Tuesday 9 June 2009

On Our Way to Self Sufficiency?

This morning.
 
I think it's about time I did a round up of just what we've got growing in and around the house at the moment.

Food for the future, one of the 15 fruit trees and bushes planted a couple of months ago.

On the kitchen window sill we have tomatoes, garlic, parsley, coriander and basil.

Around the old swing and climbing frame (picture above taken on planting) we have peas and beans.

In the three main veggie beds we have an assortment of potatoes ... earlies, late earlies and one bed of main crop. The first new potatoes should be on our plates by next week.

(This picture taken a couple of weeks ago.)
 
In the smaller mixed veggie bed above we have 1 solitary cauliflower (where did all the others go?), radishes, lovely strong cabbages, red onions, 3 curry plants, 2 heads of rhubarb, a raspberry bush and peas planted around wired edges. Also in the corner of this bed is the strawberry tub, housing 30 strawberry plants and now showing the promise of fruit to come on the top layer.

In the tyres we have courgettes, lettuce, mixed leaf lettuce, carrots, cauliflowers, beetroot, spring onion and Pak Choi.

The chickens are not doing some weird ritual in a circle, they are eating some treats and corn on a tray that Lovely Hubby has just given them!

In the orange buckets we have new potatoes and chives and more beetroot.

And of course fresh every day from the ladies, we have brown eggs.

We have already been eating the mixed salad leaves, Pak choy, lettuce, radish and spring onion. I am about to pickle some of the baby beetroot and I think on the menu tonight will be the first of the baby carrots.

In the week since we have had the chickens, we have used the cracked eggs to make a lovely veggie omelette, we have had three breakfasts of scrambled egg on toast, one breakfast of soft boiled eggs and I have 38 eggs in the larder.

All in all I think we have dipped our little toes in the pool of self sufficiency nicely, and it looks set to expand with the delivery of our new shed today, which has a lovely large glass window so seeds can be grown on a shelf out there too.

Sue xx

9 comments:

  1. Wow, it's all fab, Sue. You've achieved so much, well done. I finally planted up the peas and beans at the weekend, and put the tomatoes and pepper in their bigger, final pots. Now we could just do with some sunshine...
    Hen x

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  2. It all looks fab Sue, well done all of you. Think the climbing frame and swing planters are brill!
    Take care
    Sarah x

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  3. Hi, really enjoying your blog, you have achieved a great deal. do you think you will at some point give up work and be completely self sufficient? Is that the long term plan?

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  4. Our long term plan is to be as self-sufficient as possible. The pigs and then later the worms will be the real income providers on the farm. My husband will never be able to completely give up work as he has a very specialist job, he does however, hope to work towards a two day week.

    Sue xx

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  5. I think that sounds so exciting, particularly the pigs. How will the worms be providing an income?

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  6. you really have achieved lots, well done!
    The photos look fabulous :-)

    Rose XXX

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  7. love the swings as climbing frames and such a cute egg basket too

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  8. How wonderful! I am hoping we will be able to do what you are doing soon. Having grown up in the country growing our own vegetables etc... I am now more than ready to return to that lifestyle having lived in surburbia for more than 20 years!

    I'm really enjoying following your progress.

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  9. The little egg basket is available from Twice
    (www.twiceonline.co.uk. I picked it up at the Country Living Fair in Scotland where they were exhibiting.

    Under the straw is a specially shaped bottom so if you have only a few eggs they stay at the edges and don't roll about and break.

    Sue xx

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