It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

London_1

I've been wondering if ,as the prices are rising for food so quickly how long it will be before we will all be "digging for Victory" as was done 80 years ago when the country was struggling to feed itself.
 Owing to arthritis and disability I find it almost impossible to grow very much in my garden anymore , (bending is very difficult) but a sunny window ledge will give me mustard and cress (in an egg sanwich delicious and extremely easy to grow) maybe a living lettuce or two, and I've even grown a chilli plant and some peppers in my conservatory..

Anyone else thinking of growing a little bit.My youngest DD has three energetic dogs (ones a lolloping leggy greyhournd rescue dog ) which tend to faltten anything in their way , but she has some boxes with hooks on that she's fixed out of their reach and is growing stawberries in and they are looking pretty good even though they are 6 foot up hanging from her back fence.She has a long wall to the left of her property and has numerous baskets and boes fixed to them full of flowers and odds and ends that seem to flourish pretty well and the dogs enjoy the grass to run around on. basically if she can hang it on the wall she will grow stuff in it  

JackieO xx

Woolsery

London_1 said:

I've been wondering if ,as the prices are rising for food so quickly how long it will be before we will all be "digging for Victory" as was done 80 years ago when the country was struggling to feed itself.

Interest in home grown increased significantly during the lockdown period in 2020, as evidenced by suppliers running out of many seeds in that spring/early summer.

I suspect even if it's waned since, the home growing phenomenon will revive very rapidly. It's not too late for many crops harvestable this year. As you say, almost everyone can do something. Some cut & come again leaves in a couple of alternating troughs will boost anyone's vitamin intake added to sandwiches etc.

annieb64

We are in a new build so having to start from scratch with the garden. The builders just turfed the lawn. DH is slowly digging a border around the edge. We've put a row of runner beans against one fence and a couple of courgette plants grown from seeds left over from last year. We have three tomatoes in a grow bag and lettuce, peas and French beans in troughs.  The peas were grown from a packet of dried peas that I bought for sprouting a couple of years ago.

DD has given us a fig tree as a house warming present and we plan to put a couple of raised beds down the far side of the garden.  The main problem is that the ground is compacted and hard as iron.  

Bluegreen143

We usually do grow some veg and soft fruit, on a very amateur basis (ie with plenty of disasters which don’t turn into harvestable crops!) but we are having some building work in the garden this year so currently it’s all dug up. We’ll still get blackcurrants and gooseberries and some strawberries and I’ve got pots of herbs. Thinking I need to sow some lettuce in pots at least.

Sayschezza

Woolsery said:

Sayschezza said:

Has anyone seen the vlog of Frugal Queen in France on u tube. The post called getting ready for rationing (or something similar) is well worth a look and is funny in a sad way. Can't do links sorry.

I can:

https://www.youtube.com/c/FrugalQueeninFrance

Elle n'est pas Francais!

Thank you Woolsery.

euronorris

Oh I love growing my own stuff. Space and time is limited, but I do what I can and this year I am trying to focus on growing things that are know for producing in excess.

Early potatoes will be ready around July (ironically I was a bit late planting them). My elephant garlic will be ready in a couple weeks (they are almost ready now). Strawberries are already producing. The summer producing raspberries are already fruiting, but not ready or ripe yet. Same for the blueberries.

Also on the go are various varieties of tomatoes, including baby varieties, onions, several mange tout plants, and I started off some cucumbers, courgettes, cut and come again lettuce, basil, beetroot, leek, carrots, spring onions, runner beans and French beans. I'm a bit late with some of them, but am far south enough, with a suntrap garden, that I can get away with it and still see a good crop. Oh, and I have a pepper plant on the windowsill. I've tried then outside before, but I don't have a greenhouse and despite being a suntrap garden, I don't think it stays consistently warm enough for peppers.

I managed to snag another too good to go box last night, from Morries. About £11 worth of food for £3.09 this time. Though, a chunk of that was from an item I'd consider to be very overpriced jn the first place. It was a little set of mango, yoghurt and museli, that is usually 2.49 at full price!!! I had it for breakfast, it was very nice, but £2.49?! 

