Evening all. My goal for next year is to produce ALL of the veg requirements for my wife, son and I, in the back garden. I still want a decent lawn, and the lad's play area. In fact it is to look like a typical suburban back garden. I know about colourful veg that can go in the flower beds, and beans and peas that take up next to no space as they grow right up against the fence, and I plan to mainly grow fast growing veg, such as the 'Chinese' veg (which my Taiwanese mate says aren't Chinese at all). I will also utilise the walls of the house, with strawberries growing from hanging baskets, and purpose built shelves for salad veg to grow on. Does this sound achievable?
Hi Clueless, I've just started a thread with some pics of my back garden veg patch and of the whole garden; including play area and patio, it's definitely achievable...good luck :thumb: http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/edible-gardening/35556-my-veg-patch.html
Obviously it depends on how much veg you eat and the area you have to grow your veggies. I can't quite grow enough for three of us in my veggie plot (it's 10 X 10 yards) although we do have a teenager with hollow legs at home which accounts for most of it. The biggest challenge is getting fresh veggies over winter, and in particular the 'hungry gap' March/April, when you've eaten all the over-wintered produce and the newly sown stuff isn't ready - you need to plan ahead and have spring greens and kale to cover that period. During the summer we have too much, I guess if we were organised we could dry/freeze/preserve a lot more
Allegedly, using the deep bed method of gardening, it is possible to feed a family of 4 all year round just from a bed 10ft x 4ft. So I would say what you are proposing is certainly possible.
Thanks folks. I don't think I can compete with Bilbo next year, but I am inspired by all your words of encouragement.
Clueless, set yourself a target of 3 years, and with the help of GC, and Bilbos motivation. You WILL achieve your ambition.
Good advice from Dai, don't try and do it all in one year, growing your own should be fun - take your time.
Thanks again all. I do have a tendency to take on too much in one go, and then feel ground down with futility when I don't achieve what I want to achieve. I've been trying to set myself more sensible targets for a while now, and am slowly starting to get the hang of it.
I found this interesting article. Its not quite what I had in mind, but might be of interest to others: Edible Ornamental Plants
It is doable Dave, you know you're getting there when you still have some of last years crop when this years is ready. Only got a few jars of pickled Beetroot & Corgettes left & unfortunatley the salted beans got a fungus growing in the tub but we're picking this years now. Only thing i've bought this year was a sack of spuds to see us through till the first earlies were ready, turned out I didn't need it, but it gave the earlies time to get to a decent size anyway. The thing that takes time is processing gluts. You can suddenly find yourself with a kitchen full of all sorts that need bottling, pickling, turned into chutneys & so on. Oh, I have run out of sauce, about a week ago so i'll be making more of that this year. Yesterday I made a meal from last years green tomato paste, corgettes & Beetroot, with this years Cabbage & Onions.
Everything you see in the pictures of my back garden has been done in the space of 2 years and on a 'shoe-string' budget, having a family I can't afford to spend ££££'s on things as much as I'd like too. I started with a blank canvas, a patio and 2 grassed areas, that was it... A lot of stuff has come from Freecycle/Freegle, Carboot Sales, Sales (especially Wilko's), it really is amazing what you can achieve in a short space of time for next to nothing if you put your mind to it. One tip regarding seeds for next years veg is to buy it now as most places (especially wilko's reduce theirs - 75% off currently), it can then be kept in the fridge. I've also kept a pot in the house as a garden fund, I sell some plants on ebay, excess veg via a poster at the end of our drive and we've done odd carboot sales, all procedes being put back into the garden :thumb:
