Crops with the biggest "profit"

Moin moin

Recently I had a discussion with my wife regarding the crops we want to grow this year.
Her parents and grandparents tend to grow EVERYTHING they need in their own garden. This includes potatoes, chickens and every kind of salad imaginable.

I am a little more practical in that regard, and having a good job to rely on for a stream of income is enough for me to not want to fight for every piece of salad. So we began looking for plants that are:
- low labor
- expensive or even unobtainable in the supermarket
- consistently yield crops
- look kind of nice

Our final choice then fell on the following:
- grapes (although not really expensive to buy, they grow on their own once planted. Prune them once a year and you will never run out)
- Cherries/Mirabelle of Nancy/Persimmon/Figs (basically the same)
- Beans (sow them, forget them, harvest them. They don't even care for weeds)
- Peas (same)
- Rhubarb (just pluck them three months a year and forget they exist the rest of the time)
- Kiwi (low maintenance, but exotic harvest)

How do you see it? Did you ever think "it's not worth fighting slugs and birds for something I can buy for little money"? Or do you just grow for fun and really don't care if it's anyway near cost- and labor-efficient?

 

I am with you on this one, though as I only have a small garden I only grow herbs and a few soft fruits (raspberries, blackberries, grapes, a fig) against the sunnier wall. Oh and a crab apple and a rowan whose fruits are good for jellies, as well as the birds.

Have grown things like cut and come again salads, small flavourful tomatoes, etc. If I had more space I would grow fruit and veg that would do well here, but can't buy at all or only very expensively in the shops - e.g. Jerusalem artichokes which I love, and gather are easy-peasy to grow in fact.

 

If I could only grow 3 edibles, they would be Asparagus, Globe Artichokes and potatoes. (Although the potatoes are far from labour-free). One of the first things I planted on arrival here was a row (250 crowns) of green asparagus. It's a pure joy to be able to give bundles of it to friends from Feb onwards, although by May we've got asparagus-fatigue
I got so fed up of not being able to buy decent potatoes, grow-your-own was the only solution. Nearly all on sale here are what used to be called 'pig potatoes', because that's all they're fit for.

 

@Clare G
Oops, I totally forgot about our raspberries, brambles (thornless ones) and blueberries. They are really expensive when bought in the shop and tend to taste like water. So we decided it would be nice and a lot cheaper to grow our own. And it feels kind of rewarding to eat them right off the plant (as long as the birds aren't faster)

 

Essentials for me.. Runner Beans, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Red and Nero Kale. Leeks.
Sprouts, Beetroot, Purple sprouting is a must and grows high so less slug damage.
Tomatoes (cos you choose the variety) Onions and shallots cos they are easy and used almost daily. Cabbages can get attacked but i still grow a few.
Carrots cos they taste so sweet freshly picked.
I don't do potatoes because we get blight around here.
I guess vegetable growing can be a matter of taste and what does well on your own ground.
Apart from carrots few veg's are cheap these days, particularly 'just picked' organic one's.

 

@JR
You are right when looking solely at the prices. But some crops are a lot more work-intensive than others simply because slugs love them or they are not very competitive compared to weeds.
So trees, bushes and well-established perennials like Rhubarb are something I prefer because they can hold their own even if I go on vacation for two weeks.

 

Quite agree Black Dog.
I've got plenty of time just now to grow anything i fancy, but i have reduced the amount of slug loving lettuce and low growing greens.
I wouldn't do without Rhubarb and asparugus cos once it's established it needs little work.
I put 5 raspberry plants in during the Autumn so I'll be looking forward to harvest them.
I'm in favour of good results and to tend rows of cabbage and lettuce to find the slugs n caterpillars have obliterated them puts me right off.
I net them but as i say, I've reduced the amount this year and will concentrate on the more successful stuff.

 

I grow what we like to eat and find that it taste so much better than bought stuff. Tom’s and cucumber although relatively cheap the taste is far superior home grown. Also we eat 2-3 cucumbers aday in the summer. Cut and come salad and spinach, better taste and can be pricey for bags of mixed leaf. French beans, mangetout and sugar snap peas, we eat these in stir fry and the kids eat them fresh. Growing peppers for the first time in about 5 years this year, we again get through loads of theses in salads and stir fry. Then spring onions, baby leaks and this year I am doing baby parsnip and carrots in pots, we like these roasted. Beetroot and radish, because I can and probably would never think to buy beetroot from shops. Also trying turnip and Kohrabi. The big factor is freshness and taste, but I also really enjoy doing it.
Rusty

 

@rustyroots
Wow this sounds like paradise. But also like a lot of work. We try to grow some garlic ourselves because it doesn't take a lot and there are almost no predators stealing them. But I would never go for regular onions, simply because I can buy them for 7,99€ in 20kg bags. So why even bother.... Same goes for potatoes.... Sure there are special breeds that may taste a little different, but I'd rather plant sweet potatoes or homegrown pumpkins in that spot.

 

Yes, I'm the same: having full-time job I want to grow tasty (for me) and difficult (or too expensive) to buy edibles only. I have to take into consideration heavy clay soil I have in the garden, and unfortunately powdery mildew is always here. That puts aside peas, even if I can eat tons during the season.
I look at seeds / plants price too.
Planted: blueberries, raspberries, black (my favourite) and red currants, dwarf apple tree (constant time race with squirrels).
Tomatoes - growing from seeds, greenhouse received for free.
Short cucumbers - gherkins - a treasure, nowhere to buy here. Had 2 unsuccessful years, but will try again.
Herbs - rocket, parsley, spring onions, lettuces. Radishes in spring.
A bit of strawberries of good tasteful varieties.
I'm wiggling with edibles planted together with ornamental plants, as my garden is just a back garden of the house.

 

Oh yes.... Kitchen herbs....
I always cry whenever I see the prices for dried herbs. I love to cook, but the amount of money going into spices is astronomical.

Thyme, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic, and so many more are really heavy hitters when you buy them.

 

Not really that much work. I probably spend on average 3-4 a week. This time of year is always quite busy, with final prep and seed sowing, but first plantings will probably be going in the ground in the coming weeks. Then a bit of weeding which isn’t that much really and watering. The biggest job I have is turning compost heap. I grow in the garden, so am able to grab some time when everyone in the house is doing there own thing or when the kids are in bed later in the season.
Rusty

 

@Black Dog do sweet potatoes produce much for you? I always thought of them as requiring too much heat or shelter to be worth my growing.
My favourites for being worthwhile are beans, mangetout and soft fruit. And herbs because they are much better fresh. Though I never manage to grow enough basil! The chance to grow interesting tomato varieties has tempted me once again to plant too many - home grown taste so much better than the bought ones.

 

@CarolineL
Well I myself have never grown them, but I know my father grows them regularly in in raised flower pots (as seen below).

He lets them grow in the direct sun and the pot with the soil heats really fast. At the end of the year, you can then harvest them easily by simply toppling the pot.