Like most people I'm conscious that economically Growing Your Own is not always the cheapest way to get veg from soil to plate. There's always something to say for economy of scale.
With the recent newspaper stories about the companies selling carrot plug plants for over £1 a piece it highlights that there are some veg it is cheaper to buy in a supermarket than grow yourself. So I have had another look at my planting scheme and the costs for what I had planned and it has meant a change of mind.
Out go the onions, leeks and kale (that we don't like much anyway) and the potatoes are now going to be grown in the back garden plot rather than in bags in compost. 20 bags with 40 litres of compost in each works out at £45. That's £2.27 a bag without the costs of water, though I do have some rainwater butts, and potato fertiliser and occasional feed to get a decent crop.
I can also use the back plot after I have lifted the potatoes for my winter January King cabbage, cauliflowers and our all time favourite veg Purple Sprouting Broccoli.
My compost needs are now much reduced and I'm going to look for some free muck from a local farm. Potatoes and greedy plants like the Golden Hubbard Squash and Courgettes like a rich organic medium to grow in. More about that coming later.
The front plot has now also changed to accommodate some of the other veg I had planned to grow in the back plot.
Sorry the image isn't quite as good with the new colours. They represent the Moon elements as shown in my guidebook. Red for fruiting and seeding plants, Orange for root veg and Green for leafy veg.
First 6 plots on left are for corn, then 2 beans and 2 peas. All come under the Fire element. Beetroot and Carrots for the Earth element planting and Spinach for the Water element.
0 comments:
Post a Comment