How much do you invest in your allotment?

[Barry]

Being in my late 50s, with both children now no longer living at home, I have at last been able to spend quite a bit of money on my new allotment.

When the kids were younger and money less readily available, I put together a 20 rod plot using recovered this, recycled that and borrowed this, that and the other. It looked a bit ragged, with a Nissan hut for a shed and water catchment provided by lashing pallets together to form a pyramid roof and then covered with roofing felt. Various free sites and contacts coughed up the blue barrels and I became self sufficient in water. I used roof tiles and recovered timber to make raised beds, divided by old carpet covered with free wood chip to make all-weather paths. Net curtains kept away bugs and predators and pallets formed my compost bins. Except for the anti-rabbit fencing, which was dear, everything else was free. But the plots were a relative food factory!!!

Now, I have just spent £400 on a 6' by 4' shed, painted it, and also built the base. I've brought the anti-rabbit fencing with me even though we have no rabbits, bought some good quality posts and now have a great boundary. I'm putting in fruit trees, bushes and goodness knows what else, as well as bringing some of my existing ones with me. But I will be spending a small fortune, but am loving doing it just as much as I loved creating my former plot, which cost practically nothing.

I think this is becoming as much an artistic creation as much as it will be an area in which to grow food. And I don't care. This is FUN

Anybody else been on the same journey as I have?

[robo]

When I sit and think what we have spent on ours over the last four years I wonder if I am of sound mind, from tillers to pollytunnels it's not cheap

[Ricard with an H]

An interesting post Barry, your description fits the image I have of most allotments. I have this idea in my head that allotment holders rarely spend money though for good reasons. Theft.

I don't have an allotment, what I have is probably the envy of many of you, enough land to create my own plot and-so any money I put into it is an investment rather than a risk.

When I started spending I realised this was more to satisfy another hobby-need rather than to economically feed me, whilst I had some success and as each year goes by I solve another problem and find good reason to spend more money than I wanted to but it's the successes that seem to qualify more spending rather than the produce.

In my case it's the work I can't put in that frustrates me.

But back to you and others who manage to spend appreciable amounts on this hobby, why not. If you enjoy it it's the same excuse people have who drive around in £50.000 worth of car and enjoy it.

My partner spends on shoes, bags and other things she already has plenty of. Because she enjoys it, maybe it's an obsession. I've been accused of being obsessive just for the work I did on my veg plot during the last three years. My accusers didn't even notice their own obsessions.

Enjoy it Barry.

[Monika]

I have never totted up either how much we spend on the allotment nor how much we save by growing our own vegetables, but I bet it would be cheaper to buy them. But that, of course, does not take account of our own veggies being fresh, mostly organic and the fun and joy from working the soil!

[richard p]

over the years you could spend as much in the pub or betting shop and not get the exercise in the fresh air

[Westi]

If I had the money I would invest it in the allotment - it gives more than I could ever spend on it. Not just the crop but the quietness, the company, the satisfaction, the escape from reality - you name it!

I think I should be retired when they finally find a new site for us, so will be using some of my lump sum on a polytunnel, raised beds etc. Goodness knows when they will find a like for like site though, been about 5 now but all rejected by the committee for very good reasons! (Might have nought left of lump sum at this slow progress)!

Westi

[Geoff]

Wish you hadn't brought this up, made me re-analyse my accounts for 2015. I have a garden not an allotment and my accounts showed I spent £2,737 last year so I thought I had better go through them again.
Miscellaneous repairs, pots, autovents, plastic sheets, wheelbarrow £240
Composts and fertilisers (I have quite a bit left) £370
Seeds, plants, fruit bushes and trees £230
Kitchen Garden and RHS £86
Grass cutting etc. (petrol, oils, spares for all machinery) £150
Building materials (relaid a patio and rebuilt a pergola), drain digging £1,000
Rebuilt a shed including polycarbonate roof £660
It's all over the place year on year - 2014 £969 - 2013 £1,591, - 2012 £2,955 (included polytunnel).
Well if I took holidays I'd soon spend more!

[Ricard with an H]

Fabulous, even more-so because none of you are claiming to save money.

I just bought a savoy cabbage, it was perfect, no slugs or mud between the leaves. Why would I agonise each year about growing cabbage. The cost to me to grow cabbage like that is an unknown, maybe a special raised bed with adulterated soil that doesn't contain slugettes and creepies.

Last year was mostly about Beti, at £800 for her she was cheap for a Cheltenham girl. Then the vet bills so far £300.

We run two cars and a motorhome, ridiculous. Get rid of something and buy a greenhouse with heating. Now we are talking about happy. What is the price of happy ?

Most of us have to spend far too much time at work during our working years to be completely happy. Westi has a new job that will bring more money in and hopefully she will enjoy it but I bet she would rather be down the allotment or in her garden so whatever is spent on that allotment or garden becomes a therapeutic juggling act.

Be happy, miserable is going kill you slowly.

[Pa Snip]

I have been the subject of mirth in the past about my crop record keeping, so thank goodness I have not taken it to the point of investment records.

How do you amortise the cost of that fork or the polytunnel, even the manure or the packet of seed that lasts two or three years.
Do you include a notional cost of seed you collect yourself from plants that you originally paid for.
Those raised beds I made and put on a thread cost me dearly but over the next few years the production cost will be nothing.

Not all of the things we invest in are used solely on the allotment (or veg patch section) so to get accurate costing starts getting complicated

None of the above last just one year so you cannot set the entire cost against one years crop production and say "Its cheaper to buy in the shops".

Should I cost my subscription to the magazine in, if I was a horticultural business it would be tax deductible

The pleasure, the satisfaction, the exercise and the edible end results all outweigh the (probably inaccurate) result of costings

[Geoff]

That's why I mentioned holidays. The endless conversations at work (when they weren't talking about soaps) discussing next and previous holidays and what was wrong with them and getting to and from used to do my head in. Spend a fortune for two weeks, buy a polytunnel to last years, no brainer!

[Pa Snip]

That's why I mentioned holidays. The endless conversations at work (when they weren't talking about soaps) discussing next and previous holidays and what was wrong with them and getting to and from used to do my head in. Spend a fortune for two weeks, buy a polytunnel to last years, no brainer!

I used to hate it when mother used carbolic soap on me. Sometimes she would go to other extremes when times were good and it would be Pears soap.
That's about as far as I can discuss soaps

[Pawty]

I don't spend a huge amount on the allotment, purely because I like like the challenge of reusing stuff. My path is made of reclaimed slabs, my shed is the old one from the garden and my composters are made from pallets that hillier gardens gave me.

My wheelbarrow was £25 from Aldi, but I spend money on the things that make a difference - good gloves, comfortable wellies, the right fork for me and seed (slight obsession ).

We enjoy travelling, good food, and have cats .......... as long as the morgage is paid...........