may give you a few pounds in your pocket but you cannot beat the satisfaction of producing your own food or the taste.

I probably phrased it incorrectly but my satisfaction is equal to yours in eating homegrown produce.

Mine come when I can have a better display of hanging baskets and planters for about a £5r than my neighbours get having spent over £100.
The smug grin on my face says it all really and just remember why we all all here, clue:money::money:;);)

Don't for a minute think I am detracting from the pleasure in consuming home produce, far from it, 1st strawbs in this week, broard beans 2 weeks ago, courgettes for the last 3 weeks, onions and garlic ready etc etc

But I do still have difficulties in justifying the space given up to spuds, yes 3 bags coming on nicely and a few in a raised bed for the 1st time, but for me just too much space taken up for too long


No one has commented on the potato "clamp" method 1 outlined earlier, it was the age old method of the serious allotment holder and still works today, storing them for all year consumption is the secret rather that expecting to be able to grow them all year round.

rhosynbach

uncommonadvice wrote: »

Well done to rhosynbach

What's your storage method?

hi mine are stored in stacked crates not to many per crate then in a dark brick shed ( the old outside toilet) plenty of air circulating but dark and dry seems to work my apples store in there to.

i never put any on the floor but use wood to lift them a couple of inches

rhosynbach

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I probably phrased it incorrectly but my satisfaction is equal to yours in eating homegrown produce.

Mine come when I can have a better display of hanging baskets and planters for about a £5r than my neighbours get having spent over £100.
The smug grin on my face says it all really and just remember why we all all here, clue:money::money:;);)

Don't for a minute think I am detracting from the pleasure in consuming home produce, far from it, 1st strawbs in this week, broard beans 2 weeks ago, courgettes for the last 3 weeks, onions and garlic ready etc etc

But I do still have difficulties in justifying the space given up to spuds, yes 3 bags coming on nicely and a few in a raised bed for the 1st time, but for me just too much space taken up for too long


No one has commented on the potato "clamp" method 1 outlined earlier, it was the age old method of the serious allotment holder and still works today, storing them for all year consumption is the secret rather that expecting to be able to grow them all year round.

i agree if your short of space there are more worth while things to grow, i am very privilaged and have more space than i can use so grow everthing that time permits, i do grow flowers and have a very pretty garden all home grown for a few pounds and agree it gives a lot of pleasure

i was very interested in your clamp method as we have plenty of straw i am thinking of giving it a go this year with some of my spuds

cyclonebri1

rhosynbach wrote: »

i agree if your short of space there are more worth while things to grow, i am very privilaged and have more space than i can use so grow everthing that time permits, i do grow flowers and have a very pretty garden all home grown for a few pounds and agree it gives a lot of pleasure

i was very interested in your clamp method as we have plenty of straw i am thinking of giving it a go this year with some of my spuds

It works :)