[Yabba]

I've got loads more space this year so I've pretty much been supplying all our veg for the last couple of months. In previous years I've not had the same ability due to lack of space, but even the smallest amount of fresh veg is a bonus

With a tad of luck I'll also be able to supply most of our winter and early spring veg ... if not then I'll learn for next year

Of course it's not always a case of "ohh I've grown the [name of veg] that we normally buy" it's more like "we have [whatever veg is ready] ready for harvest, what can we make with it?"

¥

[Christine]

Sounds like my plot Yabba - the daughter and husband took a bag of veg home on Sunday saying "we reckon we can concoct something for tea from that".

Exactly. I've got stuff in the ground and stuff in the freezer. It won't last two households the year but it's making a dent in what we buy.

Are we self sufficient? - nope. In summer 80% so vegetable wise, 100% in strawberries. But we freeze down the gluts so we are going to manage for some time longer than we did the first season on the allotment.

But I'm not able to rule the weather so not everything survives and thrives. But the decision next year is to grow the expensive things we like - parsnips, fennel, broccoli, pea pods and leeks being major items.  Carrots we like to pull fresh so suppose we will grow those along with salad stuff, courgettes and marrows.

We aim to eat better rather than worry about total self sufficiency. At the moment.

[spud]

Sounds like some of you are doing great ... yes its nice to be able to eat well and not worry about or put a cost on it.

We really only have one short growing season here, we can extend it a little on both ends with the use of the greenhouse. I think it would be better to have a longer season, though I suppose it brings its own problems, mainly water in most areas!

There are some great permaculture videos on the tube about growing in dryer places ...

Cheers

 

[madcat]

There are two of us and we have a half plot.  All we have bought in fruit and veg line during the last year have been bananas (rebellion from him if not available for mid morning!), toms and cucs for winter work sarnies. Oh, and the occasional 1/4lb of mushrooms.   Plus the odd treat from the bargain counter (4 kiwi for 10p, that sort of thing).  But I work the freezers and the cool area under the house hard to store the gluts. 

And then worry about the environmental impact of the electricity and plastic bags for them.  You just cant win!

[Kristen]

"How much of your diet do you grow?"

We aim not to buy any veg from June to when the frost gets here.

We could freeze excess, but we don't really have the time / inclination, and prefer to eat things in season.  I'm not mad about eating Runner beans in December ...

Biggest problem I have is getting the succession right.  Too many things have a short harvest period - Cauliflower and Lettuce are over in a couple of weeks, and we use one, maybe two at a push, cauliflower a week, and not much more than one lettuce.  So that means raising a couple of plants every other week ...

I sow / start everything in pots, so I have more control over "how many" and "when" (compared to sowing a drill and waiting / praying for rain!)

[BarefootDancer]

.....I take great pleasure in answering the kids questions then watching their faces as they trot of home with something for tea. My kids just take them for granted now 

I can certainly relate to that! At the youth club where I help out, we make pizzas etc and some of the kids have never tried peppers or sweetcorn and one lad asked if it was ok to eat the grated cheese "before it was cooked" !!

It amazes me that children (and adults) can be so far removed from the things they eat and how they are produced. Admittedly, I grew up in a village and went to a rural school, but we were always making visit to local farms, walking in the fields and took turns to work on our little school garden.

And spending a lot of time with my grandparents helped too - we were always out mushrooming, blackberrying etc and my nan spent ages making jam or bottling the fruit from their apple, plum and pear trees.

Strangely she never grew much else apart from herbs, tomatoes and rhubarb - the garden was mainly for flowers and a lawn.  But I'm slowly changing that..... 

As well as the fruit, we now have courgettes, cucumbers, aubergines and strawberries. Plus potatoes, onions, runner beans and beets at my little work allotment

[BarefootDancer]

Incidentally, another interesting book/ website is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

A tale of the challenge she and her family set to only eat food that was home grown or produced locally in the southern Appalachians.

It's written with quite a bit of humour, as well as more serious science/ environmental stuff. Plus has recipes in too 

http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/index.html

[Sal1610]

I have a garden half of which is for the chickens and half is for veg. I get all the eggs I need, and trade the surplus with other veg-growing neighbours; at the moment I'm eating all the salad, beans, and courgettes I want, and again trading the surplus. All I buy is onions (I use loads) and tomatoes (mine aren't ripe yet).

My aim next year is to be a bit more organised and plan the year so I'm getting a longer producing season - this is the first year I've had this much space and some of the beds weren't ready til May.