The highs and lows of growing your own dinner 2015

Ken68

Same here Mike re pumpkins etc might harvest now, rained all day and most of yesterday and by the sounds of it over the summer, this region has faired better than most.
No sign of bulb growth on celeriac and they are supposed to like the wet. Am good for parsnips, taters and leeks this winter so won't starve.

peaceandfreedom

Scottish_Mike wrote: »

So, it's been... interesting and frustrating this year, mostly due to the amount of things I have grown in pots failing, and feeling that I haven't really saved that much having spent loads on bags of compost. Next year I'm going to keep a proper spreadsheet and tally how much I spend on everything.

It has indeed been interesting and frustrating this year. It is also interesting what you say about expenditure.

I think most gardeners would admit that they are lucky to break even with their food-growing, unless they grow vast quantities and also choose their crops carefully. For me, I garden and grow stuff because I really enjoy it and because I love the home-grown food so much. But I don't grow crops that take up too much space and that are dead cheap to buy anyway.

I use the budgeting software YNAB and have exported the gardening expenditure to Excel and pivoted the results. It tells me this (spending in 2015):

Bird food and feeders...................70.53
Compost.....................................52.36
Council garden waste collection......48.00
Equipment.................................121.31
Plant Feed...................................18.95
Fencing/shed..............................163.75
Plants.........................................35.48
Seeds.........................................32.24

I knew how much my total garden spending was but the breakdown surprises me (I don't have it broken down in detail in YNAB). The compost amount seems high, will have to see if I can get a better deal next year. I don't have a huge amount in pots but all the greenhouse stuff is as well as some outdoor things. Plants and seeds are reasonable though I will be aiming to collect more of my own seed for next year and buy cheaper seed. Half the plant cost was for a ready-made hanging basket .

Total expenditure on food crops is hard to analyse because some of the plants and seeds were for flowers and so was some of the compost. I spent around £140 on compost, feed, plants and seeds - a rough estimate is £90 was on food crops. Will I get £90 of food from the garden? I doubt it, though it's hard to quantify. Things like rocket, tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries and rhubarb are expensive enough to buy and I've had a lot of those. Garlic is now pretty much free because next year's crop is grown from some of this year's bulbs.

I'm not counting the hours I spend doing the gardening because I enjoy that and would not be earning anything in that time if I didn't do it.

I would be more than happy to break even because you can't beat the taste of tomatoes warm and fresh from your own greenhouse .

moneyistooshorttomention

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

It has indeed been interesting and frustrating this year. It is also interesting what you say about expenditure.

I think most gardeners would admit that they are lucky to break even with their food-growing, unless they grow vast quantities and also choose their crops carefully. For me, I garden and grow stuff because I really enjoy it and because I love the home-grown food so much. But I don't grow crops that take up too much space and that are dead cheap to buy anyway.

I use the budgeting software YNAB and have exported the gardening expenditure to Excel and pivoted the results. It tells me this (spending in 2015):

Bird food and feeders...................70.53
Compost.....................................52.36
Council garden waste collection......48.00
Equipment.................................121.31
Plant Feed...................................18.95
Fencing/shed..............................163.75
Plants.........................................35.48
Seeds.........................................32.24

I knew how much my total garden spending was but the breakdown surprises me (I don't have it broken down in detail in YNAB). The compost amount seems high, will have to see if I can get a better deal next year. I don't have a huge amount in pots but all the greenhouse stuff is as well as some outdoor things. Plants and seeds are reasonable though I will be aiming to collect more of my own seed for next year and buy cheaper seed. Half the plant cost was for a ready-made hanging basket .

Total expenditure on food crops is hard to analyse because some of the plants and seeds were for flowers and so was some of the compost. I spent around £140 on compost, feed, plants and seeds - a rough estimate is £90 was on food crops. Will I get £90 of food from the garden? I doubt it, though it's hard to quantify. Things like rocket, tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries and rhubarb are expensive enough to buy and I've had a lot of those. Garlic is now pretty much free because next year's crop is grown from some of this year's bulbs.

I'm not counting the hours I spend doing the gardening because I enjoy that and would not be earning anything in that time if I didn't do it.

I would be more than happy to break even because you can't beat the taste of tomatoes warm and fresh from your own greenhouse .

I've rather broken down my expenditure into two different sections re the garden.

There is the long-standing/permanent type expenditure - ie hard landscaping on the garden/books on gardening/tools/etc on the one hand

and the "current" expenditure on the other hand (ie seeds/top-up compost/etc) on the other hand.

If I included absolutely all expenditure - then my food would be prohibitively expensive and it wouldn't be worth bothering imo.

However, I count things like the garden hard landscaping work - walls/getting the soil fit to grow in in the first place/etc as "start up expenses" :mad::( and don't factor them in. I only factor in the ongoing type expenses of seeds/plug plants/etc - and I think that type of expense will be very cheap and thus make growing my own food worth it.

I see it the start-up type expenditure as an investment basically iyswim - and hence don't count it.

Looking at your table, for instance:

- I don't do bird food and feeders.
- I don't do Council garden waste collection expenses
- Equipment and fencing/shed is counted as "investment expenditure"

I would only count the compost/plant food/seeds/plants (possibly) as expenditure personally and put the rest down to "investment spending".

