Is growing your own Vegetables really economically viable? A good Question! About 3 years ago, I had the idea of transforming a large section of my garden into a vegetable growing plots of land. Now this might seem like a simple task, but almost all of our garden was originally covered with "York Stone" paving slabs. They were extremely hard to get up, and revealed even harder to remove old sand and cement underneath the slabs.
My Wife and I did this exhausting project ourselves, and finally finished it after a few weeks. We then filled a very large metal skip that we hired. Yes, it would of been easier to pay someone to do it, but that would of cost a huge amount of money that we simply did not have at the time.
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Remember, the whole point of this project was mostly to save money on buying food. Thinking back that was very ambitious, and a little over optimistic to be honest.
We went out to our local "Garden Center" and initially bought some special pots, specifically made for growing Strawberries with huge holes in the sides. The idea being that would make the Strawberries easier to harvest. We bought other small vegetables as tiny plants and seed packets.
Then we set to work, planting all our seeds and saplings anywhere that we could find some empty space. That first year we were rewarded with very little produce, and started to wonder if the "Start Up" cost was really economically viable. Also bearing in mind the sheer hard work of the constant daily watering and weeding that we both had to do.
Sadly, later that year we had Winter snow and the Strawberry Pots began to crack with the extreme cold weather. Just something else that we had never considered could happen. The following year, we got rid of the clay pots and bought square plastic ones instead. This worked much better. However, as the fruit began to ripen, slugs and other insects began eating the fruit ~ much to our dismay.
We bought "slug pellets" and other chemicals, to get rid of these pests (again costing us more money) but nothing seemed to destroy them for very long. The most effective method was to simply go out late at night with a torch and sprinkle some salt over them. However, looking at dead slugs slowly dissolving is rather disgusting.
I have now written far more than I originally intended, so I hope that you are still reading my story 🤣
So my conclusion is this: Don't expect that growing Vegetables will save you any money, the only advantage that we discovered is that the food really does taste better 😎 Just NOT Economically effective!(IMO).
Many Thanks for your kind attention, see you again soon... 🙋♂️ Andy
I have and tend a modest Vegetable garden more for therapeutic reasons as well as saving a few dollars on my grocery expenses. Just to develop a useful skill, sense of achievement and pride.
I think it always a worthwhile endeavor even if it provide only a modest source of food.
I think that is the most perfect way to do it. I mean: Perfect if it's not just about saving money (economics aspect).
I just got over ambitious, and then disappointed !
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Growing successfully does take experience and knowledge and we are always at the mercy of nature. Coming from a farming/smallholding background, I've always maintained that it's the worst way to survive. I have a tiny vegetable patch that has been absolutely back-breaking to get going. I enjoy having fresh vegetables around and it saves money on one or two items but is not something dependable. I mostly grow spinach, kale, zucchini and green beans
We may try again in the future, but with something easier to grow. Back-breaking yes absolutely! Anyway, I still prefer seeing more flowering plants than just paving slabs. So not a complete waste of energy 😎
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Plants are definitely preferable to paving! The main secret to success is to study the area and see how much sun you get in every spot during your growing season and how the area drains rainwater. This will determine what you plant where.
The green leafy vegetables are the most fuss-free but when you have soil that's been under cement and paving, you need tons of compost and a few seasons to fix that soil. It might also be worth getting it pH tested to see whether the lime in the cement has made it too alkaline. It's also a good idea to plant legumes in the beginning, they tolerate soil that's low in nitrogen and over time, you'll create soil that is fruitful
Ahhhh! Very interesting, that might be the reason. We put down many bags of new compost and fertiliser very soon after removing the slabs. So maybe we just need to give the soil a few years to recover it's natural fertility... (It's an English "South Facing" garden, but the paving was laid about 15 years ago).
Many thanks for this advice 👏 @nikv √
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My pleasure! It's a process, for sure. I had to dig up my vegetable patch, sieve the soil and get rid of the stones and builder's rubble before I could start getting viable growth and harvests
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. Keep up the fantastic work
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I've been trying to grow some veggies but haven't had a lot of luck, but with the little I have managed to harvest, have been extremely rewarding
Hello @livinguktaiwan nice to see you again , been a long time 😎
Sounds like you had more luck than me, I was probably just too ambitious.
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Oh sorry for that, but don't give up because everything in life have advantage and disadvantage.
If you try more you will see a predict and at the end you will achieve your goal.
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You can't get food fresher than home grown in your own backyard ;) !LUV and !PIZZA
Yes very true, just a lot of very hard work 🤣
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