I've an economist friend who delights in telling me my vegetables are probably the most expensive ever if I add up my time and expenses, my 'opportunity costs' - what else I could be doing if not in the garden or on the allotment - sore backs, sunburn, physiotherapy.....He goes on.
He just doesn't get the point of this growing lark. And looking at the prices in my local shop his economics may be suspect too.
I've seen English raspberries (some shops are importing them - why I don't know) selling for nearly £17 a kilo. I reckoned I harvested four quids worth of Autumn Bliss last week -amazingly early this year. From one potato tuber I'm getting about £3 of my favourite variety -Charlotte. I planted 90 tubers costing about £9. That's a return I like.
And I've not factored in the luxury crops from earlier in the year like asparagus. Nor the ease of having ingredients to hand like parsley, basil, rosemary and mint. And at the risk of sounding holier than thou I must be adding value because my produce has travelled zero airmiles.
I figure my plot must be worth hundreds of pounds if not getting into four figures! Are there any growers who've kept a ledger?!
I'm tempted to keep a ledger, but the intangibles like labor confound me.
I do know that my San Marzano Tomatoes, after they're bottled are worth about US$300 and the potatoes I spent about $2.50 on gave me a return of about $180.
I think the real cash crop of my garden is herbs. A small bunch of fresh thyme can cost about $2 here in the US and I've grown at leat $200 worth out of a $0.99 packet of seeds.
I think your economist friend needs to consider the health benefits of gardening, the peace of mind, the exercise and hours not spent in front of the television slowly turning one's brain to mush.
Posted by: steven | August 06, 2006 at 04:35 PM
No ledger here, but I love your type of accounting much more than that of your economist friend! I hope you don't share any of your garden bounty with him unless you charge him--according to his figures, of course! *grin*
Posted by: blackswamp_girl (Kim) | August 06, 2006 at 06:21 PM
Isn't the definition of an economist 'someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing'?
Posted by: Clare | August 11, 2006 at 07:54 PM
Mmm ... I wonder if your economist friend is missing the point.
It's not really about saving money, it's about doing something which is magical and enjoyable and worth doing for its own sake. Some crops give a fantastic return for a small investment and others are costly mistakes. But you can't put a price on the pleasure of tucking into fresh home-grown produce which you've nurtured from seed.
So no, I don't keep a ledger. But I do love Autumn Bliss raspberries.
Posted by: Rebsie Fairholm | August 12, 2006 at 12:03 PM
Clare - they're also students of the 'dismal science' !
Posted by: John Curtin | August 14, 2006 at 10:50 AM