Dig for Victory - Mark II

Scarlett25

I've tried growing food in my garden but after slugs, flies and various other pests ate it I grow things in my small greenhouse now!

At the moment I've got tomatoes, hanging cherry tomatoes, lettuces, spring onions and strawberries growing and I'm seeing if I can grow peppers from seeds I've taken from a red pepper!

Primrose

I have a vegetable patch in my back garden, but instead of growing shrubs in the front garden, one border has gooseberry bushes and strawberries and the other border contains black and red currants. And there's a small grape vine up against a south facing fence. The only spare space is reserved for parking the car!

Davesnave

So - come on Britain - get out those trowels and Dig for Victory (only this time round Victory consists of getting Britain to produce more than the teensy 48% of its own food that is all we produce at present).

Our level of "food security" as a nation is appallingly low.

Not much response to this thread, though it's probably one of the more interesting ones.

Of course lots of folk are not using their gardens for food production at present, because they either don't need to, or they feel that the effort is not worth the end product. After all, the majority of us live within easy striking distance of a supermarket and, lets face it, a row or two of veg in the front garden isn't going to increase your street cred like a new Chavmobile on the drive!

But, we've already passed Peak Oil and reliable sources suggest we might have 15 years' worth left, if the Chinese and the Indians don't buy too many BMWs, that is. Then what? How does all that foreign food get here if it isn't by oil powered transport?

Hydrogen power? Only in our dreams, I fear.

'Oh, they'll come up with something.' Yes, rationing. Long before the 15 years is up too.

It's a fine balance between 'maintaining growth' and 'doing what's best for the environment,' like it was too difficult to sustain the false economy based upon lending to those who hadn't the means to pay. For years people warned that the Crash would come, and nobody listened.

Now, we hear that the government is 'listening.' What a cop out! Some sections of the electorate are squealing because they're feeling the pinch, but the government should be proactive instead of reactive. It should be planning for the world 10 years hence, not trying to fiddle a bit here and a bit there to ameliorate short-term pain. Great Britain PLC needs a major operation, not a herbal tea and a lie down!

Rant over....I'm off down the garden to step on a few snails.....

mirry

people are growing more than before I believe ,
I have increased my pots of veg this year and my friends are all doing the same , I even got a phone call from my sister asking me how to grow lettuce. When walking the dog the other day, I notised some houses were growing runner beans in the front of their houses .

I was in summerfield this week and a bag of 6 apples were £1.90 :eek: ,
so I am pleased I have a apple tree now . And the lettuce is £1.69 for a small bag . No wonder people have had enough , if people are not growing vegtables - I bet they have cut back buying them .

ceridwen

Davesnave wrote: »

Not much response to this thread, though it's probably one of the more interesting ones.

Of course lots of folk are not using their gardens for food production at present, because they either don't need to, or they feel that the effort is not worth the end product. After all, the majority of us live within easy striking distance of a supermarket and, lets face it, a row or two of veg in the front garden isn't going to increase your street cred like a new Chavmobile on the drive!

But, we've already passed Peak Oil and reliable sources suggest we might have 15 years' worth left, if the Chinese and the Indians don't buy too many BMWs, that is. Then what? How does all that foreign food get here if it isn't by oil powered transport?

Hydrogen power? Only in our dreams, I fear.

'Oh, they'll come up with something.' Yes, rationing. Long before the 15 years is up too.

Rant over....I'm off down the garden to step on a few snails.....

Well....you could try eating those snails:D Rather you than me on that one;) But yes....I think its "nuts" (not of the nutritional variety) to trust "them to come up with something"...I don't think so. I see they now have a scientific advisor talking about "food security".....well, let's just hope he speaks at a rate of knots and they listen and act.

I wouldnt think so much that it could be rationing per se - but rationing of a sort certainly...ie rationing by price (if you've got money you can have it - if you haven't then tough).

There is a natural human tendency not to plan very far ahead...and I do understand this...it is scary to take a good clear look round to work out how best to live one's life..taking into account the society one finds oneself in. But personally - I wish I had done so a good deal sooner than I did...so I do think it is necessary for us all to take that good clear look at our own available resources and at the level of resources available on a larger scale.

Au contraire on the street cred front - I think it would gain someone on the street cred front to rip up the front lawn and plant vegetables instead:cool:

olly300

ceridwen wrote: »

Au contraire on the street cred front - I think it would gain someone on the street cred front to rip up the front lawn and plant vegetables instead:cool:

In my area you do see people growing veg in their front garden because their back garden gets no sun. So on one side of a street you will see people growing veg in their front garden but on the other side you won't see people growing veg from the road at all.

In addition there are a lot of flats like mine who do have gardens or balconies at the back, and you won't see us growing veg from the street.

jawa1

For the first time ever veg seeds out sold flower seeds at B&Q this year.

SEE

ceridwen wrote: »

Where IS all this food everyone is said to be growing?

Having been on a long bus ride in my area yesterday it struck me forcibly that I literally hadn't spotted one single bit of food growing in any of the numerous gardens I had passed.

I'm envious of all these houses with decent gardens - as I've only a tiny little backyard (and a large part of that is overshadowed by a massive great wall - thus reducing food-growing opportunities even more).

Nevertheless, I have "girded my loins" and I'm having a go - so I've got some tomato plants, a spaghetti squash, a courgette plant and a nasturtium in that teensy bit of backyard that DOES get a fair bit of sun and am having a go at growing a couple of types of salad leaves in some trays on the kitchen windowsill to see what happens.

A conversation started up on the bus between me and several of the other passengers - and another one joined in saying "I was just thinking about what I heard you saying - you're right - come to think of it - I haven't seen any either! Why should all these supermarkets have our money?".

So - come on Britain - get out those trowels and Dig for Victory (only this time round Victory consists of getting Britain to produce more than the teensy 48% of its own food that is all we produce at present).

Our level of "food security" as a nation is appallingly low.

(Having been called "the resident queen of linkies" then I cant end without giving an apt one:

www.growingcommunities.org

and rocketgardens produce "readymade" food plants sold on line if, like me, the thought of growing them from seed is all too much or you dont have the space.

Further inspiration is on Rosengeranium's blog (she is a Swedish indoor gardener - but the blog is written in English):

http://indoorgardener.blogspot.com/

(I rather like her 7 June post on rooftop gardens).

Hi there, I don't know how big your patch is, but if you have a solid wall and some sunshine try this:D

Build yourself a frame onto the wall, 8ft fence posts are ideal, and treated against rot.

Stagger the fence posts, and fasten chicken wire to them to make pockets, and you can then grow your fruit and veg vertical. Line your pockets with old wooly jumpers, or moss:D My design is attached, but excuse it, it's a bit rushed. When you can't grow out, grow up:D

ceridwen

I was going to put comments/useful links re this thread on here

- but didnt want to "double up" - so have put them on today's entry (ie 15 June) on my blog:

http://chezceridwen.blogspot.com/

Right - now really must go and water my own plants!;)

Larumbelle

I think a lot of people are having a go on a small scale this year. I was surprised that after I showed friends what I was growing, a couple of them decided to do the same and started their own little plots straight away. These are people who have never shown any interest before in their own garden space, or (so far as I know) the food that they eat. But they are getting into it now, we had a little outing to Ryton Gardens yesterday and it was amazing. OH and myself are members and go regularly, but it was their first time, and it was like... I don't know, like a kid tasting chocolate for the first time or something. The possibilities of this as a lifestyle dawned on them and we all left fired up with new ideas for projects. Maybe it's a flash in the pan, but maybe it's the beginning of something great. But going on them, I'd say that education and the availability of information plays a large part.

Unfortunately the larger proportion of my friends asked why on earth I was doing it. Their reasoning being that if the food you usually eat becomes unaffordable, you just find something else cheaper and eat that instead. Food is just fuel to them. Actually, not even that, becuase when they buy fuel they try to get the right stuff for the job, they have concerns about sustainability and they make some concessions towards the environment. Where food is concerned they'd rather not think about any of the difficult questions. They avidly watch Hugh F-W but then go and buy the cheapest chicken nuggets they can find anyway, and kid themselves that somehow they are nothing to do with what they've just seen on TV :rolleyes:. And if you can divorce yourself from reality to that degree, it's very easy to go and by a week's food for £20 from Iceland. I don't understand it, it frustrates me, but what can I do? Give them a lecture about it? I don't want to become some smug bore about these things, sometimes you have to accept that every excuse will come out until people are ready to face up to things.

I think that all of the issues raised in this thread are important, but judging from my own social network, for some people they just aren't. Yet. Give it a few years and I think they might be.