Sufficient?

[Ceres]

As a new allotment holder I'm curious how self sufficient people are and how much space they have. I have always been a garden salad grower and don't buy any through the summer and autumn but now with my extra <125 square meters what kind of return I could expect?

[Aberdeenplotter]

It's generally reckoned that 300 squ yards (250 squ metres) is big enough to allow a family of four to be self sufficient in vegetables.

[Ceres]

That's good so as a couple of two plus a dog who enjoys veg we should be pretty well fed as long as I do ok and the summer is a good one.

[chris]

The key is successionally sowing/planting out - I really should practice mind..


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[bravo2zero]

depends on your interpretation of self sufficient. ive 2 plots and there is always something to pick. there will be periods when you may have to buy veggies cos you've run out of stored stuff like spuds and onions. choose your varieties carefully and experiment with timings. I cant remember the last time I had to buy radishes lettuce and carrots. if you've a polytunnel even better you can extend the growing season by 4 weeks either end of the season.

[Jeanied]

It all depends what you like to eat. I have my fruit bushes and trees, and I like all the squash and pumpkin family - but I am always adding expensive ingredients to turn them into lovely dishes - usually using recipes found here on the vine!

[Alison]

I wot a standard sized Lottie and am pretty much self sufficient in veggies for the two of us but can't say the same for fruit as there's no way I can grow sufficient apples. You do gave to eat what you grow and vase meals around that but I enjoy that challenge and. Wouldn't think to buy beans or courgettes at this time of year, will use out of freezer but otherwise we're on carrots, swede, parsnips, kale, sprouts and cabbage at this time of year with PSB to look forward to followed by asparagus and onwards. Seasonal is definitely the way to go.


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[Kristen]

We have a large plot, so not much difficulty growing all that we might want ... but the Hungry Gap in the Spring is a challenge, so I would say we are self sufficient for about 10 months of the year. Apart from whatever high-food-miles stuff gets bought Grrrrrr! I have no idea why a Avocado is thought to improve a salad in Winter, or why we might need the odd bunch of Asparagus in December Grrrrr!

[out in the cold]

Kristen, the avocado in winter thing could be due to the sunshine element of the avocado fruit, and also nutritionally it is a fantastic source of omega oils (useful if you are a veggie).

IIRC, it also has major benefits (which I don't yet fully understand...) for those that suffer from SAD

[Jeanied]

IIRC, it also has major benefits (which I don't yet fully understand...) for those that suffer from SAD

Oh my something has clicked into place for me with this statement - I keep getting drawn to the avocado section but resist because of the high fat content. But for me, this is what I crave - I get really bad SAD during the dark months

[out in the cold]

KCN swears by them.

Oh my something has clicked into place for me with this statement - I keep getting drawn to the avocado section but resist because of the high fat content. But for me, this is what I crave - I get really bad SAD during the dark months

[Kristen]

Kristen, the avocado in winter thing could be due to the sunshine element of the avocado fruit, and also nutritionally it is a fantastic source of omega oils (useful if you are a veggie).

IIRC, it also has major benefits (which I don't yet fully understand...) for those that suffer from SAD

All well and good but Mrs K gets my long face and my worn-record boring lecture about Food Miles!!

[Farmer_Gyles]

i grow loads in my veggie patch at home - about the size of a half plot - we're maybe 50% self sufficient
we would do better, but:
not enough space for enough brassicas
carrots and parsnips can end up distorted because of stones etc so we always buy them
peas take a lot of space for a low yield and lots of mucking about (easier to buy a couple of bags)
never enough spuds and they're mostly small
many other veggies are small because they're planted too close due to lack of space
weather has a big effect, guaranteed that something will die because it's too hot / cold / dry / wet etc and not enough space to grow more to cover for the losses

however, i now grow all year round - when spuds come up, leeks go in - summer brassicas come up, winter brassicas go in etc etc

and even better, i should be getting an allotment in a few weeks time, so will be growing a LOT more .... hopefully will have more time this year than last year too

[Ceres]

Hmm this is all very interesting maybe if I fill my half plot nicely the council will let me have the other half. Would really love some fruit growing on the plot other than apples and what looks like it could be plums. 50% self suffocoent would bw so wonderful eating so much better as well. Lots to look forward to. Anyway I'm rambling (possibly as its a nightshift) and must finish.

[Kristen]

not enough space for enough brassicas

They need far too much space IMHO. Need to breed ones that can be grown closer together, or grow 4 times as much "crop"

I have a 4-year rotation, with 4 equal sized raised beds. Luckily I have another section with 4 more beds, so the Brassicas get two beds and share their second rotation with some spuds, sweet corn and cut flowers. But its still only just enough.

never enough spuds and they're mostly small

I used to only grow First & Second Early spuds, 'coz the maincrop are cheap to buy in bulk at the farm shop and the farmers have decent cool storage whereas in my cupboard my Spuds are sprouting by Christmas and going soft early in the New Year

However ... Mrs K and I have changed tack, and we now want better provenance on our food. In 2012 there were fewer spuds about and our farm shop's were not own-grown and I started to think more about what goes on them in the field. Gramoxone is now banned in the EU, that's what farmers uses to use to kill off the haulms to make harvesting easier and now they use acid I believe? Feels like that should be innocuous ... but outside the EU have the spuds that I might buy been treated with Gramoxone to dessicate the foliage? I don't want that (well, don't want anything really ...) on my grub.

We aren't organic, per se, but I can't remember the last time I put any pesticide or fungicide on my plot. I would do to save a crop, but because we are lucky enough to have plenty of space if I lose some to bugs etc. there is still enough for us.

So although we've always been keen on provenance, and freshness, and thus flavour, we are now paying rather more attention to provenance, and that to me is a large part of Self Sufficiency. Perhaps I should bite the bullet and only buy organic for anything we buy in. I've never been fully convinced that "organic" is that much safer to be worth the price ... for example, do varieties selected to be naturally resistant have higher levels of Pyrethrins or whatever? We continue to choose varieties, which we grow, primarily for flavour that we like

Sorry, rabbiting on, I'll shut up now!