Humour me - I've been debating something with myself all day!

Many of us dream about self-sufficiency - made popular by John Seymour so many years ago in a book that is subtitled "The classic guide for realists and dreamers". Most of us can only dream of acres of grain, orchards and a cow and sheep, if indeed that is what you'd like! The realists set their sights a lot lower. Maybe self-sufficiency in courgettes, lettuce or beans.

John Seymour went the whole hog - his self-sufficiency was independence from the "system" in which most of us have to live.   

My inner debate has been about the difference between "sufficiency" and "sufficient". 

If we think about keeping hens for eggs - from experience the optimum number of hens for me is 3. Each hen will lay 4-5 eggs a week and a dozen eggs for me is ample. So 3 hens is sufficient and gives me self-sufficiency in eggs. When I've had 6 hens, I have had an over-sufficiency of eggs and given them away - but that isn't the aim, the more hens you have, the more the feed costs and the effort involved in keeping their housing clean. The issue is knowing what would be "sufficient" and what is not.

Trying to apply this to whatever you grow is more difficult. I was picking courgettes and beans when I starting having this debate. Am I growing too many courgette and bean plants or are they sufficient for my needs? Every year differs - weather, pests etc can affect productivity. This year has been good for courgettes and beans but poor for soft fruit because there have been so many birds and squirrels pinching them before me. The netted raspberries have done well though. So to have "sufficient" soft fruit I need to net the bushes. Every netted bush would give me more usable fruit than 10 un-netted ones.

I've cut back on tomato plants this year because I've been growing so many that I'd end up leaving them outside the gate for passersby to take. As nice as it to be generous, if I use the GH space to grow something different (DFBs and aubergines this year) I'm improving my chances of self-sufficiency. 

If "sufficient" means growing as much as you need and can use, not more, that is going to be my aim.

I'm not expecting anyone to reply to, or even follow my waffling - but writing it down helps me to understand my argument with myself.   Not sure which one of me won the argument though!!

Please remember that if you use weedkillers that they should only be used on still days. This reduces the likelihood of wind drift.


  Weedkillers-for-Home-Gardeners.pdf (Size: 387.99 KB / Downloads: 128)

To help new gardeners identify common perennial weeds, please post a picture and brief discription of weeds you encounter.

I took a short staycation to the west of Ireland last weekend. We were on the Wild Atlantic At, net stop east coast of USA.

 A lot of the trees in the area are permanently bent from the off shore Atlantic gale winds. I thought these ones just at the pier where we were staying were lovely and worth sharing so I took a few photos.

   
   
   
   
   
   

To help new gardeners identify common annual weeds, please post a picture and brief discription of weeds you encounter. We will start a second thread for perennial weeds too

I haven’t grown peas in a lot no time, and this year I gave them a go, so they have been climbing up the nets and because of the high winds I clipped some of the climbers to the netting and put in some bamboo canes to stabilise the netting in the winds. Now however I notice some of the climbers have started to develop black spots on the leaves and looking dodgy. Any suggestions?, I haven’t picked any of these pods to see what the peas are like.

i have never grown French beans before so a complete novice, I started off some beans a few weeks ago in modules and about 3 weeks ago transferred them into a raised bed in the holy tunnel, they are now about 3-4” tall. 
Question- Do I need to put in any supports for them ?, string supports from wires or bamboo cans ?
Thanks

I have grown a couple of marrow's and only have childhood memories of tasteless slop.

Thought I would try it again....any good recipes?

As per the subject, not grown for years so after a bit of clarity please?

       

Suggestions please!!   I am an animal lover but hate grey squirrels...so far they have taken all bar 10 apples left on my 60 year old apple tree, eaten my cherries and figs (which i might add were netted) Dug up my little rhubarb plants and used the pots to dust bath in and destroyed 6 squirrel proof bird feeders that we have put extra wire on to stop them breaking in.  
To top it off last year I waited and waited for my spring bulbs to bob up and nothing... I waited another month or two thinking maybe they were late coming through, soooo wrong....little grey bleepers had eaten my bulbs and replaced them with 3 well dug in conkers!!  not impressed.  The nice weather earlier in the year has meant they have been more successful than ever this year, the other day I counted 8 of them frolicking in the garden, I swear they were laughing and flicking the v's at me.  They are driving me nuts and I have now resorted to thoughts of an unsavory kind.... https://www.wildmeat.co.uk/blogs/news/sq...uld-try-it
Unfortunately my other half is a real bunny huger and will not even squish the odd fly!!   so going down the eating road is not an option, unless i do a chicken surprise dish for him!!   

Muah ha ha!!