Growing your own - is it worth it?

[oddoneout]

I was reminded of the title of this thread this weekend as I finished the last of a bunch of local grown asparagus. Some years ago I took on an additional allotment which had been given up partly on the basis that it had a recently established asparagus bed. I don't know what the variety was, but the spears were purple rather than green, and huge - both in terms of thickness and usable length - and the bed very productive. I've had to give up my allotments now, but the £2-50 cost of the asparagus bundle reminded me of the theoretical value of what I used to grow. Another luxury item I grew was globe artichokes - shop bought organic heads of which, assuming they could even be found, came with an eye-watering price tag, but I had several plants which produced dozens over the season. It was more than just the monetary value though - anticipating the arrival of those crops and then pigging out on them for a few weeks before moving on to something else in season was much more rewarding than year round consumption via the supermarket. I now only have a small area for veg growing but I've made space for asparagus and artichokes. I may only get a few spears and heads but they will give pleasure, and the plants are decorative in their own right once they've finished cropping.

[doversoul1]

The strawberries are starting to colour. We put up an electric fence today but if the strawberries don’t disappear, how do we know if the fence has worked or the badgers didn’t bother to come? No, we don’t have one of those cameras.

[gradus]

The strawberries are starting to colour. We put up an electric fence today but if the strawberries don’t disappear, how do we know if the fence has worked or the badgers didn’t bother to come? No, we don’t have one of those cameras.

Does it really matter as long as you get to eat the strawberries! The electric badger fencing video put up by one company suggests that it is very effective.
I noticed a young rabbit on the allotment this evening but can't see how it got in. Fortunately everything it might eat is covered in Enviromesh to stop the pigeons.

[doversoul1]

Does it really matter as long as you get to eat the strawberries! The electric badger fencing video put up by one company suggests that it is very effective.
I noticed a young rabbit on the allotment this evening but can't see how it got in. Fortunately everything it might eat is covered in Enviromesh to stop the pigeons.

Well, when you have spent enough to buy strawberries for the rest of your life, it’s sort of natural to want to know if it has been worth it.

Rabbits can get through gaps wide enough to push their heads through. This means that small rabbits can get through a gap less than an inch wide. And soft nets are usually no obstacle to rabbits unless they are solidly pegged down (or it’s happens to be wearing a jacket with brass buttons). I’d watch out extra carefully.

[gradus]

Well, when you have spent enough to buy strawberries for the rest of your life, it’s sort of natural to want to know if it has been worth it.

Rabbits can get through gaps wide enough to push their heads through. This means that small rabbits can get through a gap less than an inch wide. And soft nets are usually no obstacle to rabbits unless they are solidly pegged down (or it’s happens to be wearing a jacket with brass buttons). I’d watch out extra carefully.

The cost and inconvenience of not-always-effective crop protection has often come very close to deterring me from bothering with veg and fruit growing, especially when rabbits and pigeons are both attacking. In truth I'm not sure why I continue, as - despite pests - I almost always have surpluses and give away far more than two of us use. It's something about the return of Spring and the urge to get growing again; a habit I can't and deep down don't really want to shake.

[doversoul1]

The cost and inconvenience of not-always-effective crop protection has often come very close to deterring me from bothering with veg and fruit growing, especially when rabbits and pigeons are both attacking. In truth I'm not sure why I continue, as - despite pests - I almost always have surpluses and give away far more than two of us use. It's something about the return of Spring and the urge to get growing again; a habit I can't and deep down don't really want to shake.

This could have been my post.

Now that we are at the stage in life where we count the time left for us, being able to feel the cycle of gardening seems more precious than ever.

[gurnemanz]

This could have been my post.

Now that we are at the stage in life where we count the time left for us, being able to feel the cycle of gardening seems more precious than ever.

I go along with that and have similar thoughts each spring. There again, I heard an 111 year old man speaking very coherently on the radio today. I could have another 41 springs.

[doversoul1]

My neighbours’ broad beans are heavy with fat pods whereas mine have a few very small pods here and there. It’s us who have bees in the garden. I wonder if this is the case of Nectar is sweeter on the other side.

The electric fence seems to be working so far (touch wood).

