Free Food Challenge

taplady

carrierbag full of french beans, large bag of tomatoes,8 large bakewell tarts and 8 large fruit cakes!(from a damaged pallet wher my OH works but all in perfect nick just have slightly squashed boxes!)

parkersages

I got lots of Free Love that certainly counts with me anyway

brokenwings

potatoes, tomatoes, green beans and gooseberries from my dads garden , eggs from his ducks and hens.

hesmy

They've stopped it now,but I've often been paid by Sainsbury's for having food.Their computers were so screwed up they would give you the BOGOF discount no matter what you paid.So,plums at £2.99,reduced to 99p,99+99-2.99=£1 free.I did this twice,so 3.2 kilos of plums for nothing and they gave me two quid.

123xyz

A pheasant, a partridge and a pidgeon. Made three family sized pies with the meat, so with all the free veg available at the moment, that feeds a family for 3 days for nothing!

blackberry-rum

I get free potatoes from my compost heap every year where I've thrown in bits of spud (obviously with eyes in). It's a lovely clean way to grow potatoes, I probably got about 3 lbs this year! Plus blackberries and blackcurrants self seeded in the YARD (not garden) that I encourage, I pick pounds of the berries.

blackberry-rum

And I take in two pieces of (usually bought) fruit for my boss each day cos she doesn't eat properly, and in return I get six eggs a week from her backyard hens!

blackberry-rum

Waiting for the mushrooms (ceps) in my neighbours enormous garden, she won't pick them so I'm allowed to!

gingerdad

Lots of blackberries,
From MIL we got Damson Jam, Damson Pie, Damson Trifle, Strawberry Jam, some scones and some Damson Gin.
From next doors (2nd home they said we could pick what we want) we have had some apples and plums) (also got loads of strawberries and rasberries earlier in the year)
Ruhbarb from a friend.

and yesterday got some nice ice cream and some cakes from a stall at the end of the day at a local farmers show

YiS

GD

schoolfundraiser

6 Free tomato plants from the neighbour (grown in old buckets) mean I have a bumper crop of tomatoes so I'm the one giving a few away. I may need to make chutney this year. Also eed to make a note to self for next year to sow half a dozen french beans and runner beans on a weekly basis until mid may to ensure I get a good succession as I am short of beans at the moment! The neighbour with 2 allotments has just given me a football sized cabbage and promised onions when they have ripened off and I am waiting to visit my Dad for apples and pears and homemade jam from his soft fruit glut.

Has anyone out there tried sowing broad beans in buckets in November for an early crop next year?

Garlic cloves planted in January give a crop by May - not large but very tasty. The experts all say you should buy the specially prepared ones but I use the ones you buy in the greengrocer. I should think the risk is of virus and other diseases passing into your soil but growing in tubs and windowboxes should be fine.

Coriander seeds from a spice packet will grow too - no need to buy the special seed packets.