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Originally Posted by nanonano
Eco princess, that sounds fantastic and very organized. I'm following this tread with a lot of interest hoping to grow some this year.
If you don't mind me asking,how much time do you spend in the garden? I'm an absolute novice and your schedule sounds like a day job to me and I really would like to grow my own fruit and vegetables but I don't have that much time.
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It takes me less time than going to the shops for food.
The first year it seemed to take me ages because I wasnt experienced enough to be confident that things would grow.
shortest day of the year plant your garlic.
Mid January your onions and shallots. and in the greenhouse broad beans.
Then in your seed bed start to sow brassicas and Leeks in March depending on weather - you will with experience be able to stick your finger in the earth and go to yourself yep warm enough now. GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY its essential.
Towards the middle of March end of March depending on weather and soil warmth I do beetroot, carrots, seakale, spinach, spinach beet, spring oinions, sweed and turnip in situ outside, then about a week after lettuce - which is quite hardy.
If you have a greenhouse I sow everything else in pots first. I built my greenhouse 2 years ago and its great. But I grew sucessfully and abundantly without one for 6 years. So in the greenhouse I start the beans (broad bean already been sown for an early crop), dward, runner, and peas, Sweet peppers, Celery,cucumber, marrow, courgette, melon sweetcorn tomatoes, and whatever else has taken my fancy
As soon as the early spuds are up I sow Kohl Rabi and more lettuce and salad crops even a second crop of earlies spuds which I harvest around November.
What takes the time is harvesting, preserving/freezing and storing.
get friends around, they get surplus as payment and a nice lunch/dinner.
The orchard is easy (except the wood which I have advertised for on here), mark out beds ask friends for cuttings and then stick them in the ground around March. Put them in your greenhouse over winter or in a sheltered spot and then dig up and put in situ.
In August I sow Endive, winter bunching onions, some miners lettuce and take herb cuttings
Potatoes go in on St Patricks day.
I work full time, run 3 business and 2 charities, and I also have an occational evening job, run the farm, milk, tend the bees, do my own turf and fish, and now and then I get to walk the dog, stand on a summers evening watering the garden and then in winter the freezers, bottles shelves are full of my own fruit, vegetables and honey, cheeses ripen slowly and beer bubbles by the stove and I plan the next years garden.
If it sounds like work it will be, to me its all just pleasure and happiness.