Most "money-saving" vegetable

[mrsflibble]

PSB. £2 for 6 plants, stick in the ground and pretty much ignore for nearly a year....had a bumper crop this year, so much so we ended up getting sick of it and blanching and freezing a lot, and giving away a lot more! wonderful.

[MKG]

Not really a vegetable, I suppose, but the money-saving crop of all time, as far as I'm concerned, has to be the tobacco. I think I've got about four month's supply from the plants I've grown. Any smoker is welcome to work out the savings implied by that.

Mike

[Millymollymandy]

Would need to know how many you smoke a day to work that one out Mike. Well done that is amazing!

[gregorach]

Hard to say... I guess the tomatoes have done pretty well, considering that I'm now on the third year from the same half-dozen seed packets and I'm now growing them in my own compost. Shallots are pretty good too - especially if you pickle them. Seen the price of a jar of pickled shallots? I've still got a jar from last year's crop in the back of the cupboard somewhere, and this year's crop was so bountiful I gave at least half a kilo away... Some of them are the size of onions. (Well, supermarket onions. Some of my onions are the size of turnips... )

[Carltonian Man]

Florence fennel for veg and dried cep (porcini) for foraged. Shop stocked packs of porcini are far too costly to even contemplate buying and the quality leaves a lot to be desired (they leave the tubes on and toast it dry to make up for the flavour).

[Marlo]

Our biggest money-savers are asparagus and rhubarb, without question! Even in season the prices are insane. And half of what you buy is waste. Luckily, these are the first things I planted on our farm, so we are well off on these two vegs.

[Millymollymandy]

I've no idea what I may have said earlier in the thread (last year I think?) but wondered whether it could be tomatoes from last year, which we haven't finished eating and haven't needed to buy any tinned toms for over a year now. But then again tinned toms are only about 30c a tin..... and some of the tom plants were bought, so not sure about the maths there!

I'm beginning to think it might be apples having started harvesting our bumper crop - they are an amazing versatile fruit which is added to all sorts of jellies and chutneys as well as made into other things (cakes/crumbles/puree) and lasts up to 6 months fresh stored, doesn't need electricity to keep it (other than the apple puree I freeze) and keeps my OH in his apple a day for 5-6 months of the year, for free.

But I don't know if I can really say what SAVES us the most money as I might have to look at staples and say it was potatoes, which kept going for 11 months from last year's crop for the cost of 2 lots of seed potatoes (and one free) hmmm but then they need mains water as they need irrigating.... but not a lot as it's seep hoses..... oh this is an impossible thing to work out!

[greenorelse]

The one vegetable that I grow that is most expensive in shops is butternut squash.
But ... the potimarrons that I grow and prefer over butternuts I have yet to see in any shop, so that one must be priceless.

I'd like to know more about those, Odsox. Where would I get organic seed in Ireland?

[trappa]

i would say swede. Easy to grow big and not much maintenance, dont take up much space, yet cost a bomb in the shops.
My asparagus bed was only planted last year so still cant really comment but i guess once its up and running 'proper' it might just slip into first place.

[Thomzo]

I know it's not veg but the best result so far has been from the quince tree. I must have had over 60 fruit off it since I put it in and I was told that Waitrose were selling them recently at 99p each. Cost of tree £21. I'd better be nice to it.

Zoe

[niknik]

cant really say, as I eat more than I would of the stuff I manage to grow!, and couldnt afford to buy organic anyway, not that I could get any, as not sold in the village, and no transport at present

but by far the best saving..is on anything foraged ( figs, almonds, grapes, oranges, pomegranates, herbs, etc etc..) and the stuff I get given by local small scale "farmers" and friends who get a bumper crop of whatever, and donate the surplus............. cabbages, potatoes, toms, courgettes, celery, squash,..etc etc

I guess at the end of the day it will be different for everyone, dependent on their likes / dislikes, and how much they consume of any particular item!

Mind you the olive oil ( liquid gold) is probably a good saving, when I get a decent crop, and some good firewood from the trees too!

Location will affect it too, I dont suppose there´s many almonds, pomegranates, oranges etc to be foraged over there!

[seasidegirl]

I think tomatoes probably save the most money. Mind you I've had short seasons two years in a row because of blight.

Victoria plum tree we inherited with the house is great for puddings and jam. Great year for blackberries.

Overall I don't save a lot of money by growing but the joy for me comes on those empty cupboard days when I can use my own produce instead of shopping. It's lovely browsing the garden and using what you have, and matching up with the store cupboard remains, instead of choosing what shops want you to buy, paying and carrying. It's very hard not to come home with stuff you didn't need and all that packaging too.

[Chickie2378]

sugar snaps

they are insane prices here on those yummy veggies even in the growing season.

we eat tons of them off the vines. easy to freeze for my supply for stir fry thru winter.


Tomates are very versatile and used tons but for me it is what is most expensive in winter that I want alot of and for us it falls to sugar snaps, and Asparagus someone else mentioned.

[demi]

iv seen red peppers indavidually wrapped for £1 each in the UK, although the price fluctuates from about 70p-£1 dependent on time of year and where you buy from.
in macedonia they cost 30p per kg, they would laugh at you if you only asked for 1 pepper and they'd probably just give it to you for free!

[wabbit955]

it got to be swiss chard
it just keeps on going been haresting it from march to now and still going strong