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| Rabbits Keep Out |
For example, Broad Beans are currently off our menu. We like them but we are susceptible to black fly in a big way. I have tried different varieties, sowing the seeds in autumn to give them a head start and I pinch out the tops early. However, even with one or two companion plants to distract the little pests, we limp through the season with a handful of pods that barely provide two servings. We are much more successful with the other legumes so we accept that for the time being, we are beaten.
Frozen peas are nutritious, convenient, inexpensive and require no preparation. Homegrown fresh peas take up a lot of room on the plot and you have to shell them. On the other hand, mangetout varieties are expensive to buy, highly productive when homegrown and versatile in the kitchen. They require the minimum of preparation and you can eat the pods raw, cooked in stir fries or lightly steamed. We love the sound of a pea pod snapping open and that the fresh sweet flavour of a raw pea is divine but we were short of space, we would prefer to grow a mangetout variety.
Frozen peas are nutritious, convenient, inexpensive and require no preparation. Homegrown fresh peas take up a lot of room on the plot and you have to shell them. On the other hand, mangetout varieties are expensive to buy, highly productive when homegrown and versatile in the kitchen. They require the minimum of preparation and you can eat the pods raw, cooked in stir fries or lightly steamed. We love the sound of a pea pod snapping open and that the fresh sweet flavour of a raw pea is divine but we were short of space, we would prefer to grow a mangetout variety.
It might sound obvious but grow the veg you like to eat. Doc is not allowed Jerusalem artichokes because they cause wind and he has enough of that anyway, thank you! Sometimes though, trying something new can bring its own rewards and surprises. Each year, I have two ‘try outs’. One year it was celery (surprisingly successful) and sweet potatoes (okay but very poor yield) and another year it is going to be Kohlrabi and asparagus peas. If a try-out gets through to the second year, it has to be a good ‘doer’ in terms of how easy it is to grow, the taste, preparation time and yield.
Growing the right amount for our needs is tricky. One row is never enough and two is a glut. Succession planting has helped our lettuce supply in particular. One year we really did have 15 'icebergs' all ready at the same time. Sometimes there is crop failure too. One year we lost our onions because we left them to dry on the terrace and they perished in a thunder storm whilst we were out. Thankfully supermarkets do still sell onions and we didn't go without. When we have a surplus we make friends and give it away.
Shop on the plot
We call this ‘trugging’. Although we pick herbs and salads daily whilst still at the peak of freshness, it's convenient to ‘shop’ for other crops every few days. Leeks are a good example. We dig up enough for a few days, trim and wash them and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge. They keep like that for a week or so and are very convenient to use. Root veg like swedes, carrots and beets can be lifted and stored in sand for weeks. As for snips (parsnips), we dig up a few at a time, wrap them in newspaper (with the soil still on) and they keep like that for a week in the garage or veg rack, ready for use. Even if you store some veg for a few days, they are still fresher that those in the supermarkets.
We call this ‘trugging’. Although we pick herbs and salads daily whilst still at the peak of freshness, it's convenient to ‘shop’ for other crops every few days. Leeks are a good example. We dig up enough for a few days, trim and wash them and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge. They keep like that for a week or so and are very convenient to use. Root veg like swedes, carrots and beets can be lifted and stored in sand for weeks. As for snips (parsnips), we dig up a few at a time, wrap them in newspaper (with the soil still on) and they keep like that for a week in the garage or veg rack, ready for use. Even if you store some veg for a few days, they are still fresher that those in the supermarkets.
When we first started Growing Our Own we forgot to use some crops which sounds really funny now. We had to learn to pick things when they were ready, not us. We now make the plot centre stage, not the supermarket and consider what veg and fruit we have and plan our meals around them. Meat comes second and often not at all.
One of the biggest changes we have found is that we tend to eat seasonal fruit and veg (apart from crops we preserve) and that is the joy of gardening, of connecting with nature. Courgettes are available in the supermarkets all year but if your grow them, there is a window of a few weeks in which to enjoy (and then loathe!) them. We eat them every day in some form or another but then the season ends and we can look forward to something else. It’s exciting to find the first strawberry of summer but there would be no fun in it if the strawberries grew all year round.
It’s not ‘what do we need?’ but ‘what have we got? That's our motto in our kitchen. It’s great how the family catches on to the idea of seasonal meals. NOD came home and commented that we must be having a rhubarb pudding because it was April. There is a rhythm to growing your own which is comforting and natural.
Compost bin
We have a lidded bucket for the kitchen for compost waste and save trips to the compost heap by trimming veg before they come into the kitchen. We have a chopping block on the plot, which is made from an old tree stump and I keep an old kitchen knife handy to trim off the outer leaves of cabbages before bringing them up to the house.
Become a squirrel
Become a squirrel
Never underestimate the value of keeping a plentiful store cupboard. My family tease me that I could feed an army for months from the contents of my pantry. I take that as a compliment! With all the basics, I can rustle up a meal in next to no time using whatever is available on the plot and in the pantry. (Look at the 'My Lists' page for tips on what to keep in you store cupboard.)
A decent size freezer is useful. Fresh and seasonal is best but freezing tomatoes (skinned) are great to add to casseroles in the depths of winter and I also make batches of soup and tomato sauce. If I am making enough for one meal, it's common sense to make enough for 3 meals and that way I am making my own convenience meals for when I am too busy to cook. However, from time to time I have found several bags of blanched French beans in the freezer that we can't eat before the next season's crop is ready!
It is useful to consider other methods of preservation too but it does take time and there is little point in making 50 jars of jam if you only eat jam occasionally. Bottling is good for pears or tomatoes and chutneys never go out of favour. You can also buy a press to make apple juice. I think some of the ‘old fashioned’ methods of food preservation are going to make a big come back, particularly as energy is becoming so expensive. Instead of feezing beans I am considering salting beans just to see if it works....
