13th May 2007

There has been a bit of a break from the diary - apologies - too much work weighing me down.

I am digging up one of the flower beds ... well, almost three, actually, to put into food production. One will be for vegetables, one for herbs, and one a mixture of flowers and edibles.

Over the past several years, but certainly far more so this year when I have been able to put dreams into practice, I've become very interested in the concept of sustainability. No self-sufficiency, which is almost impossible to attain, and not something I would want to do anyway, but sufficiency - growing as much of my own food as possible.

Perhaps four or five years ago I'd gone down to the local supermarket for a jar of chutney for my lunch sandwich. I was standing in the aisle, looking about, and I suddenly realised what complete shit was on offer. No natural ingredients. Food that had been virtually completely replaced with chemicals. Tastelessness instead of zing. I stomped off home and dug out one of my mother's ancient cookbooks that had been handed down to her by her mother. It dated from the very early twentieth century, and it was full of the most wonderful recipes.

I made my first batch of beetroot chutney - and my life (and most certainly my gardening life) changed utterly.

I got into preserving in a big way - the picture to the left shows part of Nonsuch's preserves cupboard (note the original 120-year old wallpaper). There are various chutneys, tomato ketchup (the yummiest you have ever tasted, I swear), pickled onions, dried rockmelon, apples and pears, preserved butter, canned beetroot and casserole bases among others.

Preserving, canning and drying food got me into hunting out the most natural and organic ingredients I could find, and that, in turn, made me determined to grow my own organic produce. Learning just what goes into modern agriculture and food (the chemicals, the dangers of genetically modified foods) made me even more determined to take control of what I eat.

Most of all, though, it is the sheer satisfaction of growing, tending, then picking my own food - of being able to thumb my nose at modern agriculture and what the gigantic supermarket chains try to force you to eat. I have never felt better, and have never eaten such wonderful food.

So now the flowers are giving way to the veggies. Only a little bit, though. I still love my flowers.

If you haven't ever considered the problems inherent in today's mass production of food, then (when you have a spare hour or two), watch The Future of Food. This used to be available in its entirety on Google video but has now vanished ... there are segments of it available there, though. If ever you have an opportunity to watch this, please do so - it portrays brilliantly what uncontrolled movement towards genetically modified crops has done to the American environment. Both google video and You Tube have lots of documentaries about the crisis in modern food production (and the crises it is producing in our health), but also in the growing sustainability movement.

Later ...

Have pulled out all marrows and zucchinis and the last of the tomatoes and composted down. I've cleared out the flower bed that was, and which will be edibles come spring. I have picked a crop of mild chili's and am drying them. My cabbages, late crop of onions, leeks, rocket and carrots are coming on beautifully.

Oh, and I baked a lovely raspberry teabread from the last of the raspberries.

I thought I might give an account of my first year of produce growing. It was very successful in what I planted, grew, but less successful in that I had little idea of quantities of what I needed, or how much would grow, so I tended to an overabundance in some areas and a shortage in others. That's a learning curve for me, and I will need to sit down during winter and carefully plan out what I need to do differently.

So, what did I grow?

Potatoes: the most successful were the King Edwards, so I might stick with those next growing season and perhaps diversify again the next year. They are keeping well, and every week I go through, sort out those starting to soften, and either use them then and there or make something like soup or potato and leek bake and freeze them.

Onions: mostly cream golds, although I have a crop of early reds in at the moment (possibly the wrong time of the year, but they are doing well!). I need to grow much much more - I use onions so much in preserving that I have little left over to actually eat.

Shallots: very successful, and are keeping well in storage.

Leeks: currently growing well. I need to plant far more next season.

Spinach: Bloomsdale spinach which did well, but I will need to plant more of it next season and freeze it for the winter.

Silverbeet: Five Colour: did very well, may need to plant more and freeze. Beautiful for cooking.

Carrots: mini reds, which are round ball carrots - love them, and I can grow them as needed throughout the year.

Beetroot: Bull's Blood, did very well, but grew a few too many. The greens were lovely for salads. Nice for chutney and I might look at other ways of preserving them. (I did can some, but I am not sure how well they have done - will open some soon.)

Raspberries and strawberries: they did very well for their first year, and I got spring and autumn crops from both. I have ordered more strawberries and may get some more raspberry canes as well. Absolutely lovely produce.

Saladings: rocket, lettuces, radishes, various greens. All did well but I need to learn to stagger plantings!

Tomatoes: they did not do well. For most of the summer they struggled under a load of fungus (I heard many others had the same problem, but maybe it was just me) but very late in the summer and into autumn they came good and actually produced some tomatoes! Many of them I picked a couple of weeks ago for a green tomato chutney before the frost got to them.

Zucchinis: grew well, but I kept forgetting to check them and they grew into gigantic marrows which fed the compost heap rather than me. I may not grow them again next year.

Pumpkins: Galeux d'Eysines. They did well, but I need to get them in earlier and to grow more of them. I had no idea they would spread so! The Galeux d'Eysines produced a lovely fruit with rich orange sweet flesh. Makes beautiful soup and is great for roasting. This variety of pumpkin is covered with warts!

So, that's my main crops. I think I did well for my first season and am happy enough. Next year I will get going far earlier on many of the crops, plant more of many of them, and rethink my tomato strategy

What do I need to get over the winter? A chest freezer so I can freeze and keep more vegetables and produce.