********

On the other hand - set off against the "everyday spending" there would be money saved on paying over the odds for organic fruit/veg....rather than the cheapest ones I could feed myself with. Add in - the savings on health care bills - from having better health, from eating better. With all the shortcomings in the NHS provision - I do allow a noticeable amount of potential expenditure for me having to pay out for things I would expect the NHS to pay for if my health goes wrong. Thus - I think I save money from having better health from eating better...

peaceandfreedom

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I would only count the compost/plant food/seeds/plants (possibly) as expenditure personally and put the rest down to "investment spending".

I'm inclined to agree. The £140 figure I quoted only included items used this year for growing so that's all I would really count if trying to tally up costs of growing-your-own.

********

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

On the other hand - set off against the "everyday spending" there would be money saved on paying over the odds for organic fruit/veg....rather than the cheapest ones I could feed myself with. Add in - the savings on health care bills - from having better health, from eating better. With all the shortcomings in the NHS provision - I do allow a noticeable amount of potential expenditure for me having to pay out for things I would expect the NHS to pay for if my health goes wrong. Thus - I think I save money from having better health from eating better...

Good point about food being organic. I would not pass any 'organic' test as my tomato feed and compost is not organic. But in terms of being free of pesticides and herbicides, then it is organic.

I was measuring costs in purely money terms but better health, better food and enjoying a hobby are all part of the rewards of gardening .

zafiro1984

The posts about how much we spend and do we get value for money are interesting. Personally I like growing as a hobby, I like seasonal growing and trying to beat the weather (not happened this year), so growing just to save money usually doesn't enter into the debate.

However, I save loads of money by having vegetables and some fruit on tap, and not visiting the supermarket frequently where I usually end up buying things I don't really need.

So I do save money but in a rather convoluted way.

ps. I allow myself a total of £250 a year for compost, seeds, etc, and for £5 a week I reckon its good value for money - as a hobby

Living_proof

I agree with Zafiro that gardening and allotmenting is my hobby and so as long as I can comfortably afford what I am spending, the question of return doesn't come into it. This has been my first year on the allotment and what a year it has been. Either too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry - but let's hope September through to mid-October is kind as I too have dozens, maybe hundreds of big green tomatoes waiting for some sun. Even though I have had very little sown and planted there isn't a meal when something home-grown or foraged isn't available. The best crop of all is Swiss chard, or perpetual spinach, which was self-seeded and hugely prolific. Will this get killed by the frost does anyone know? Gardening, like farming, is all about the expectation and of looking forward, planning and discussing. The elements are certainly a challenge!

peaceandfreedom

Living_proof wrote: »

The best crop of all is Swiss chard, or perpetual spinach, which was self-seeded and hugely prolific. Will this get killed by the frost does anyone know? Gardening, like farming, is all about the expectation and of looking forward, planning and discussing. The elements are certainly a challenge!

They are indeed - this year has been one of the most challenging in a while. I think my tomatoes and cucumbers did well because I got started early so they were well advanced before the weather turned colder instead of warmer.

Can't help you with Swiss chard, it's something I've often meant to grow but never have. From your description, I really ought to give it a try.

As for green tomatoes - you could use them in a chutney. I've made this one for the past couple of years (with a bit less sugar than in the recipe) and the results are delicious:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/04/nigel-slater-green-tomato-recipes

Happygreen

This year wasn't my best - but I's saying that every year, lol

There are things I am growing mainly for the fun of it, as they do cost me more to produce than buying them in the shops. Cucumbers are top on the list here, as I put them in grow bags and I might not get more than 2 cukes per plant. But they are organic after all.
Tomatoes were great value this year as I've been using my own compost and I had about 2 lbs of the loveliest tomatoes ever! All lettuces and salad crops are brilliant value to grow, even if I buy a tray of living salads when it's either too early for seedlings or they failed to germinate. Potatoes were good as well, about 7 kilos from 3 packets of seed potatoes.
Living proof, swiss chards do come back in the spring and self seed, I also love them, it's so much more value that the tiny leaves of spinach

zafiro1984

:j:j The glass greenhouse mended, broken paynes replaced - ok I know it's late in the season but I'm :j:j

unrecordings

Thanks for the tip on Swiss Chard - will give that a go next year

Greenhouse tomatoes just reaching their peak here - i have three bowls full on the kitchen table - picked today, picked yesterday, picked earlier.

I'm not too worried about green tomatoes - the year before last I just put them in a basket on a shelf in the kitchen and let them ripen (checking regularly of course) I think the last one was eaten on xmas day, though if memory serves it wasn't in the best condition.

Meanwhile, I took my eye off the ball and had an invasion of caterpillars. Black tuscany kale is okay so far, but my curly kale is somewhat perforated. Broke my slug tongs dealing with them, had to make a new pair (spare bits of wooden blind slats, bound around a little bit of wood with insulation tape - the best means of grabbing a slug without getting covered in slime)

Still not made mustard with my own mustard seeds, but did make a little herb drier out of a bit of eucalyptus. It's about 6" long with little holes drilled down the the length in a spiral. Hang it up, insert sage leaves into the holes, stalk first and let them dry...