Jump to content

Menu

The cost of vegetables


MamaBearTeacher
 Share

Recommended Posts

I find this incredibly hard to believe.  I live in upstate NY.  Either we are the worst gardeners in the history of gardening (possible) or it's really really really difficult around here.  Some years we do very well.  Some years we get almost nothing.

 

This past summer would have been decent if it weren't for a gopher eating most of our stuff.  : (

It was really impressive to me.

It's also a really good book.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was really impressive to me.

It's also a really good book.

 

Yeah part of it for us is in large part lack of space.  We have a community garden.  Some years we are able to buy three plots (if not all plots are rented we can buy what is left).  They are small.  So there are lots of various tricks for keeping pests away that we can't easily take advantage of because of the constraint of space (and there are a lot of rules).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have such a black thumb that my gardens are never very successful. I have had success with growing tomatoes and hot peppers in containers. I also don't enjoy gardening. I do it so I can save some money and enjoy fresh produce.

My problem now is that I don't have any spot that gets a solid 6 hours of sunlight. My oak tree gets taller every year and blocks more and more of the sunny spots. I don't want to take down a perfectly healthy tree, especially since there are squirrels living in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a FYI about growing cauliflower. It is the most difficult of the cabbage family to grow, because it likes cool but not cold weather. That's always been a problem for me in VA. It turns from cold to hot here quickly in the spring, so I don't bother with it then. Then it needs to be babied when I start it in summer for fall harvest. Of course it gets the cabbage worms, flea beetles, and harlequin bugs that most other brassicas get. Some types have to be blanched so that's more to do. And you don't get much food for the space.

 

Kale, broccoli, and Asian greens like tatsoi are much easier to grow than cauliflower.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have such a black thumb that my gardens are never very successful. I have had success with growing tomatoes and hot peppers in containers. I also don't enjoy gardening. I do it so I can save some money and enjoy fresh produce.

My problem now is that I don't have any spot that gets a solid 6 hours of sunlight. My oak tree gets taller every year and blocks more and more of the sunny spots. I don't want to take down a perfectly healthy tree, especially since there are squirrels living in it.

 

Then you need to learn about edible weeds! There could be free salad greens out there in the yard! People with black thumbs are usually very good at growing weeds. Work with your strengths.  :laugh:

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here in my little corner of Canada, I was recently astounded to see imported cauliflower going for $7 a head!!!  :scared: Never in my life have I seen it this high.  Usually it will go for not more than $2 or $3.  Needless to say, we didn't have any this Christmas and won't be having any anytime soon at that price!  :(

 

Not trying to take over this this thread --  but in Canada are you seeing prices like the pictures in this article show?

Is milk really 17.00 and Tide 31.00???

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-13/canadians-panic-food-prices-soar-collapsing-currency

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not trying to take over this this thread -- but in Canada are you seeing prices like the pictures in this article show?

Is milk really 17.00 and Tide 31.00???

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-13/canadians-panic-food-prices-soar-collapsing-currency

Not where I am, but I think the pictures said the Territories, which is the far north, and always has higher prices (but I don't live there...), just like I imagine Alaska has higher prices.

 

Grocery prices have risen significantly and I often want to cry in the grocery store.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had forgotten to report that I found the cauliflower in my store, but couldn't locate a price anywhere.
The signs attached to the lightly stocked units read, "We would like to inform you that due to weather conditions in the growing areas, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Broccoli Crowns, Celery, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, and Asparagus will be in short supply for the foreseeable future."

 

Green Beans were $2.49/lb and asparagus was $4.99/lb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not trying to take over this this thread --  but in Canada are you seeing prices like the pictures in this article show?

Is milk really 17.00 and Tide 31.00???

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-13/canadians-panic-food-prices-soar-collapsing-currency

 

Yeah, as scoutingmom said, tthings in the North are far far more expensive - in fact people who live there get a special allowance to help make up for the cost.  In many coastal communities, people put in big orders for the basics they will need for the year which come in one big lift by sea, and similar things happen in airlift communities too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cauliflower, $1.85 for a large head at Aldi today.   :hurray:

 

I'll be sure to get there this week. 

 

I'm loving Aldi's lately.  They've really upped their grocery game.  They're produce is nicer and way cheaper than Publix's, even if it is limited.   I bought organic red lentils for $1.99 lb and quinoa for $3.99 lb.  The quinoa was cheaper than what I paid in November from Azure Standard.  There cheeses this time of the year are nothing short of amazing.  The only complaint I have is their Kombucha.  I bought one bottle to try, and it was disgusting.  I had no problems in returning ti for a refund.  

 

A word to the wise --  all Aldi's locations are not the same so keep trying until you find one you like.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live in California and in my immediate and extended family, we never eat tomatoes, peppers, or zucchini in the winter. They are summer veggies that nearly everyone on my street grows in their yards, and we simply don't eat them in the winter. We eat cabbage, potatoes, greens, parsley, peas, carrots, beets, turnips, oranges, kiwis, and spinach in the winter. The in- season veggies are usually under a dollar a pound. I have never lived elsewhere so I am not sure what it's like in other areas.

 

I live in Washington and it's pretty much the same. Even if we don't have a good tomato year, it's just canned tomatoes.

 

We do occasionally buy peppers for particular recipes but mostly we will buy winter vegetables.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll be sure to get there this week.

 

I'm loving Aldi's lately. They've really upped their grocery game. They're produce is nicer and way cheaper than Publix's, even if it is limited. I bought organic red lentils for $1.99 lb and quinoa for $3.99 lb. The quinoa was cheaper than what I paid in November from Azure Standard. There cheeses this time of the year are nothing short of amazing. The only complaint I have is their Kombucha. I bought one bottle to try, and it was disgusting. I had no problems in returning ti for a refund.

