Where There’s Muck there’s Money?
I’m on a mission – a green mission. I’m going to find out if you really can save nearly £1,400 a year by growing your own.
According to a survey carried out by The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners the average allotment holder spends £202 a year renting their plot and sowing crops, producing 1,642lb of produce a year, worth £1,564. Average hours worked totalled 203 (although this did include relaxation and chatting with neighbours).
Well, I don’t think I’m a slacker when it comes to tending my plot and after 15 years I like to think I know more or less what I am doing, but a saving of £26 a week on your weekly fruit and veg shopping bill? They must be having a laugh surely.
Some crops like courgettes and runner beans have given me buckets of wonderful produce all summer through, but others like the gooseberry bushes and strawberry plants are often stripped bare by the mice before I get a look in, and what about those long winter months when I’m hard pushed to harvest anything more than a few leeks and herbs....
Don’t get me wrong, I love my allotment, with a passion, but it’s not about the money. It’s about the joy of gardening, growing the freshest, tastiest produce imaginable, rediscovering the seasons, getting lots of healthy exercise, fresh air and sunshine (it beats going to the gym any day), and feeling at one with nature (as long as that nature doesn’t munch on my crops!). And it’s great to experiment, even though the lemon grass and capers were total disasters.
This survey from the NSALG it just one in a glut of similar stories perpetuating the myth that you just have to scatter a few seeds, and the Garden of Eden is yours. This causes such disappointment when people do finally get to the top of the waiting list and take on their first allotment. They just aren’t prepared for the hard work that awaits, nor the constant battle with the elements. Which is why the first year on an allotment can come as a bit of a shock and why so many people just get overwhelmed and give up.
But I am curious to put the NSALG’s survey to the test, so for 2011 I’ve decided to weigh and price everything I produce on my allotment plot from January through to December as well as keeping a running tally of all outgoings and hours worked. To be honest, I’ve always had a hankering to do this, but just never got round to it. Maybe I’ll be surprised by the results. I’ll also keep a diary of the joys and pitfalls of growing your own, charting the different jobs across the seasons, what’s been a success and what hasn’t, our annual open day with The National Gardens Scheme on 15 August, as well as sharing some of my favourite fruit and veg recipes.
