I wanted to have a go at growing some kind of grain to become more self sufficient and so I grew quinoa for the first time this year.  I did not know what a beautiful [...]

I like to use any free resources around me to save money and one of the ways that I get free soil for my containers that I grow my vegetables in, is to make leaf [...]

At this time of year I am processing lots of tomatoes grown in the garden.  I roast them and take the skins off before making them into passata or bolognaise sauce.  I hate waste and [...]

I like to be as self sustainable as possible and at the end of every season I let a few of my crops flower and go to seed, or I save the seed from the [...]

Most of us have woken up at some time or another with that feeling of regret after a night celebrating. You feel dizzy, have a raging headache and your mouth feels like the bottom of [...]

I went on a local permaculture course earlier in the year and they suggested that you should study your garden for a year before you plant anything, and then make a detailed plan.  Well, I [...]

I have started getting free food every day now, and it will only increase as we move into summer and autumn. It is such a relief.  Having this free food helps me feel in control [...]

Many people pinch the shoots out from tomatoes, but not all gardeners remove the side shoots (or suckers as they are also called).  I often don’t pinch them all out as I grow so many [...]

Rhubarb brings back memories as a child of my gran giving me a stick of rhubarb and a bag with some sugar in as a treat, and me dipping it in and eating it raw. [...]

The picture is of my basil seedlings and you might think that there are a lot (I actually have two boxes like these!) but I plant a lot of tomatoes in bucket and tubs and [...]

I have only just found out how beneficial raspberry leaves are to our general health, though I remember drinking raspberry leaf tea when I was pregnant in the early 1980s.  The books of the time [...]

It has been a cold year here in the UK and many vegetables that I usually grow are very behind in their growth, despite the fact that I sowed lots of seeds in February.  I [...]

The excitement and exhaling of breath as seeds have germinated this year feels stronger than previously.  It has been a long winter and my intention to keep my food budget low, and still enjoy meals, [...]

A free resource We were away by the coast last week and so I collected a bit of kelp seaweed for my garden as there was loads on the beach that I walked every day. [...]

When I first started growing food, I was impatient to have something to show for my hard work and so I grew the following crops that I knew that I could harvest quickly.  I was [...]

Is it worth growing my own food? People often ask me if growing your own food is worth is and if you save money?  In the past I have always said that it depends on [...]

It is so disheartening when you have grown your crops from seed, lovingly nurtured them, and then a great big slug or snail devours them over night.   Slug pellets are available, and not as bad [...]

A lot of people are planning their gardens for growing some food now. You might think that you can not grow vegetables in your garden due to shade.  Luckily , there are some vegetables that [...]

I think that we all know by now that supermarket prices are out of control and providing a nutritious diet for ourselves and our family is getting harder.  More people are thinking of giving up [...]

Gardening is not just a hobby, a way of making your house look pretty, or a tool to save money on food. According to the British medical journal gardening prolongs life of over 60s by [...]

I don't plant many winter vegetables as, to be honest, I like a break from all the hard work of growing food, and I am a bit of a 'fair weather' gardener as I do [...]

The price of compost is increasing, and with the cost of living rising, it almost feels like a luxury to buy a bag of compost now.  However, it is a necessity if I want to [...]

I have sown my first seeds now that the soil that I put into the containers has warmed up inside the house. It is too cold to sow anything outside yet and sowing into cold [...]

As I wandered around my garden last night. I felt so grateful. I have salad leaves, cucumbers, spinach, raspberries, rhubarb, peas, strawberries, chickory and courgettes, all there on hand to enhance my diet and reduce [...]