Backyard Farming Forum
Bringing food production home

Sure is getting worthwhile growing your own.
Apart from all the benefits we already know of it is starting to be financially rewarding.
Just saw Cos lettuce for sale at the local IGA for $4.99 each!

Anybody else have some examples of how beneficial it can be pricewise?

Costs me $4.99 in petrol to go shopping never mind the price of the veggies, that alone is a good enough reason to grow my own.

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Why did the chicken cross the road? ... To have her motives questioned.

Good call oldute! Some plants definitely seem to give a better return than others.

A lime tree is a winner I think, you don't want to have to shell out supermarket prices for those.

Lemon grass is also great, I got one from Mum years ago, and now have 6 nice clumps in the garden and in pots.

Lettuce and salad greens etc are fantastic for us, as we can just pick a few leaves when required (Buying a whole iceberg we would often end up giving half to the worms)

Carrots on the other hand are not such good value(for us anyway) They are fun and easy to grow, and the little one loves to pick and eat them, but i can buy them for under $1/kg so there are many other more financially rewarding veges I could be planting.

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Gazza's IBC system

Gaz and Danae's Garden

Herbs pay for themselves in no time (ABOUT $2 A POP)
Lettuce is $2.50 usually at 2 a week thats upto $250 a year
Capsicum $50p/y,
cucumber $150p/y,
French beans $100p/y,
tomatoes $600 P/Y
add some Broccoli,Asian greens and an asparagus bed

there is more in savings in a veggy garden than you imagine. when you work it out,
its a better return than solar panels

Yes! Nothing beats multiple fresh herbs and in quantities that would mean you'd have to buy a few packets. If I was buying all the herbs we use each week it would be considerable cost in the long run, but its the convenience and freshness of it thats the big winner. Pity I cant grow basil in the cold months or coriander in the warm months.

Parsley is great value in the herb department, as are chives. I also have spring onions which just seem to keep re-growing as I trim them off. Leeks seem a bit slow growing, but can be often be around $3 each at the shop so I still like to grow a few.

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Gazza's IBC system

Gaz and Danae's Garden

Ive got leeks that are 4 years old
They just sit there till you need them.

How big are your leeks snags?

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Gazza's IBC system

Gaz and Danae's Garden

Shelf life is a lot better. I've had cauliflower in the fridge for a couple of days and it goes brown. Ones cut from the AP system are still ok after 2 weeks in the fridge.

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To think before you act is a wise option. But not as funny.

Surprisingly not that big, about as fat as a thumb (Soil where they are isnt great and they rely mainly on rain water)
They havent gone to seed which is strange but they have thrown side shoots (little baby leeks)
I cant get them to grow massive here, could be the variety or the conditions,but they taste great.
Maybe what is happening is the babies are growing and everything appears dwarf.
Spring onions have been in the ground for years too, some are bigger than average leeks.

I do a lot of just chopping leeks and spring onions at ground level and let them re-shoot rather than keep reseeding.

6 pieces of limpish silverbeet - local IGA $3.99
Bargain? - Dont think so.
I dont do the shopping normally, but surely not all vegie prices in supermarkets are that bad.
Silverbeet is so easy to grow and so prolific.
Love it sweated down with a bit of garlic, lemon zest some olive oil and a slash of sweet balsamic.

I give away 3 or 4 bunches of silver beet every week down at the community gardens share the surplus

Those watery insipid tomatoes at Woolies were $8 a kilo!!

Sheer madness.

For a truss of cherry tomatoes - $6.

I have found that my cherry tomatoes and slim eggplants are going gang busters in the heat.
Out of the larger tomato varieties I found Beef Steak holds up best but saving it from the fruit fly is proving problematic.

Parsnips!!!! I never realised how easy they are to grow! And they can often be around $9/kg at the shop.

They are fantastic roasted, chipped, souped and (last nights side dish) gratinated with spud and sweet taters mmmmmmmmmm *insert drooling smiley here*

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Gazza's IBC system

Gaz and Danae's Garden

and last for a long time in the soil ,Ive had parsnips for months and still have heaps left.
At $1 each they are a good delicious investment