Fruit vs Sweets

[Omm]

Something is bothering me, was watching TV this morning, one of the politics shows and they where talking about how fat we are and the cost of sweets, Chocolate etc. They mentioned that one of the ways to get people to stop eating so much sweet stuff is to have "a sugar tax" obviously the idea being that the cost of these products goes up and we don't buy as much. At no point did they mention capping the cost of fruit and veg. It drives me mad that the answer to everything seems to be put the price up.

I'm a father of three young children, doing the weekly shop is tough, I have to balance the books and give the family a variety, I get plenty of fruit and veg and will often shop around for the best deals, I get the kids ( and mainly me in the guise of for the kids) some treats as well, nothing over the top but we do ok.  But what would really help me would be to put the cost of fruit down or cap it in some way, I would even go as far as saying the government should subsidise the cost. Grapes, Strawberries in fact most berries cost more than a bar of Chocolate. Ok I can get Apples, Pears, Oranges and the like for less than a pound but I can also get an own brand bar of Chocolate for 30p, I'm sorry but surely a bag of Apples should be 30p rather than a decent sized bar of Chocolate.

Today I didn't buy a packet of Bluberries because they were £2.50 for a punnet, I pushed the boat out to get some Strawberries at £2 a pack and grapes at £1.50 per pack. Crazy crazy prices, Come on fruit and veg should cost less than sweets and cakes.

 I'm in the process of converting my garden into a grow your own area, the potatoes and Strawberries are the testers. Who knows hopefully I'll grow enough to give the stuff away for FREE to the children's school friends. May have just thought of a new idea, at least all these rambling may not have been for nothing.

Rant over.

[Doobs]

Tomatoes are the nuts for grow your own.  Buy Sungold plants, quid each, buy Grobag less than a tenner.  Need 3 canes and some string.  Water throughout summer.  You will get loads of them.  They are on the sweet side as tomatoes go, but the kids eat loads of them.  Better still get two grobags.  The birds leave them alone too.  Wait a month or so before you buy the plants as you can still get a late frost.  We have ours just sat on the patio against the side of the house on the sunny side. 

Strawberries are a constant battle with the birds and you really don't get that many fruit per plant. Same apples and pears.  We grow them all.  Blueberries get a few more berries, but you can probably buy them cheaper in season. 

Don't be buying strawberries now, out of season, overpriced and shite. 

[Omm]

Great advice, of course tomatoes should have been the first thing I thought to grow. Got some herbs doing well on the windowsill as well. Cheers Doobs.

[Doobs]

Thought for a while we need a gardening thread.  This will do.

Tomatoes just win on cost per fruit, ease of production and taste difference vs shop.  Problem is when the season is over and you give them shop tomatoes they are like wtf is this?  The Sungold ones are cherry tomatoes and a kind if orangey colour when ripe.  They'll split a bit if you get the watering wrong or the rain messes you up, but would highly recommend them.  You can always eat the split ones yourself, but they taste so good my fussy kids will happily eat the split ones too.

I am a bit of a novice too, lived in various flats in London for years, moved out and got a garden and thought better make use of it.  My mum is a legend at gardening so she helps a lot with advice. 

Will try and get a post up on what we are growing some time and various gardening experiences.  Sure they must be people way better than me on what to grow and how.

[BangBang]

Something is bothering me, was watching TV this morning, one of the politics shows and they where talking about how fat we are and the cost of sweets, Chocolate etc. They mentioned that one of the ways to get people to stop eating so much sweet stuff is to have "a sugar tax" obviously the idea being that the cost of these products goes up and we don't buy as much. At no point did they mention capping the cost of fruit and veg. It drives me mad that the answer to everything seems to be put the price up.

I'm a father of three young children, doing the weekly shop is tough, I have to balance the books and give the family a variety, I get plenty of fruit and veg and will often shop around for the best deals, I get the kids ( and mainly me in the guise of for the kids) some treats as well, nothing over the top but we do ok.  But what would really help me would be to put the cost of fruit down or cap it in some way, I would even go as far as saying the government should subsidise the cost. Grapes, Strawberries in fact most berries cost more than a bar of Chocolate. Ok I can get Apples, Pears, Oranges and the like for less than a pound but I can also get an own brand bar of Chocolate for 30p, I'm sorry but surely a bag of Apples should be 30p rather than a decent sized bar of Chocolate.

Today I didn't buy a packet of Bluberries because they were £2.50 for a punnet, I pushed the boat out to get some Strawberries at £2 a pack and grapes at £1.50 per pack. Crazy crazy prices, Come on fruit and veg should cost less than sweets and cakes.

 I'm in the process of converting my garden into a grow your own area, the potatoes and Strawberries are the testers. Who knows hopefully I'll grow enough to give the stuff away for FREE to the children's school friends. May have just thought of a new idea, at least all these rambling may not have been for nothing.

Rant over.

This really does annoy me too, cost of fruit in the western countries is just silly, probably because most of our fruit is imported and seasonal... But I agree with you 100% the cost of fruit and veg should be capped... I.E. Cost of a burger and fries £1.99 cost of 250g of Blueberries is £3.50 completely ridiculous...

[Ironside]

can get lots of cheap fruit and veg and in season by going to a pick your own farm shop

[vegaslover]

Thought for a while we need a gardening thread.  This will do.

Tomatoes just win on cost per fruit, ease of production and taste difference vs shop.  Problem is when the season is over and you give them shop tomatoes they are like wtf is this?  The Sungold ones are cherry tomatoes and a kind if orangey colour when ripe.  They'll split a bit if you get the watering wrong or the rain messes you up, but would highly recommend them.  You can always eat the split ones yourself, but they taste so good my fussy kids will happily eat the split ones too.

I am a bit of a novice too, lived in various flats in London for years, moved out and got a garden and thought better make use of it.  My mum is a legend at gardening so she helps a lot with advice. 

Will try and get a post up on what we are growing some time and various gardening experiences.  Sure they must be people way better than me on what to grow and how.

Defo need a thread for this, congrats on volunteering to mod it Doobs.

Have a bigger garden now so will be growing more this year. Will be putting plenty of potatoes in, go for desiree myself for durability.
Have always grown tomatoes outdoors in pots, I like the moneymaker and alicante variety.
Will also grow plenty of runner beans, love them fresh in a salad.