Self-Sufficiency gardening..any experience??

[lmccrean]

Anyone here grow all their own fruit and veg? Ive had this dream for years, that once I grow up (I just turned 21..so very soon---noooooooo!!) I want to get a house with a big garden and grow my own fruit and veg organically. I realise this will take a lot of work, but wondered if anyone here did it, either in the past and gave up..or still doing it? (no organic box delivery anywhere in N. Ireland, apparently, or Id use it) (dream also included solar or wind-powered home, and maybe a few cows and chickens (for their milk and eggs, not for meat...but thats stage 2

I missed "the real good life" as was going through (and still am, mostly) a no-tv stage.

I think it's a lovely dream, shared by lots of people, not least me - but I live in London's suburbia so it's not realistic to hope to be totally self-sufficient here. I do grow a lot of fruit and veg, though - but other MNers grow more!

I've just finished reading
Bob Flowerdew's Organic Bible
which is fantastic and very pragmatic - I wish I'd read it years ago. It covers easy livestock eg hens.

The best tip I'd offer is start with easy things you like to eat, and don't try and grow a vast range of stuff in the first year. It's a lot about trial and error, and it's best to concentrate on a few things at a time and get really good at them, then move on to other things.

You can grow potatoes in a barrel. As the plant grows keep covering up more and more. In the end you will have the plany growing out of the top and a barrel full of spuds. yo have to have drainage holes in it. Useful on a patio if youdon't have much space.

yes, my mother did this. Can only say, consider very carefully whether it is in your children's best interests for you to follow your dream.

you've got to consider what you do with the male calves and chicks if you want your own eggs and milk too

Oh, go on, Nightynight, tell us more! Were you made to get up at 4.00am to milk the cows?

You need lots of space, lots of time, and lots of patience.

My grandad grew all of his own fruit and veg for many years, but he had a huge garden for a rented house - about 500 feet long and very wide, and the whole thing was turned over to fruit and veg. He was a miner and lived in a tied cottage; the pit owners believed that healthy living was essential for pit workers so provided big gardens for all of their tied cottages, on the understanding that they would be used for growing food. All of his water came from a big well in the yard between the house and the garden, and he used that well up until he died because he didn't think that tap water was good enough for his veg. Even with such a big garden, when he retired he had to take on an allotment to ensure that he didn't have to buy fruit and veg too.

It is hard work, and if you are going to do it effectively and efficiently it takes a lot of time and hard graft. Doing it properly means treating it almost as your full-time job.

My dad did it for our family, and still does it for him and mum - although in truth, it is my mum who does most of it now!

Gave me a great grounding for growing stuff - I currently only have rhubarb, basil and tomatoes this year, oh and the apple and pear trees and a whole range of hardy herbs - had a bit too much on my plate earlier this year with a new baby.

I did just buy myself a book fromt he charity shop called "the self sufficient gardener" as it seems to contain all the stuff my dad used to tell me about growing stuff, when I grew a more comprehensive selection.

Top tip to get you started - I know I have said this before, I just love this one as it is so easy, so quick, and anyone can do it.... pots of basil from the supermarket... buy one and carefully seperate all of the seperate plants (as that is what they are - forced seedlings, and why they never "keep". Pot them up seperately, nip out the tops and watch them grow. Keep nipping out the tops (and using) until you have useful sized plants when you can take the leaves from anywhere. I have a veritable forest of basil outside my back door from just one supermarket pot!

Thanks everyone - I currently live in a flat with no outside space to call my own so I cant even do a wee bit!

Im indecisive (sp?) at the moment - would love run a Montessori nursery , but the thought of feeding my family (currently just me and 2yr old dd) organic food, grown with care sounds great too!

In just outside Belfast, but I will give Arkhill a call and see what they say.

Ill also keep an eye out for the two books mentioned!

wow, thats fantastic! thank you!

Currently eating cherry tomatoes grown in our garden - they taste amazing! We're not self-sufficient, but we do supplement our veg from the garden. Gorgeous!

We're giving a real go this year for the first time. In the past I have has hardly eny space so have sowed lettic among the flowers etc, grown herbs and the like but this year we have a huge garden and have workd really hard.

We have tried all the things we eat often and have tried to plant so that we will have crops maturing at different times instead of all at once. So we have several types of lettic, tomatoes, cauliflower, brocolli, leeks, spring onions, onions, shallts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, sweetcorn, runner beans, french beans, broad beans, sugar snap peas, garden peas, courgettes, butternut squash, cobnut squash, pumpkins, aubergines, peppers, rocket, chilli peppers, apples, pears, plums, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, red currants, black currants, strawberries and all my usual herbs. So as you can imagine I've had my work cut out. But its been so worth it.

Had some battles, with slugs and snails eating my seedlings(I now hate them!) with ants and woodlice eating my strawberries and curretnly with catapillars munching through my brassicas.

All in all its well worth it though. I have found the Green gardener to be a really useful website though.

Give it a go!

Emma xxx

lmccrean-can you get an allotment?