Becoming self sufficient from scratch-my diary

Rummer

Hello Moozle! I am in Scotland too and we grow lots of fruit bushes in our garden and they do really well! I would steer away from the fungus but there are lots of other wold foods that you can forage for that are less likely to kill you :eek:.

We are planting a huge variety of fruit and veg this year and I will follow your journey with interest!

Moozle_2

Well not much progress outside today, up to now its been raining, hailing, snowing.... everything. But, I did look after my friends son before nursery and earned £5 which will go into the garden fund.

SmlSave

Hi Moozle, just popping on to say and I look forward to readung about your journey to self sufficienty

Moozle_2

You will all have to bear with me for photos.... apparently i'm too new yet to be allowed .

maxdp

Hi Moozle

Will be really interested to read your experiences of self sufficiency on here. Well done to you.

betterlife

hi moozle, i will enjoy following your journey as i am also on the same journey like you to self sefficiency. i am a mum of 4 (8yrs, 5yrs, 3yrs and 8mths) i live in the torbay area of devon, and this year is the start of our journey. so far i have enclosd the end of my garden and got myself two ducks i male and on female, the female should start laying eggs soon ,she is a khaki campbell and are known to lay as many if not more eggs as your best hen, i am also hoping to raise some ducklings from her. we have a raised bed with 8 rhubarb plants in which are already looking great. i have an enclose fruit patch whic has 15 autumn raspberry canes, 2 gooseberries, 1 blueberry, 1 blackcurrent and 1 red current. i also bought a polytunnel this year which is up and running, its 15ft x 6.6ft and so far i have planted some of the follow - leeks, shallots, pea`s, brocolli, carrots, mongetout,strawberries, brussel sprout and savoy cabbage. some of these are smaller/quick growing varieties which will be long gone before the long growers need more space. outside in doing potatoes, sweetcorn, swede, runnerbeans and french beans, ive also got a greenhouse which will have toms, cucumber , chilli`s and melons. on the patio i will do some lettuces and have herbs for cooking and some which i want to grow for hopefully h/m bath/beauty product. im also bringing on more seeds (as im enjoying it) for selling at carboots to make some extra cash. wow that sounds alot! will i fit it all in lol, god im going to be busy. ive bought some waterbutts from recycled centre and i have 2 connected to house guttering, 1 is outside backdoor so easy access to patio etc, 1 is halfway up garden and 1 is not connected just up by ducks so i collect there dirty pool water for watering my plants with, they also have rainwater for the pool, there bedding in there house goes in the compost bin. so at the moment things are working well !

Moozle_2

Wow betterlife, you seem to be well on the way. :T I am hoping to be at a similar stage to you this time next year. How do you manage to fit in all the work round the kids? That seems to be my major hurdle at the moment,:rolleyes: especially with my youngest who is just 2 and you cant take your eyes off him for a second :eek: . It does'nt help that my garden is terraced on a hill and not very child friendly.
What are duck eggs like? Are they comparable in taste to hens eggs?

Moozle_2

Going to lift my compost bin today, I've had it about a year and its full to the brim. Cant wait to see whats inside,:o I havent really peeked, hope im not dissapointed. See..... all the fun I would miss out on if I had loads of money!:rotfl:

Ken68

Once the bin is empty, Moozle, you could put kiddie in there



This is part of my veg garden, triangle piece. surprising what you can squeeze in.

betterlife

Moozle wrote: »

Wow betterlife, you seem to be well on the way. :T I am hoping to be at a similar stage to you this time next year. How do you manage to fit in all the work round the kids? That seems to be my major hurdle at the moment,:rolleyes: especially with my youngest who is just 2 and you cant take your eyes off him for a second :eek: . It does'nt help that my garden is terraced on a hill and not very child friendly.
What are duck eggs like? Are they comparable in taste to hens eggs?

hi, well the 2 older children are at school, my little girl who is 3 next week loves helping so nanny is getting her , her own gardening tools for her birthday lol, if weather is nice baby comes out in pram, or i go out when he has his nap and take intercom out with me. as for ducks eggs this variety will be a little bigger than chic egg , yolk is yellower and tastes slightly richer more eggy, yummy great for cooking/baking etc apparently most top chiefs prefer to use them so ive heard, have fun.