Plus learning to forage and preserve…

I’ve always been into growing my own food, but mostly it has been for fun. When I was a kid we grew runner beans, pumpkins, tomatoes and lettuces and my grandfather grew peas, marrows, potatoes and more. Their generation, and to a lesser extent, my mother’s generation, were used to growing their own. They didn’t grow everything they needed, but they grew what they could with what they had. With the rise of the supermarket that trend has diminished greatly and children growing up now are unlikely to even know where food comes from, let alone know how to grow it themselves.

I never wanted that for my kids and I have always grown something. Bags of potatoes are so easy, for example, as are lettuces and beans. Over the years my vegetable plot has grown bigger and bigger and I soon added chickens and ducks, fruit trees and fruit bushes to the mix. I’ve had my successes and my failures, but failing has never mattered that much before. It’s been frustrating, yes. There are always weeds, pests and the weather to battle with when trying to grow produce, but failing hasn’t bothered me too much and I have always learnt something in the process.

That’s changed now and I wonder how many other hobby growers are feeling the same? I wonder how many people who grew food for fun are now buckling down and upping their game? Planting more than ever and worrying more than ever that some of it will fail…

Recent world events have seen oil prices soar and before long that will impact food prices. People were already struggling with the rising cost of living, so it’s scary to think how much of an impact this is going to have. In recent years, I’ve hugely resented the cost I pay at the checkout and I’ve made an effort to use the supermarkets less and less. I get a weekly organic vegetable box from the wonderful Riverford and I have armed myself with knowledge in the form of books. Yes, I Google things from time to time, but there is something very grounding and safe about actually owning the books…

My be-prepared-for-anything books so far are as follow:

The Self-Sufficient(ish) Bible – by Andy and Dave Hamilton

The Forager’s Calendar – by John Wright

Living on One Acre or Less – by Sally Morgan

A Modern Herbal – by Alys Fowler

The Good Housekeeping Complete Book of Preserving

That should do it! I also really want a drill and the skills to knock up animal shelters and fences, but all in good time!

My aim is to keep adding to my skills and my knowledge, even if I don’t need to use the things I’m learning. At the moment, for example, I’m discovering that many of the weeds and herbs that grow in my garden have huge health benefits. I’ve been making refreshing tonics from cleavers, or goosegrass as it’s also known, and warming teas from rosemary and nettle infusions. I aim to try dandelion next – apparently you can consume every part of this amazing plant, even the roots!

I’ve stopped buying stock and instead make my own by saving vegetable scraps and peelings. I also freeze apple cores and peelings and when I have enough I make my own apple cider vinegar. I’ve learnt how to make a natural cleaner from vinegar and pines cut from the Christmas tree. I bake my own bread, cakes, wraps and pizzas at the weekend. It’s all little bits, and I still shop at the supermarket more than I want to, but it’s a process and I am enjoying it. It feels like reclaiming something we have all lost.

And as for the garden, it’s slowly awakening from its winter slumber. The fruit trees have all blossomed and the plum tree already has tiny green plums growing! I took tons of cuttings from my redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes last year and they’re all now in the ground and doing well. I’ve got potatoes, onions, leeks, parsnips and beetroot in the ground and peas, beans, lettuces, tomatoes and peppers all starting off inside.

It sounds a lot but it does not feel like enough! Not by a long shot. I’ve got some wheat I plan to plant in one bed as I’d love to try and mill my own flour. I have a small packet of oat seeds to try as well.

I am sure there will be many, many failures along the way but it really does feel imperative that I grow more than usual, that it succeeds as much as possible – just in case!

I now have two weeks off work for Easter and plan to be outside as much as possible, planting more seeds, transplanting seedlings, making more raised beds and filling with compost. I’ll be exhausted but perhaps I will sleep better at night.