# Grow Your Own Vegetables

There is nothing more satisfying than growing, and eating, your own 
produce. The freshness and flavour seems far superior to that you 
will find in your local supermarket.

We had been growing our own tomatoes and a few strawberries for maybe
4 years. In 2019 we expanded our operation to grow some radishes,
lettuce, carrots, potatoes, spring onions and parsnips. When COVID 
came along we expanded again, digging up half of one of the lawns to 
make way for more vegetables. We also got some chickens[1].

Seeds are cheap and you will get many vegetables from a single packet. 
All you need is some space, moderate soil conditions and you will be
quite surprised what you can grow in a small plot. You can even grow 
in pots, planters or any other container that will hold soil if you 
are limited for space.


## What To Grow

This will depend on what your household likes to eat, uses most and 
how adventurous you feel. This past year we decided on growing the 
following as we like them home grown or use them a lot for meals:

 * Carrots
 * Potatoes
 * Onions
 * Leeks
 * Parsnips
 * Lettuce
 * Tomatoes
 * Radish
 * Cucumber
 * Runner Beans
 * Beetroot
 * Cauliflower
 * Broccoli
 * Courgettes


## Results

You will have successes and failures as you discover what will grow
in your soil and in which areas of your plot. Some plants like full 
sun, others like a little shade, some prefer sandy soil. For some 
reason if we plant runner beans at the back of the bed behind the 
house something eats them. If we put nasturtiums or marigolds as 
sacrificial plants they get eaten too. But if we put the runner beans
10 feet away in a bucket they have survived without incident.

Potatoes seem to grow well almost anywhere. Rather than buying
expensive seed potatoes we just buy a bag of potatoes from the
supermarket and let them sprout before putting them in. We've had no
issues doing this even though it's not recommended.

Tomatoes I have also grown from supermarket tomatoes that have gone
past their best. I just squeeze out the seeds into some soil, cover 
them with a little more soil and within a week or so you will have 
tiny tomatoes sprouting. It really is that easy.

Our first ever crop of carrots were grown in a bucket. We were simply
stunned by the flavour and crunchiness. How can you get so excited 
over a carrot you might think? Well give it a go and find out for 
yourself!

We made our own pickled beetroot. After peeling, boiling and slicing
them we put them in sterilized jars and added vinegar. This was a bit
of an experiment. The first batch were not cooked enough and very 
vinegary. The second batch we cooked for longer and added some water 
and sugar to the vinegar mix. These were far more palatable and an 
acceptable alternative to store bought.


## Conclusion

I know we will never be anywhere near self sufficient, but we can 
certainly produce enough vegetables that we can go weeks, or months
in some cases, without having to buy some of the more common items.
Producing even a few of your favourite vegetables gives a real
feeling of achievement and satisfaction.

1. [Chickens]( gopher://gopher.icu/0/phlog/Self-sufficiency/Chickens.md )