What do you grow / rear / harvest yourself?

Khannie

I have two apple trees (one cooking and one eating), a plum tree and two strawberry plants. We would also go picking wild blackberries in the autumn (mostly for jam).

Next on the list of things I want are raspberry and gooseberry bushes.

What about you?

Khannie

Oh, I should add that I would keep chickens for eggs but there's an organic farmer just up the road from me so the hassle just isn't worth it.

El_Dangeroso

I just found out this week that there's a gooseberry plant growing on my balcony. I only found out because it's started to produce fruit this week! I'm a cackhanded gardener so if I can't kill this plant no one can.

Sapsorrow

Do you really want to know?? :pac:

Ok I have to try and remember everything now...

What I grow;

Fruit: rasberries, strawberries and logan berries

Veg: potatos, carrots, celery,turnips, parsnips, swedes, beetroot, radishs, kale, chard, tomatos, cucumbers, gherkins, squash, pumpkins, onions, garlic, lettuce, rapa, rockets, french beans, dwarf beans, runner beans, sugar snap peas, snow peas, sprouting brocoli, calabrese brocoli, sweetcorn, asparagus, cauliflower ehm...

Herbs: lemon balm, bergamot, chives, basil, ginger mint, spearmint, peppermint, applemint, soapwort, curry plant, corriander, fennel, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, valerian and a few other things I can't remember the name of.

Things I typically forage for..

nettles, wild raspberries, dandelions, rowan berries, elderflowers, elderberries, blackberries, sloes (I loves my gin), wild herbs when I find them, a few different seaweeds, flowers like clover and dog rose or honeysuckle for wine.

Khannie

Holy crap!

Sapsorrow

Khannie wrote: »

Holy crap!

Hehe my mums garden is way cooler though she grows all the same veg as I do (we go halves on seeds) as well as apples, pears, plums, blueberries, cherries, grapes, strawberries, loganberries, wierd cultivated blackberries, rasberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants to boot. I can't wait to own my own house one day, then it will be worth investing in growing fruit.

EileenG

Crab apples, cherries, gooseberries, loganberries, strawberries, red currents, white currents, black currents, rhubarb, peas, hazelnuts.

Dandelions and nettles (okay, technically weeds, but I encourage them and then eat them)

Basil, thyme, bay, sorrel, oregano, rosemary, mint.

Susie_Q

This year: carrots, broccoli, rhubarb, strawberries, spinach, rocket, tomatoes.

Herbs: chives, sage, mint, lemon balm, oregano, parsley.

Last year we got amazing spuds and incredibly strong garlic; will be doing garlic again next year. It'll stink you out for a month, I love it!

metamorphosis

I thought i was great with my fruit plants!

Sapsorrow

ULstudent wrote: »

I thought i was great with my fruit plants!

Don't worry UL, I'm pretty sure all of us here'd still love you even if you don't have any plums

the drifter

Id love to have the time to grow and look after some of my own fruit and veg

líreacán

I have some moneymaker tomato plants, two dwarf french bean plants, three strawberry plants, a chilli plant, basil and rocket.

These are all being grown indoors as I live in an apartment with no outdoor area. Can't wait til I have my own house and garden so that I can try and raise a self sufficient garden!!! I never realised how easy it is to grow your own fruit and veg, so would love the challenge of maintaining something even HALF the size of yours Sapsorrow!

Sapsorrow

Oh I forgot about my chile plant, I have a couple of bell pepper plants too.

I woke up this morning threw open the curtains to find my neighbour had snuck into our veg garden and was actually stealing our veg! :eek: I couldn't believe it I saw him picking kale, onions and rhubarb! What I'm even more p*ssed off about is he brought his three sheepdogs with him and they trampled all my freshly sown seed beds and onions :mad: I went over to his house to confront him about it and he admitted being over there but played dumb about the dogs running riot on the beds.

El_Dangeroso

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Oh I forgot about my chile plant, I have a couple of bell pepper plants too.

I woke up this morning threw open the curtains to find my neighbour had snuck into our veg garden and was actually stealing our veg! :eek: I couldn't believe it I saw him picking kale, onions and rhubarb! What I'm even more p*ssed off about is he brought his three sheepdogs with him and they trampled all my freshly sown seed beds and onions :mad: I went over to his house to confront him about it and he admitted being over there but played dumb about the dogs running riot on the beds.

Pity he didn't take some beetroot, then you'd have caught him red-handed..

...

/I'll get my coat.

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Pity he didn't take some beetroot, then you'd have caught him red-handed..

...

/I'll get my coat.

............


...............................


(that's me being speechless!) :pac::pac::pac:

líreacán

Sapsorrow wrote: »

I woke up this morning threw open the curtains to find my neighbour had snuck into our veg garden and was actually stealing our veg! :eek:

The cheek of him!!! Although, you could take it as a compliment that he finds your produce too good to resist! You should offer to bring him over some each week to avoid him bringing his dogs in again, maybe charge him a nominal fee?

Sapsorrow

líreacán wrote: »

The cheek of him!!! Although, you could take it as a compliment that he finds your produce too good to resist! You should offer to bring him over some each week to avoid him bringing his dogs in again, maybe charge him a nominal fee?

