Our Own Food

One of the delights that has crept up on us almost unawares is the proportion of each meal that is now coming from our own veggie patch.

I thought it was about time I produced a little list, as much for my own information as anything else. This Blog is being used as our Diary so we can look back every now and then on the progress we are making and the many mistakes (if we don't learn from them, there's no point in making them...that's my excuse!!)

At the moment we are eating from:

The Veggie Beds

Onions

Potatoes (Redskin and White) - Now stored in sacks. Runner Beans Spring Onions Lettuce Rocket Radish Courgette Carrot

The PolyTunnel

Rocket

Green Peppers

Radish

Sage Chives

Basil

Thinnings (to garnish and add extra nutrition) The Freezer

Peas

Beans Strawberries Vegetable Soups

The Store Cupboard Strawberry Jam

Courgette and Tomato Sauce

Tomato and Onion Sauce

Pickled Beetroot

and of course Courtesy of My Lovely Ladies

Free Range Eggs

I'm sure there's more but that's just a list off the top of my head. We decided that this year would be our trial year, to see what we could produce, how successful and tasty things were and what we would like to expand on (or drop) for next year.

I know now that everything on the above lists has been successful and yummy, and will all be repeated, my BIG blunder this year was to forget to plant any Pumpkins...oops!

Our main failing has been down to the chickens eating so much of what we thought they wouldn't, one of the importat things being our lovely Rhubarb plants. Just as they were reaching perfection they were eaten, stalks, leaves and everything, the leaves are supposed to be poisonous to all living things (tell that to my girls).

At the moment we are out every other night gathering blackberries, each nights pickings are frozen to await the making of jams and jellies for the storecupboard.

Nearing ripeness are our inherited Damson trees, we've found about four up to now all bursting with fruit, so my next task is to pour over recipe books and get all the necessary ingredients in for a Damson jam, jelly, cheese making session. (I hope I like Damsons!!)

The PT is bursting with life, with seedlings erupting from every bed, and last weekend we purchased four already fruiting Lemon and Lime trees, a huge Chilli plant and assorted bushes and trees to go outside the PT to start our little fruit area.

Productivity and fruitfulness, a real sense of achievement!

Sue xx