help in feeding family of 5

DaftyDuck

seeking_happines wrote: »

is there a thread for growing your own food cheaper than you can buy it for ?

Not that I know of! In general, it's a lot of effort, and not huge returns, so those saying it's cheaper to buy are sorta right... However, if you've got the garden space, find petrol and travel to shops expensive, and have teenagers oh-so willing to work, you are onto a winner.

You asked about herbs on a windowsill. Garlic is actually quite slow growing. Planted in late autumn, harvested next summer (although you can plant in the spring). Just like spuds, if you have some individual cloves of garlic, why not? You can also harvest the leaves and use like chives, garlicky ones! Chives are easy, can be grown from seed, or from splitting bulbs of chives from a ready grown plant. You can use the chive pots sold at supermarkets as a starter for this, or ask around any nearby gardeners. Most are keen to start someone else on the bug... I'm always offering passers-by bits when they comment on a plant.... sadly, Kent is not Norfolk! Parsley and basil are both easy to grow. Again, you are possibly later than perfect, but it'll grow fine enough, and is also available in the pound shops, amongst others. (The £ shop packets are actually six packets of seed in one... so excellent value). Yes to RAS's Lidl; their seeds are 29p a packet for the simple stuff. I don't think they are on display in my local Lidl or Aldi, but ask, and I bet they are just not on display. Wilko is also a good cheapie for seeds.

For getting hold of plants like chives and seed, consider asking on Freecycle.... and looking for nearby good-looking gardens and asking advice.... with an 11yo in tow to ask "mum, mum, can we get some, mum..." I'd be amazed if some cuttings or seed wasn't forthcoming!

While I remember, there's a board about four above gardening, Old Style Moneysaving. ... They're super-hot at spreading food out, cheap recipe ideas and the like.

Farway

Unfortunately hops are one of the lesser ingredients of beer, just used for flavouring, main ingredients will be barley & sugar, not a cheap option

However, I can promise yo blackberry wine, and same for elderberry, is superb, but you do need to but sugar

PS I know you are out of town, but Wilkinson's have half price seeds, so know would be time to get say runner / French bean seeds for next year, they may be Freegle options in area, and perhaps seed swaps

RAS

The thing that is massively cheaper to grow than buy is soft fruit, if you can get the plants cheap.

If you know someone who has soft fruit bushes, ask them for their prunings this autumn. Select nice longer stems, remove the buds from the bottom 9-12 inches (except black currants) and bury half that length in the soil. In two years time you will start to pick your own fruit. You can cordon gooseberries, red currants and white currants.

They require very little work, but some feeding (get the boys to wee in a bucket and dilute 1:5 in the spring). I can eat soft fruit for breakfast for nothing that would cost £6 in the shops.

You can probably get rhubarb crown from someone for nothing and that will harvest for years.

seeking_happines

thanks faraway...my nearest wilko is 40 mins away so not a viable option, i do like the sound off all that wine.....mmmmm

Ras...i can just see my boys faces when i tell them where to pee....lol and as for the lasagna be...thought you ate it ! will google it later over a cupper,

my oh is not as keen on the veg growing but as long as it doesnt affect hem he is ok,

i might be able to beg some garlic of a friend so that should be a go,

i can see me being busy but its cheeper than a gym membership and more fun....

thanks to all

RAS

it's about making maximum use of free materials.

Try googling "greening the desert" - wee in that too.

DaftyDuck

I mentioned Freecycle earlier. Maybe try a post pointing out what you are trying, and asking if anyone has any bits and bobs to help.

Faraway is right about hops for beer, and wine is easy to make. You'll need a demijohn, but ask on Freecycle for one.

Cally_Smart

We are on a tight budget also.I do like good food & want to provide the best nutrition for us all.It isnt really going to be much cheaper when you take in all the considerations like price of seeds.fertilizer,etc but it is rewarding and gets you out in the fresh air.Carrots arent really worth growing if youre tight on space they are only 39p a pound in the shops !I grew some lovely maroon mangetout called called Shiraz -you dont see those in the shops very often! Look out for some seeds in the end of season garden centre sale.I got most of mine ,for this years sowings, last year in the sale.They have a generous sow by date and good germination rate.Its the slugs that were the killer they ate every single bean in 3 different batches !Also Wilkos do 3 for price of 2 quite often. What I do find are that herbs-mostly unfussy (except basil maybe !) work wonders livening up your regular meals. Get growing herbs reduced at end of day in supermarket if they still look healthy & plant them out doors in the garden.I got my Rosemary like that this week,mint is so rampant you need to put it in a pot sunk in the garden or it goes everywhere.A sprig is lovely put into new potatoes as you cook them -I make mint tea -saves on my teabags. I would suggest growing things with high yields like runner beans (but keep the slugs off them !)Tomatoes .Ive got several different kinds dotted around the garden and is so nice to pick fresh when you need them ,saves waste. My best tip is go to supermarket at end of day when they do last reductions and plan your meals around that.We turned an area by the side of our house into a raised bed but tomatoes need more sun so are in the southfacing back garden.Ive grown broad beans,beetroot and chard which is a bit like spinach not sure its a particular favourite of teenage boys though!Makes me feel very proud though that ive grown things myself. I follow a lady on word press called, not just greenfingers ,who has several allotments but she has some great ideas & has a plan of seasonal things to do at each time of the year.She really is an inspiration of what you can grow.

