Growing your own

I have been growing my own vegetables for many years now. The whole back garden is turned over to veggies plus I have an allotment.

There are good and bad years for growing. The present heatwave conditions mean it is a battle just to keep the crops alive, in the hope that the rains come one day.

The whole process though of trying to live off what you can grow, really does bring a special type of discipline to life.

It means really only eating things in season. So tomatoes start coming in late July, early August, running through to late September. Lovely fresh tomatoes throughout the summer. But if you are going to stick to growing your own, it is only then that tomatoes should be eaten. It’s not a case of tripping to the supermarket and buying whatever you want whenever you fancy it.

Broad and runner beans come from June through to September. Excess of these can be frozen and eaten during the rest of the year.

Courgettes and squashes also come in during these months. The latter can be stored to eat as winter closes in.

Kale and broccoli prove good staples for the winter months, providing excellent greens from around November through to April and beyond.

There are many other things ofcourse. Onions, potatoes, salad crops like lettuce, spring onions, radishes etc.

The aforesaid represent my very limited efforts to be self-sufficient in vegetables. The plus is the satisfaction that comes with growing your own, the freshness of the food and the joy of being able to go out and pick the crop whenever you want it.

Drawbacks are sometimes a lack of variety and over production.  I’ve found there is a limit to what can be done with a courgette. I regularly produce far too much of one crop.

Last year, it was broccoli, which I was trying for the first time. It is a great crop but so much was produced that I ended up supplying the road for a while.

It can be a case of over production or total failure on a variety of crops, so its always touch and go. What growing in this way does do is to offer an insight into the challenges that  face the farmers, who produce food for us all.

When growing on an industrial scale to live, you cannot afford to have all your onions fail for some unknown reason. The challenge must be immense.

What is interesting if you try to grow all your own veg is the mixture of the joy that comes from achieving that goal but also an appreciation of the limitations that such an approach places on eating habits throughout the year.

It is though an exercise that I would recommend to all, a chance to reconnect with the earth, create something special and enjoy the rewards of your own endeavours.

published in Wanstead & Woodford Guardian - 16/8/2018 -"The discipline of growing your own dinner"