[gradus]

The broad beans have been ok but are nearly over as are the early peas. Despite the humidity there is as yet no sign of blight but as I am growing early and second earlies only I should be able to get everything out of the ground at a reasonable size if the need arises. Outdoor toms seem ok still but I spent 90mins pinching out and tying in the polytunnel toms this evening. Picked the first greenhouse cucumbers but sweet peppers are a bit slow as are the aubergines but with the promised heat, things should get a move on this weekend.
Every single berry on the Josta berry bush has been taken by the birds. These are huge bushes and really don't justify the space they occupy, better to plant more blackcurrants and gooseberries.

[doversoul1]

Fabulous crops of peas, mangetout, and sugar snaps. The broad beans are coming slowly. I trimmed the tops of some of the vary tall plants as they seem to be more concerned with the plants’ growth than filling the beans. There was a sign of the badgers sampling them so we moved the electric fence from the strawberries which were more or less finished, to the peas and the beans. So far, touch wood, we have not lost any beans. From the couple of plants we dug the other day, it looks as if we have quite a good crop of potatoes. One thing that doesn’t look at all good is the pumpkins. They may have been pot bound, as I was a bit late in planting them out. Still, I had an awful lot of them last year so I won’t miss them too seriously.

[gradus]

You're ahead of me with squash/pumpkins which are still parked awaiting their final destination on the allotment compost heap.
First signs of blight on the spuds but it seems to have stalled with only a few leaves affected - so far.
A bas les blaireaux!

[Constantbee]

better to plant more blackcurrants and gooseberries.

I can recommend a new variety of dessert blackcurrant called Ebony. I planted 2 plants in the spring. They're still young but I've been very impressed with the fruit - and they survived a dreadful attack of aphids that took me by surprised Ebony are much sweeter than other varieties and certainly put blueberries the shade. Always thought they were a bit bland but they arrived in the UK with a reputation as a superfood, which I'm still not sure is justified

[Constantbee]

My neighbours’ broad beans are heavy with fat pods whereas mine have a few very small pods here and there. It’s us who have bees in the garden. I wonder if this is the case of Nectar is sweeter on the other side.

The electric fence seems to be working so far (touch wood).

Broad beans aka field beans are rich source of nectar for our bees here. Personally, I prefer smaller broad beans as they're more tender and the bigger they get the tougher they get. I saw Fortnum and Masons were selling something called Yorkshire Field Bean Honey a couple of years back and that is what we certainly get a lot of here. I don't know who would have bought a thing called that, mind you. Summer Blossom Honey sounds a bit more attractive, that's all.

[Dave2002]

Broad beans aka field beans are rich source of nectar for our bees here. Personally, I prefer smaller broad beans as they're more tender and the bigger they get the tougher they get. I saw Fortnum and Masons were selling something called Yorkshire Field Bean Honey a couple of years back and that is what we certainly get a lot of here. I don't know who would have bought a thing called that, mind you. Summer Blossom Honey sounds a bit more attractive, that's all.

Our lawns have a lot of clover - or at least they did until I set to work mowing or setting up the robot mower. I noticed that bees seem to like that. I have seriously wondered whether we (and others) should leave swathes of clover patches around lawns to keep the bees coming - or is that really going to make too little difference in the overall scale of things?

I didn't think too much of it, but we used to like clover honey from Sainsburys, though our favourite was probably the Australian leatherwood honey which doesn't seem to be available now.

[oddoneout]

Broad beans aka field beans are rich source of nectar for our bees here. Personally, I prefer smaller broad beans as they're more tender and the bigger they get the tougher they get. I saw Fortnum and Masons were selling something called Yorkshire Field Bean Honey a couple of years back and that is what we certainly get a lot of here. I don't know who would have bought a thing called that, mind you. Summer Blossom Honey sounds a bit more attractive, that's all.

I have grown a variety called 'Piccola' which has lovely little tender green beans in a pod with an excellent 'waste to food' ratio. Unfortunately I can't at the moment find a stockist for it to pass on to you - the company I bought it from doesn't list it now. As a solution to tough beans have you tried popping them out of their skins after cooking? It's actually a rather pleasant occupation I find(making a slut in the bumcrack of the bean or, to be more technical lifting up the hilum, and squeezing from the other end - easiest on the big toughies) rather than a fiddle, and leaves you with the best bit of the bean. I used to grow field beans on the allotment as green manure and use the pods in the kitchen, making sure I left enough to save seed.
I love the scent of broad bean flowers - the family used to laugh when I would wind the car window down to inhale deeply when we passed fields of beans in flower.