Last year we managed to go four months without having to buy in any vegetables. We lived on what we grew in our garden.
This year I upped my target to six months. We have made it!
Our first useful harvests of potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, swede (and strawberries) started in May. By June we were getting enough variety of vegetables from the garden to supply all our meals.
We have managed to keep harvesting all the way through the summer.
Amazingly we are still getting sufficient in vegetables in late November.
Today I brought in from the garden carrots, turnips, onions, cauliflower and potatoes.
So for the six months from June through to November we have not had to buy any vegetables from the supermarket.
The only items in the veg department we have bought in have been mushrooms, a few cans of baked beans and one bag of frozen peas that came as part of a special offer. Hopefully I can get a free pass on those - although I would really like to get into mushroom growing next year. Better still I would like to gain the confidence to gather wild mushrooms.
I really am very happy with this achievement. I am surprised I have managed to keep cropping so well this late in the year.
Now I am looking forward to setting an even more challenging target for next year.
For 2018 I am going for vegetable independence for 8 months of the year.
I am pretty certain with the polytunnel and greenhouses in place I can bring forward the harvesting season by at least 6 weeks, and add at least another two to three weeks to the growing season at the other end.
Wouldn't it be super cool to produce all the vegetables for our 2018 Christmas dinner fresh from the garden.
Parsnips, carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts ... I think it could be doable.
You might also be interested in some of my other posts :
A Directory of Homesteading Skills, Knowledge and Expertise on steemit - contributors wanted?
A Dollar A Day - an update on my way of supporting charitable causes on steemit
Homesteaders & Preppers on steemit - smashing through the 250 mark - v10 [22 Nov '17]
The Truth about Wales - scary statistics revealed. How can we improve the retention rate?
Cabbages coming out of my ears - Heading for Brassica Independence Day
The Steemit Guide to Homesteading : a Global Adventure in Collaborative Curation
SteemTowns - connecting the virtual with the reality - would it be possible?
[all images by @pennsif ]