I_have_spoken

is there a thread for growing your own food cheaper than you can buy it for ?

Pretty sure there has been, try searching the forum. IIRC for the basics of root veg. your not going to grow the quantities a family needs without an allotment.

For much produce, you have the problem of gluts and having to find ways of preserving and/or freezing, and it costs money in jars and ingredients to make jam and pickle onions etc.

Fancy stuff like pink fir apple potatoes you can grow cheaper in theory, but you may as well just seek out bargains in the shops on Sunday evening.

ALIBOBSY

RAS wrote: »

Borrow Joy Larkcom "Growing Vegetables" from the library. At the back there is an article about growing salads in a polytunnel over winter. The list would be very useful to you for the green house.

Winter onion sets and garlic need to go in outside soon and it might worth a planting of broad beans outside as well.

You might also be able to grow spring cabbage; start in the ghouse now and plant out next month.

Google lasagne bedding if you need to get growing space but do not have time to dig.

And forage now til the first frosts.

Cheap seeds come from lidl and a few other sources.

Don't know what the soil is like near you, but we had great success with CK's method for garlic as we have heavy clay soil. We planted the cloves in module trays with compost in the unheated greenhouse-coldframe would be fine.

Herbs can and will grow on window sills, the problem is not so much keeping the frost off as the low light levels later in the year. I would say get the herbs growing now outside when the sun will bring them on, then bring into the house.

If you get going quick with things like Basil you can pick and dry/freeze the leaves for later in the year. Salads and oriental leaves are great and grow well even in an unheated greenhouse.

I always look at seed packets as a guide and this time of year sometimes (like early spring) you take a punt on the weather. If we get the first frost late and have a mild or even warm autumn (not unheard of around here to not get even a ground frost till early November) you have maybe 10 weeks left to grow outside-longer with cover.

TBH I have so many seeds-pick em up when they sell off this time of year or the brilliant cheapy seeds from Lidl/Aldi and you soon build up a supply, I will take punt on a few things now, that may or may not get going. Having the greenhouse gives me a backup though as I can stick stuff in pots now and if the weather turns later on they can be moved into the GH-so going to try a courgette plant in a pot just for the heck of it.

But look at winter cabbage-pointy is good and quite quick growing-I am sticking some more "pixie" seeds in this week, salads, raddish, salad onions, beetroot, swede, carrots, and if you like it chard is brilliant and you get leaves all winter.
Hardier peas like "meteor" can go in now for early pods in the spring-eat them young as whole pods for real value for money.

Troll around local diy sheds and garden centres and you will see seeds and plants being slashed in price to get rid of. We got some chilli plants dirt cheap a couple of weeks ago and they may not produce this year, but will stay in the GH till the cold nights, then into the house till next year-sometimes chillis/peppers produce the odd fruit on the sill.

It can depend on what your local weather is like and if you have any cover -GH, poly tunnel, cold frame, cloches etc.

TBH I am a bit of a maverick and will bang stuff in even if the packet says its too early/late as the seasons can slip each way and we have a sheltered veg plot with cover.

Get foraging as well, rosehip syrup has been a revelation this year. A bowl of homemade value porridge with a swirl of rosehip syrup is hard to beat for a cheap nutricious breakfast.

Good Luck

Ali x

ALIBOBSY

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Pretty sure there has been, try searching the forum. IIRC for the basics of root veg. your not going to grow the quantities a family needs without an allotment.

For much produce, you have the problem of gluts and having to find ways of preserving and/or freezing, and it costs money in jars and ingredients to make jam and pickle onions etc.

Fancy stuff like pink fir apple potatoes you can grow cheaper in theory, but you may as well just seek out bargains in the shops on Sunday evening.

No need to buy jars for preserving, just recycle old ones-tell all your friends and a lot will have jars to give you or can save them from when they finish a pot of jam/pickle. Plus you can make jam/cordials etc and just freeze.

I have a row of various preserves in my stores with the only cost being value white vinegar and bags of basic granulated sugar (aldi). Extra pectin or preserving sugar is a waste of money.

Ali x

BTW agree about spotting bargains, we had about 10 bags of leeks a couple of months back all reduced to 10p in local asda-prepped and chopped and frozen ready to add into winter stews later on.

Do you have any local markets? Often the stalls sell stuff off at the end of the day. Now is the time of year when prices should be the best for most fresh veg so grab bargains and get freezing for the winter.

I also look at Aldi's super 6 each week and Lidl's weekend offers and stock up when its useful stuff.