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How Big Should The Vegetable Garden Be?

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For all those interested in self sufficiency the size of the Veg Garden is an important question. Many people looking to grow their own Veg are unsure of how much space it requires to become independent of any Suppliers for their Vegetables. Here you can learn how much Veg to grow to feed a Family of three or four easily. To begin with there is one very important factor if you want to become Self Sufficient in Vegetables. You Must Eat Seasonal Vegetables If you wish to become your own Supplier of Vegetables throughout the year you will be eating […]

The Ongoing Blogroll

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Some bloggers are terribly organised and keep an efficient system of blogroll updates.  Letting all their readers know who and why they’ve added new links each month or so. That won’t be happening here! For a start with the two of us reading lots of blogs it would be difficult.  Mostly though I just don’t think we’ll remain that organised. So as we notice blogs in our readers that we should have linked to, but haven’t, we’ll put them on the blogroll widget on the right. I’ve put a few on for now, in no particular order or reason.   They […]

The Casa Dirty Boots 4 Year Crop Rotation System

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This is the 4 Year Crop Rotation System we follow. Year One Apply lots of muck and plant potatoes. When the potatoes are lifted we plant brassicas which will all be harvested by very early the following spring. Year Two Sow peas and beans along with some spring sown brassicas for harvesting in summer-autumn Traditionally you would apply lime to the soil before sowing. Year Three This is time for the miscellaneous crops (anything not included elsewhere).  Melon, cucumber, peppers, aubergine, tomatoes, lettuce and onions are all included in our miscellaneous crops. We apply a mulch of well rotted compost […]

Getting the Most from the Veg Plot – Crop Rotation

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What is Crop Rotation? Crop Rotation is simply the moving of crops from one plot to another over the years.  So rather than keep a bed for planting potatoes in for ever, each year we plant potatoes in a different plot.  The easiest way to think of, and record crop rotation is to assign a type of crop for each year of your crop rotation cycle.  There are numerous systems but perhaps the most common is the 4 Year Crop Rotation system. You break up the crops into four distinct groups and assign them a year.  For example potatoes and […]

Are Whistling Hob Kettles More Efficient?

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For the last three months we have been using a stove top kettle that had no handle or whistle.  We do not like to buy things new.  But after failing to find a replacement at a car boot sale or the tip we  eventually had to give in.   A kettle full of hot water and no handle is a dangerous thing but a pan of water just isn’t very easy to pour a cuppa from. Don’t be daft, of course I didn’t spend that much on a pretty Alessi kettle! Scroll down to see my cheap, green version! 😉 Well […]

Everyone Can Plant A Few Potatoes

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Whether you say Potato or Potatoe one thing is certain, everyone can have a few fresh Potatoes wherever they live. From a Field full of this most delicious of crops to a single Potato planted in a Container, we can all do it. You may have been Chitting your Seed Potatoes for Weeks, getting ready to Plant them out when the little Shoots have grown a few centimetres, or you may have not thought about Planting any Potatoes at all. Trust me, however much space you have, planting even a mini crop is worth it. Can I Plant A Single […]

Self Sufficient Questions And Answers Volume 1

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Welcome to the first round of Self Sufficient Questions and Answers. Hopefully this will be a weekly Wednesday feature so don’t forget to leave your question for next week in the comments section after the post. You can also ask your question via Twitter. Simply Forties asked: I’m curious about the apparatus that converts the power from the solar panels into usable power for your home. How does that actually work? Hi Simply Forties, the power that is collected by Solar Panels is DC, the same as that stored in a Battery. The Solar Panels are connected to Deep Cycle […]