[tagwex]

I am now a Hawthorn, woooohoooooo.

I was out tending to the peas today, amongst other things, when a thought struck me. I was looking at how close the peas were sown together, 1", when I wondered which vegetable gives the best monetary return per linear metre or per m2.

Now me not being the shopper in the house I don't have much of a clue about shop prices. That said, in a few months time when we are all near the end of what we have stored away in a cold dark shed, which vegetable would you wish that you had sown more of to save you buying in the shop until your own come into season again? We went mad this year - the exuberance of amateurs- and sown too much so a 'veg for sale' sign will be hitting the roadside soon. I have dug out my old Avery weighing scales and polished it up ready for use. It is the type that were in all the old grocery stores decades back. It weighs in lbs and ounces and uses £sd per lb. I can't wait to see peoples faces!

My own two pennyworth, without putting much thought into it yet would be a high cropping potato such as Rooster and possibly all potatoes this year, tomatoes, strawberries and broccoli heads.

Of course some veg need a lot more care and attention than others and space can be a problem for some people so they sow a variety of stuff in small quantities but on the face of it which crop yields the highest dividends excluding all the spraying, fertilising and TLC etc.?

[Blowin]

In terms of sheer WEIGHT of food, the humble spud will be hard to beat but, equally, they're not expensive to buy and someone else takes the risk of blight etc.

My preference is always for something that, in its season, will be dear to buy in the shops OR when all veg goes up in price so, amongst the brassica range, it has to be sprouts and curly kale, the latter providing greens for lterally MONTHS. For late spring cropping, Spring Hero F1 cabbage take some beating. They need to be planted this month and then they just sit and look at you all winter but, when the fill out around March, they're hard to beat for flavour and yield.

Leeks, parsnips and swedes can be added to this list for their over wintering charateristics but there is one summer crop that, for the space it takes up and the number of pickings it provides, has to be included. It is the runner bean. In one square yard/metre, a 'wigwam' of 12 sticks with two plants per stick (or a 10-12 ft row for a family) will provide meal after meal of 'second veg' over several weeks if grown properly.

[tagwex]

I understood that potatoes were a fierce price this year in the shops, they are around here anyway. The seed was four times the price it was the previous year.

We are preparing another area for sowing at the moment, 8 drills 30m long for winter crops, weeded and all dug up and turned over now. Also got two ponies in yesterday to eat down the other areas that are wildly overgrown and of course they are supplying us with their own natural fertiliser! The tractor is coming tomorrow to form the drills. We are planning on carrots, cabbage (more netting to buy ) turnips, swede, onion and anything else that will over winter really. We will look into your curly kale Blowin and give it a try. Runner beans and brussel sprouts too could be on the list. Any suggestions for what can be sown from seed from now on.

[Blowin]

I realise the reason for it, but I rthink you may find you're a bit late for some of the things you mention. Have a go though.

I'd reiterate the Spring Hero F1 cabbage (any time now) and you might like to leave room for your next year's broad beans, if you like them. Planted in November, they'll overwinter and emerge in spring with far greater resistance to pests like black fly.

[tagwex]

Ahhh blowin but this is the sunny south east. Remember the conversations we had about micro climates? Success or not I have always said that this year, although we started late, was a big experiment and a steep learning curve and seeds don't cost that much anyway. Plus some of the veg I mentioned is already growing away in pots and multi cell trays. Anything that it is possible to grow at this time of the year I will give it a try, even sprouts and I don't even like them. If I can locate seeds of your Spring Hero F1 cabbage then there will be a drill or two of those put in too.

[tagwex]

@ blowin. Did you ever get the feeling that we are the only two on this site sometimes? And that the views clock works away by itself with nobody checking in at all?

[My Potatoes]

One of the basic principles of GYO applies here: grow things that you eat. There is no monetary saving if you grow something that you don't eat.

I think storage is a huge factor. Potatoes and onions can last well into the spring. Given that potatoes have risen 50-100% in price in the last 18 months, depending on where you buy them, I think there is a saving to be made here. Alas, onions are inexpensive though you'll probably save with shallots.
Carrots and parsnips are good storers too, and overwintering can help matters.

The latest newsletter from the Seed Savers has an article on this topic. If I remember correctly it was "salad leaves" that provided the greatest saving. However, I got the impression that the author was eating salads for a main meal in the depths of winter. Grand if you're into it, I s'pose, but for me salad is a summer meal. In winter I need something hearty.

Also, bear in mind that from now to the end of September you can expect the price of fruit and vegetables in the farmers' markets to plummet. We're entering the bountiful days and low prices accordingly.

[My Potatoes]

[My Potatoes]

[Sive]

Perfect gardening weather today....I'm wrecked though, did far more than I planned to do, but with the best of company.Horses whinnying next door, bumble bees all around me, ladybirds and swallows swooping overhead. How do you put a price on that folks ?

[Sive]

OOps I obviously just meant that the swallows were swooping....not the ladybirds. They were just minding their own business really........

[My Potatoes]

[tagwex]

@mypotatoes: