Growing food

[sillysmiles]

Given the expected rise in bills over the next little while are you growing more food at home?
What are you growing and in what kind of space? How much do you think you need to make a genuine difference in your food bills? And let's not forget that gardening itself isn't free. Compost, seed, plant food etc....

We always grow potatoes, wild garlic (bear leek), onions (tops), spinach/ mangold, thyme, lavender, rosemary, blackberries, apples and cob nuts.

We rotate in pumpkins, long beans, lettuce, corn and kale, depending on what the kids want and how much space we have left. We have a few allocated areas in the garden and I am always sneakily trying to forge out more space DH isn't green inclined, but likes to eat stuff from the garden.

My biggest investments have been tools to be honest. They often break or disappear because of the kids we no longer have a compost patch because of the inquisitive kids, but have lovely friends who bring and give us their extras from time to time. We have started to incorporate localised composting (essentially dig in a few localised spots in the summer months, insert kitchen non meat food waste, add urine (boys will help with this quite happily), and then cover and compact down).

Food gardening can save you money. You need to hold on to the seeds and be willing to exchange/share. My local Friends of the Earth association has a yearly Plant Market, where seeds, plants and tools are exchanged or donated. They give great tips (localised composting for example, or what grows well in the region based on the light levels).

Our favourite meals from our garden are shepherd's pie (the potatoes and veg), stir fry or soups. Equally you can make your own lavender bags for your cupboards or drawers.

There's nothing nicer than eating a meal where all of the fruit and veg have been grown in your garden. We don't have a huge garden and so mostly grow in containers and raised beds and we have some fruit trees. We grow apples, plums, rhubarb, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, garlic, onions, leeks, french beans, courgettes, beetroot, peppers and chillis and have just started a load of seeds off in the greenhouse today along with the peppers and chillis in the bedroom which we started last week. I would love to be able to grow cauliflower but we just don't have much success with them at all. Last years leek seeds turned out to be onions, but were delicious. We have also grown herbs but the chives took over so we need to start again this year, however I also have little success with basil sadly. It may cost us more in the long run than buying, but nothing can beat the feeling of watching the seeds shoot and grow and knowing that no chemicals have been used on our food.

Growing your own can introduce interest to your diet which otherwise you might try to do by buying more expensive ingredients.

When I calculate my monetary savings, I don’t go by the cost of what I’ve grown (nobody would buy mulberries to eat every day) but by what I haven’t bought instead. So for 3months of the year (conservative estimate) I’m not buying strawberries or nectarines, say £3 a week. And for 8months I’m not buying apples, another £3 a week.

Things like a looser leaf cabbage or a kale are good value because Kale is stupidly expensive and very productive in the garden. Never pull all the leaves from one plant - just get a one or two from each if you have a few - and they will go on and on until they flower, at which point you snap off the flower heads and eat them like sprouting broccoli. The plant will go on and on giving these flower heads for ages. My best cut and come again cabbage is from Real Seeds and is called Becky and Paul's Asturian Tree Cabbage. We've been eating it all autumn and winter and it's just started with the flowers.. This is excellent advice! Some of my tree cabbages have been going for 2-3 years.

I live in a colder wetter part of the country - but I like to grow kale and leeks because they are very good for you and the stay in the ground all winter ( the bog standard kalenot so much the Italian stuff) and along with a few carrots and onions in the store cupboard have the ingredients for soup and fresh veg WITHOUT having to go to the supermarket. Not going to the supermarket saves a lot!