 

A word to the wise -- all Aldi's locations are not the same so keep trying until you find one you like.

Publix is our most expensive regular grocery here, for sure. Whole Foods and Fresh Market are way high, of course. Kroger is the median and Trader Joe's about the same (except smaller and often better quality food). Walmart prices are lower. Aldi and the international or ethnic groceries are even less.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to pick up  cauliflower today and it was $4.99 for a small head of non-organic. There was a sign at our store announcing that a number of produce items will be more expensive/limited availability for the near future. The frozen is still a good deal - $1.99 for a 1 lb bag. We do a lot of root veggies and dark greens this time of year. And lots of clementines. :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had forgotten to report that I found the cauliflower in my store, but couldn't locate a price anywhere.

The signs attached to the lightly stocked units read, "We would like to inform you that due to weather conditions in the growing areas, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Broccoli Crowns, Celery, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, and Asparagus will be in short supply for the foreseeable future."

 

Green Beans were $2.49/lb and asparagus was $4.99/lb.

 

 

This is very early in the year for asparagus, though.  The price should improve.

What should be reasonableish now is salad greens, kale, and citrus, in the Northern hemisphere.

 

Actually, I went back yesterday, and it jumped to $5.99/lb!  

Citrus was definitely reasonable.

 

For the past few years, I've felt very fortunate to be able to swing through the produce department and grab whatever struck my fancy.  Yesterday, it took me 3 times as long to pick what looked good enough without breaking the bank.  :crying:

 

Garden planning in full swing!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought a medium-sozed head of cauliflower for $4 at the natural food store in my small, central NC town.   LOL, this thread made me want to buy cauliflower.

 

Last week it was $6.99 per head.  I didn't buy one.  This week at the same store it was 2.99.  I did buy it.  I don't know what is with the crazy price difference!  Who knows, maybe they were the same cauliflower heads they couldn't sell for  $6.99  LOL

 

They didn't look old though so...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought of this thread the other day when I was at the local produce market, where they had cauliflower for $2.49 a head. I was wondering where on earth you people are seeing it for $5+ (which is what organic costs at Whole Paycheck here). Then the very next day I was in Stop & Shop and saw cauliflower there for...$5.99! :lol: The price swings are pretty crazy--I guess it has to do with availability at any given time?

 

Garden planning in full swing!!!

 

Here too. Given food costs (and the fact that everything around here seems to be breaking down all at once, including me, to the tune of thousands of dollars we don't have), I'm more determined than ever to be organized with the garden this year. I managed to get the garlic in thanks to that late-December warm spell. Hard to believe I'm going to need to be starting cole crop seeds in a month!

Edited by ILiveInFlipFlops
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here in my little corner of Canada, I was recently astounded to see imported cauliflower going for $7 a head!!!  :scared: Never in my life have I seen it this high.  Usually it will go for not more than $2 or $3.  Needless to say, we didn't have any this Christmas and won't be having any anytime soon at that price!  :(

 

Yes.  Today I saw a meme that said something about 3 heads of cauliflower being worth the same as a barrel of oil  :tongue_smilie:

Edited by Upward Journey
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's certain that people lived through the winter in Canada before imported vegetables: but I don't think winter involved many vegetables. Potatoes, beets, onions, turnips and squash would have been stockpiled by farmers. Otherwise, dry beans, corn meal, wheat, barley, and oats would have filled most people's diets. It wasn't a "5 to 10 daily servings of veggies and fruits" kind of world.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have such a black thumb that my gardens are never very successful. I have had success with growing tomatoes and hot peppers in containers. I also don't enjoy gardening. I do it so I can save some money and enjoy fresh produce.

My problem now is that I don't have any spot that gets a solid 6 hours of sunlight. My oak tree gets taller every year and blocks more and more of the sunny spots. I don't want to take down a perfectly healthy tree, especially since there are squirrels living in it.

 

I feel your pain.  Tomatoes are difficult to grow where I live.  About 95% of the time tomatoes flop.  Our growing season is very very short.  It's a hit or miss.  Last summer was decent weather wise, but then a stupid ground hog or gopher or whatever it was ate most of our veggies. 

 

I am so sick of lousy results.  I don't know why my husband keeps trying. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's certain that people lived through the winter in Canada before imported vegetables: but I don't think winter involved many vegetables. Potatoes, beets, onions, turnips and squash would have been stockpiled by farmers. Otherwise, dry beans, corn meal, wheat, barley, and oats would have filled most people's diets. It wasn't a "5 to 10 daily servings of veggies and fruits" kind of world.

Scurvy was common in the very early days of Canada

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, probably those too, the preparation would probably depend on country of origin for settlers. Sauerkraut or pickles might have been possibilities.

 

And, before that, a plains first-nations diet would be heavy on meat (bison & wild game) with some summer harvests of berries preserved as a component of pemmican (or similar items). I've heard of scurvy prevention through spruce or pine infusions.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, probably those too, the preparation would probably depend on country of origin for settlers. Sauerkraut or pickles might have been possibilities.

 

And, before that, a plains first-nations diet would be heavy on meat (bison & wild game) with some summer harvests of berries preserved as a component of pemmican (or similar items). I've heard of scurvy prevention through spruce or pine infusions.

Yes, the scurvy I mentioned was early Europeans. The natives had their own methods of preserving...

 

The Inuit, I think, got most of their vitamins from the way they ate their meats and blubber....

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...