On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 16:37:27 +0100, JB
wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 16:14:51 +0100, Stephen Howard
wrote:

Did you find that cost effective? I tried growing under artificial
lights but decided that the cost of the kit an electricity didn't
justify the extra early and late crops.

Interesting point though - can home grown veg ever be cost effective?
For sure, the material costs don't often amount to much ( seeds,
potting compost etc. ), but in terms of 'man hours' the old scales
must surely tip in the balance.

If you count the time then there's no way this gardening business is
cost effective! Surely the point though is that the time is freely
given so any produce at the end of it is a bonus and effectively free.

Probably best not to think about it!!

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Harold Walker wrote:

[snip]

Shudda mentioned before....cost effective? ....growing toms in a
greenhouse???? how many pounds sterling to buy the
greenhouse????????plus.........how many hobbies are cost effective?

I think knitting can be. My mother used to knit very complicated
patterns extremely fast. She could do an Arran (sp?) jersey in less
than a day, where a less intricate, poorer quality one will sell in the
shops for £100+. I'm not sure you should even cost her time as she used
to do it while watching TV.

Anyway, is it even possible to buy food that tastes anywhere near as
good as home grown veg?

Alan

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:39:38 +0100, Alan R Williams
wrote:

I think knitting can be. My mother used to knit very complicated
patterns extremely fast. She could do an Arran (sp?) jersey in less
than a day,

Are you sure? I cannot believe that's possible, and I have knitted
many an Arran sweater in my days of better sight.

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:39:38 +0100, Alan R Williams
wrote:


I think knitting can be. My mother used to knit very complicated
patterns extremely fast. She could do an Arran (sp?) jersey in
less than a day,


Are you sure? I cannot believe that's possible, and I have knitted
many an Arran sweater in my days of better sight.

Well it certainly seemed that quickly. One evening the patterns would
be out and the end of the next day she'd be stitching it together.
Perhaps she had a secret production line of them hidden away :-) They
were like this one - http://tinyurl.com/baf8o I've no idea how she did
it, or why for that matter as I don't think anyone in the family likes
them :-) I think what sped her up was that she would somehow read the
pattern many lines at a time rather than a few stiches at a time. I
think she probably wasn't concious of what she was doing as she'd be
watching TV and/or talking at the same time. Of course when she misread
the pattern it led to many lines of unravelling and cursing :-)

The best thing she ever made was my sister-in-law's wedding dress. It
was crocheted/knitted and looked amazing, sort of 1920s style. I didn't
realise my mother had made it and was wondering when they'd had time to
shop for it as my sister-in-law hadn't been in the UK long. Turned out
it had been done by measurements over the phone. I've no idea how much
something like that would have cost.

Pam in Bristol

Alan

Nope. I'm permanently ruined for eating supermarket carrots these
days, and as for sweetcorn - as long as you freeze them quickly or eat
them as quickly, there's nothing sweeter.


jane

I notice you call it sweet corn and not sweet maize?????????????

The message
from "Harold Walker" contains these words:




Nope. I'm permanently ruined for eating supermarket carrots these
days, and as for sweetcorn - as long as you freeze them quickly or eat
them as quickly, there's nothing sweeter.


jane

I notice you call it sweet corn and not sweet maize?????????????


uk.rec.gardening Harold. So its sweetcorn. 8-))

"Christopher Norton" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Harold Walker" contains these words:




Nope. I'm permanently ruined for eating supermarket carrots these
days, and as for sweetcorn - as long as you freeze them quickly or eat
them as quickly, there's nothing sweeter.


jane

I notice you call it sweet corn and not sweet maize?????????????


uk.rec.gardening Harold. So its sweetcorn. 8-))

Do you not refer to wheat as being corn?.....H

interesting read,I do grow them in a cold greenhouse.I started the seeds off
in my orchid greenhouse 55/60 f min on 15 Feb..Which was to early ,they were
about 3ft tall by the time I was able to put them into to cold greenhouse
which was the last week in may .So the lower growth/plant has suffered a
bit they are picking up & going strong now.They were in 3 1/2" pots so got
starved of food & water at times.But this is the first time I have tried
growing my own fruit & veg ,so it is a massive learning curve!Next year I
will probably start them off early April.

--
Thanks Keith,Nottingham,England,UK.
"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 16:37:27 +0100, JB
wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 16:14:51 +0100, Stephen Howard
wrote:

Did you find that cost effective? I tried growing under artificial
lights but decided that the cost of the kit an electricity didn't
justify the extra early and late crops.

Interesting point though - can home grown veg ever be cost effective?
For sure, the material costs don't often amount to much ( seeds,
potting compost etc. ), but in terms of 'man hours' the old scales
must surely tip in the balance.

If you count the time then there's no way this gardening business is
cost effective! Surely the point though is that the time is freely
given so any produce at the end of it is a bonus and effectively free.

Probably best not to think about it!!

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

~ jane
~
~I notice you call it sweet corn and not sweet maize?????????????
~
never ever heard it called sweet maize.

jane

Nor have I ....the only reason I asked was that the kernels(seed) on the cob
that is eaten a la "sweet corn" is the same seed as you call maize...at
least that is what it was called when I used to buy chicken food over there
in WW2...H

Not sure which one makes corn syrup but I think it's the starchy one,
oddly. Yes, google to the rescue. This is a scary article, by the
way.
http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html


jane

I read the above plus a number of other articles and came to the same
conclusion but could not find anything to really sustantiate that......there
has been a tremendous amount of chatter over here re the use of corn
sweetener in baked goods and the likes....you can almost tell the corn
syrup addicts by their size....Dunkin Doughnuts and the likes being a curse
to mankind.........H

In article , Harold Walker
writes

"Christopher Norton" wrote in message
...

uk.rec.gardening Harold. So its sweetcorn. 8-))

Do you not refer to wheat as being corn?.....H


Cornflour is maize flour
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"