Is an allotment cost effective?

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Is an allotment cost effective?
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SarahB

Joined: 09 Sep 2007
Posts: 869
Location: South Wales

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 10 8:54 pm Post subject:
maybe you could factor in the organic thing too, if that's how you grow stuff. Organic is often more pricey. Also bear in mind any transport miles, how local the produce is, and therefore how fresh it really is. Just thoughts.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 10 8:54 pm Post subject:
You can't put a price on food poisoning

SarahB

Joined: 09 Sep 2007
Posts: 869
Location: South Wales

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 10 8:56 pm Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

You can't put a price on food poisoning

oh I dunno, lost labour/wages while worshipping the toilet, wear and tear on the loo, cost of cleaning materials....

I'm sure some bright spark on here could cost it out for you...

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 10 9:07 pm Post subject:
Perhaps they'll do a spreadsheet... (say it out loud to yourself )

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 10 9:22 pm Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

Perhaps they'll do a spreadsheet... (say it out loud to yourself

)

That reminds me, must factor in manure.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Sun Jun 06, 10 9:11 am Post subject:

oldish chris wrote:

Hairyloon wrote:

How'd you work out your numbers, not that I'm going to argue about it.

You go ahead and argue

Sorry, no can do.
To argue, I'd have to determine an alternate set of figures, and even if I charge myself double for my time, it still works out cost effective as somewhere to escape from the crazy woman.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sun Jun 06, 10 4:24 pm Post subject:

One of the advantages of being a retired person with no life and no friends, I've been able to collate some facts and figures using a spreadsheet. (Did you know that one kilo of "Hercules" onion sets, supplied by the Organic catalogue, contained 295 sets?)

I've ignored start-up costs, e.g. tools, shed etc. I've included rent, crop protection and fertiliser - in my case "free" stable manure, however the cost of collection at 20p per mile comes out at about £10 per annum - I've factored that in with the rent to give an annual cost per square foot of growing space of 1.95p.

Brassicas are the most expensive crop because of the need for crop protection (netting and lime). Assuming the netting has a life of 7 seasons, a 100% success, each cabbage will cost 29.3p. Add in a few things I've missed and a Lidl cabbage @30p is cheaper. (ASDA will charge 50p)

However, summer cabbages are the only crop that is comparable with a supermarket price.

Onions, where you just poke in a set and let it grow, work out at 5.6p per pound.

Spuds, seed bought from the organic catalogue (21 tubers for £4.42) costed 27p per plant to grow, yield varies, but I would have thought that 2lb is the absolute minimum, maincrop in a good year - 7lb and more. For some varieties, e.g. first earlies are followed by leeks, the "rent" is less than 1 years worth.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 10 8:16 am Post subject:

Sounds like the brasiccas are costing people a lot.

Trying to work out why. Mine got a handfull of bone meal, a barrow or two of much from my own compost heap, they've got poles and string around them from which CD's are hanging, and worst-case scenario if soapy water and picking off fails would be a single application of something nastier.

A packet of seeds from Kings allotment catalogue... Lets say 80p. Lets also say I grow 30 of them. How do you get to 20p each?

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 10 8:18 am Post subject:

Kinnopio wrote:

In addition there are somethings that, although in many ways are ordinary, you just can't get from a supermarket:
Small broad beans
Broad bean tops
Plums that are actually ripe
Courgette flowers
Small courgettes
Potatoes that form a proper crisp skin when baked
Tender non-stringy runner beans

I think the list could go on and on

Indeed, its one of the best reasons to grow your own food, you can grow whatever it is you want to eat. Tomatillos, interesting varieties of tomato, red celery, stripy beetroot, sorrel, chard... These things you rarely see for sale.

mark

Joined: 14 Jul 2005
Posts: 2191
Location: Leeds

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 10 3:24 pm Post subject:

I think I grow a lot of things very cheaply - using one pack of seeds over a number of years - using existing garden space that would otherwise be wasted.
Garden tools - i need them to look after garden anyway so they might as well grow veg.
Compost - gets rid of garden and other waste for me.

Yes i could definitely earn very much more with my time doing other stuff than gardening or growing veg - but would i enjoy life as much or be as chilled and complete a person? I doubt it.

And waht do i grow - well no potatoes this year - but always have a focus on those crops that are best eatign within hours of being picked.

Sweetcorn, herbs, salad leaves, tomatoes, outdoor cucumbers, asparagus, and fresh peas are really top quality money savers and so different from stored veg.

Brocolli in all its forms is also good -

For the winter I focus on leek and parsnips - but of course there's other stuff too.

AnneandMike

Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 890
Location: Over the hill and soon to be far away

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 10 6:08 pm Post subject:
It is very cost effective ...........in savings to the NHS for the benefits to your physical and mental health. Maybe they should be compulsory!

Rosemary Judy

Joined: 08 Aug 2005
Posts: 1215
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 10 8:44 pm Post subject:
veg growing is compulsory to keep NHS staff physically and mentally well ( it is in this house anyway )

zigs

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 524
Location: Somerset

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 10 9:15 pm Post subject:

Wow, what a lively thread, obviously a subject close to our hearts.
I'm going with the good for the soul as well as the tummy approach.
For the past 3 years, i've been living on a building site, so i've been sharing my sisters veg plot down at west bay. I take a break from the building and stay in my little caravan on the plot at the weekends. It involves gardening and fishing on a saturday nite, followed by a car boot on a sunday morn, where i sell surplus plants.

Its worth it just for the break and the good feeling of eating a meal that is totally home grown/foraged/caught. NB. Wild leeks knock the socks off any cultivated ones for flavour.

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 10 10:28 am Post subject:

Kinnopio wrote:

I think pricing things out as to how much it costs at the supermarket is also misleading as the quality of the produce that you get from the allotment is that much higher. I think we should at least be comparing the 'premium' range of fruit and veg from a supermarket (for example tomatoes, the bog standard ones are awful whereas the premium range are at least pleasant (although not outstanding)).

Yes I agree 100%

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 10 10:46 am Post subject:

I only grow a few salad potatos and have not done any onions this year either as both "normal" onions and potatos are are acceptable price and quality from supermarkets and also would need to use the whole plot for the amount of onions we get through in a year!

So I play with veg etc that are more expensive/unusual/unavailable from supermarkets, which makes the effort involved in producing your own not only enjoyable, but for me, more rewarding.

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