Tuesday 13 March 2012

Veg I don't buy

home grown spring onions
Picked
  • spring onions
I am sure you have a list of veg that you never buy.  In my situation, there are two reasons why I never buy some veg. One reason is because with little planning and effort, I always seem to manage to keep myself supplied  from the garden.  The other reason is because I can't imagine ever eating the shop bought version and am therefore happy to only eat seasonally and  when they come from my garden.


Veg I manage to keep myself supplied with

Spring onions
I always have spring onions on the go in the garden.We do make lots of food that uses spring onions and they are so lovely fresh. Their long leaves are always round and fat with air and sound lovely when you brush them beside each other. I confess, I have only so far grown them from nursery bought seedlings, but I have ordered some spring onion seed and am going to try from seed  very soon. Does anyone out there have advice on growing spring onions from seed?

Beetroot
spring onion, with parsley and eggplant
I love beetroot but not every day and so it is easy to keep yourself in them.  One glut every now and then is enough and if you can't wait for them to get to a certain size, then you can always eat the baby ones... and their greens.

Rocket
It is pretty easy to keep us in rocket too.  It grows so quickly that constant picking, even when very small is essential to keep on top of the supply.  And nothing ever goes wrong with rocket.  It just grows!

Chillies
I always grow enough to have a stash in the freezer.  That never seems to run out before I start picking fresh ones and I always preserve lots of chillies in various forms each year to tie me over even if the frozen ones run out.

Lemons (but you said veg, lemons are fruit)
Yes, you are right but they are another of those thing I manage to keep myself in.

Other things I never buy are herbs like, parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, mint and Vietnamese mint

Things I can't even imagine buying and am happy to eat seasonally

Snow peas
tonight's spring onion pick
Home grown snow peas are a treat to anticipate. I cannot imagine eating the ones I see in the shops that are almost always grown on too long for my taste and often look pale. I can deprive myself of snow peas until I pick my own easily. I will stagger my crop this year so that my supply lasts longer. I have some up already and when they start to flower I will get another batch in. When the crop is ready to pick  I pick snow peas every second day. Sometimes they don't even make it to the back door. I often eat the pick in the patch.

Lettuce
I like all sorts of lettuce but cannot imagine eating the shop bought ones which are always floppier than the home grown. You also can pick off individual leaves as they grow so you don't have to wait till the plant is mature.

I have noticed that the list of things I don't buy is not really very long and will be aiming to increase the number...

What do you mange to keep yourself supplied with? What can't you bring yourself to buy?

6 comments:

  1. I never buy any of those things either as like you I manage to always have some available. I would add celery, parsley, lemongrass, radishes and silver beet to that list as I pretty much always have a plant producing. I'm hoping to be able to add potatoes but that is very much a work in progress. There are quite a few seasonal veg that I very rarely buy but always grow and eat in season - basil, red cabbage, watercress, to a certain extent eggplant (but thats because I'm the only one in the house who likes it) and like you snow or sugar snap peas.
    Spring Onions are easy from seed, I sow them both direct and into seed punnets depending on available space in the garden. Growing them in seed punnets is good because they are a bit slow to get started and it avoids the problem of the birds etc dislodging them before they get their roots established.

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    Replies
    1. Wow, I am envious of your productivity. Actually now I think of it there are other things I dont but - like radish and cabbage which I am happy to eat seasonally and only home grown. Thanks for the reassurance on the spring onions from seed - I will give it a go.

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  2. Considering that I live in the townhouse and have a tiny plot, I have to buy almost everything.But I was able to manage my own herbs like parsley, dill and green onions through the year.

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  3. Oh I envy what you don't have to buy. I am hoping this year, I will be able to reduce some of my veg and herb purchases.

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  4. You are more organised than I am. I can't get my act together with spring onions or lettuce. The only things I can say with certainty that I don't buy are carrots, garlic and perennial herbs. That might change this year if I don't get the garlic planted soon.

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