Doom_and_Gloom

JakieO ~ we've got small garden (6.5 metres ish by around 1.8metres I believe) with our ground floor flat and we are finally getting round to sorting it this year. I'm very aware that even this garden size makes us rather lucky in our area.
We can't grow in the ground due to what was previously here but we are doing two rasised beds (making sure no contamination happens) of 1.2 metres by 0.8 metres and containers along side them. I've already started some courgettes, kuri squash and hokkaido squash as well as peas and beans to transplant later into beds or containers; nearly all have sprouted already. In a long container I've already got salad leaves growing. I've also put some kale seeds in another container recently and am waiting for them to sprout. I have some spinach and chard seeds that I will do later in the season.
My mushroom kit (a birthday gift last month) doesn't seem to want to produce but I am preserving with it just in case but soon may have to say about a refund/replacement as I followed the instructions perfectly and it should be showing something by now.
Due to the local cats I have bought a growhouse/greenhouse for the raised beds to go in as I'd rather not put in all the effort for it to be ruined by them. Was a faff finding one that could fit our needs due to our small space but I am hopeful it will work. Just waiting on the delievery later in the week.
I didn't start early enough to do tomatoes, peppers or chilli plants otherwise I'd have at least a couple of each of them going also. Next year I hope to.

JakieO like you I have mobility problems due to my disability and I have alot of pain with it but I'm hoping that I can grow this much, if not I hope the OH will fill in the needed work so it isn't wasted.
About a decade or so ago when we lived with my parents for a while I had a vegetable patch there. I really enjoyed it and while I would love a vegetable patch that size again I doubt I would be able to now as even then, when I wasn't as bad as I am now, it was a lot for me. I really wish my dad had continued with it instead of letting it all grow over when we moved out. I really do see it as a waste every time I go over and see what it is now but it isn't my garden.

TheAble

Possibly there is some money to be saved with GYO if you have the time to devote to it (time which might not otherwise be spent more profitably). I enjoy the hobby myself but not convinced it's a huge money saver. The effort that goes into growing broccoli for example when it can be had in the supermarket for £1.40/kg; a kilo of carrots for 29p etc. But maybe for some items.

Siebrie

We have in our garden, on a permanent basis, requiring just a few hours each year:
- raspberries (which I let grow wild)
- strawberries (I remove the oldest plants and about half of the youngest every other year; I don't mulch)
- 2 cherry trees. Only 1 bears fruit, but the other has lovely flowers, acts as pollinator for the fruitbearing one, and acts as privacy screen against the neighbours. I prune harshly every year; a pigeon can fly through.
- rhubarb
- redcurrants (I prune every year)
- red gooseberries (I definitely prune harshly every year, for easy picking)
- black grapes. Tiny, with pips, but very flavourful, so I cook them. (Pruning at the end of the season)
- sage, thyme, chive, lovage

in the windowsill: cress and basil.

if I plant something it has to cope on its own, I don't have time for coddling. I might throw some fertilizer or compost around a plant if I remember, but that's basically it.

I do take my time harvesting and preserving the harvest.

JinJinBlue

My soil is solid clay so very difficult to grow veg in. I have a greenhouse with peppers, tomatoes and cucumber growing. Outside in planters I have peas, beans, onions carrots, beetroot, leeks, turnips, parsnips and potatoes. I have strawberry plants in a hanging basket and a couple of raspberry plants. I'm very tempted to get some pillar fruit trees but still trying to decide. I'm using companion planting to deter bugs and attract bees and butterflies. I like to look at John Harrison's site. He does the gardening and his wife does the recipies.

https://www.allotment-garden.org 

I suppose I'm looking at this as a hobby which gets me out into the fresh air and may help the budget a bit. Talking of which, all my compost was free from the local recycling centre and the seeds came from Mr L1D1, the onion sets came from £l**nd and the potatoes were a couple that were past eating and were sprouting. 

Gardening can be an expensive hobby and I'm always looking for bargains and cheap or free ways to do it.