Ya we do drop he over the odd box alright but half of it's nosiness, he's also coming over snooping around when he thinks we're out, we've asked him a million times to stop bringing his dogs into our yard but he never listens. They're really vicious and always try to attack our cats which is what really scares me Now they think our garden is part of their turf and come in even when he's not there. We must have said it to him six or seven times by now but he just keeps ignoring us. We rent his families old farmhouse from his cousin who inherited and he views our garden as his and doesn't respect the fact that as the lease holders it's ours for now at least, old land begrudgery going on there big time, even though legally the landlady owns the field we grow veg in he always says it's his when we've tried to talk to him about it before. It's a bit irritating sorry for going OT, the thought of anything happening to the cats really upsets me.

líreacán

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Ya we do drop he over the odd box alright but half of it's nosiness, he's also coming over snooping around when he thinks we're out, we've asked him a million times to stop bringing his dogs into our yard but he never listens. They're really vicious and always try to attack our cats which is what really scares me Now they think our garden is part of their turf and come in even when he's not there. We must have said it to him six or seven times by now but he just keeps ignoring us. We rent his families old farmhouse from his cousin who inherited and he views our garden as his and doesn't respect the fact that as the lease holders it's ours for now at least, old land begrudgery going on there big time, even though legally the landlady owns the field we grow veg in he always says it's his when we've tried to talk to him about it before. It's a bit irritating sorry for going OT, the thought of anything happening to the cats really upsets me.

I've seen your photos in the F&A forum, and love, love, love the back drop to your photos, which I can only now assume is your farmhouse!!

(Also apologies for going OT).


My rocket plant has just become infested with greenfly, so I have isolated it from the other plants, really hope my soap spray works :-( Otherwise I shall have to remove it from my list of homegrown goodies. Double sad.

Sapsorrow

líreacán wrote: »

I've seen your photos in the F&A forum, and love, love, love the back drop to your photos, which I can only now assume is your farmhouse!!

Yep well the photos are usually taken in front of the stables across the yard. I love the pretty little half doors but believe me they aren't very pretty inside, it's where we stock pile our recycling!

Decided today I want to start growing apple trees in pots, does anyone here do it already? Might try and get some irish heirloom dwark varieties. hmmm...

brianthebard

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Ya we do drop he over the odd box alright but half of it's nosiness, he's also coming over snooping around when he thinks we're out, we've asked him a million times to stop bringing his dogs into our yard but he never listens. They're really vicious and always try to attack our cats which is what really scares me Now they think our garden is part of their turf and come in even when he's not there. We must have said it to him six or seven times by now but he just keeps ignoring us. We rent his families old farmhouse from his cousin who inherited and he views our garden as his and doesn't respect the fact that as the lease holders it's ours for now at least, old land begrudgery going on there big time, even though legally the landlady owns the field we grow veg in he always says it's his when we've tried to talk to him about it before. It's a bit irritating sorry for going OT, the thought of anything happening to the cats really upsets me.

You ought to get on to the ptrb and have something to show this fella that he's trespassing, its complete bull**** that he thinks he's allowed take what he wants and go where he wants, sounds like the sort of person who would be in the house when you aren't there if he had the chance. Our landlady is like that doesn't respect tenant rights at all but at least she's not stealing from us.

Sapsorrow

brianthebard wrote: »

sounds like the sort of person who would be in the house when you aren't there if he had the chance.

That's exactly it alright. It's kind of a wierd situation because him and our landlady (his first cousin) don't get on too well AFAIK and I think it's because he's bitter about her getting the farmhouse so he likes to think he has rights to the area or some crap like that. I think I might put an electric fece up too high for him to step over (he's really old) and latch it the other end of the field so it's a pain to go and untie would sort the b*stard dogs out too, one or two shocks and they wouldn't be back again.

brianthebard

Lol that would be great.

Sapsorrow

brianthebard wrote: »

Lol that would be great.

Hehe wouldn't it though! :pac:

the beer revolu

Rocket, various mustard leaves and various lettuce.
Cabbage, kale, broccoli, broad beans, runner beans, spinach.
Potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, oka, beetroot, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, courgettes, garlic, onions,chillies (few different types).
Rosemary, thyme, bayleaf, flat leaf parsley, marjoram, winter savoury, basil, borage, lavender, mint (two types), chives.
Strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, red currants, blackcurrants, rhubarb cherries (yet to fruit).

I think that's it in our small, city centre, mostly concrete garden (we don't have a lot of anything - except rocket which is taking over the garden and lets us supply a friends restaurant! - must dig some out!).

Forage for : Fish, mussels, chestnuts, elderflower, sea spinach, sloes, nettles, hazel nuts.

foodaholic

So far im growing:
Purple sprouting broccoli
Turnips
spinach
Swiss Chard
scallions
garlic
strawberrys
rubarb
peas
jerusalem artichoke
rocket and lettuce
peppers
chillies
courgettes
potatoes
beetroot
tons of herbs

my fave is the swiss chard and broccoli, taste yummy

and my 4 hens are laying 1 a day