No I am sure you are not I am also sure that it's best not to think how much money growing your own costs but I must admit I am loving the bits I have done so far, always done flowers before this feels more like serious gardening!
I'm trying broad beans for the first time, they're apparently an early crop type... got a few shoots with some flowers on now. Not sure my garlic will come to anything though as sowed them with the broad beans which according to Bob Flowerdew is a big no-no! Also back in the autumn the garden centre were selling leeks, they have grown since but not sure how they'll turn out either!!!
@lovegardening77 My garlic is growing among the strawberries - it was the only space I had at the time. That may become another post on this thread when we finally taste the strawbs. I'm sure yours will be happy with the beans. Garlic is supposed to deter aphids, so hopefully they'll keep the blackfly away from your beans.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
Sweet baby broad beans are my favourite grow your own veg, lovegardening. You will still get a crop, but maybe not as prolific, because garlic will inhibit their growth. Bob Flowerdew is my guru for companion planting - although I never seem to have enough space for all those marigolds and nasturtiums
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
You're right Nollie,I just grow runner beans and courgettes,apart from salady type leaves,everything else is cheap in Lidls.There's just something about picking your own runners!!😁
But what do you do with all those courgettes? Love roasted courgettes, peppers and aubergines, put a few in a pasta dish with prawns and brandy, then I run out of ideas! I never plant more than two and I still manage to have a glut. Tried giving the surplus to the local shop last year, but they were either yellow or round so they looked at them as if they were the spawn of satan
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Courgette fritters, a thick batter with grated courgette,and parmesan, shallow fried and frozen between sheets of greaseproof paper. Can be reheated in the microwave, in a hot oven or refried. We always grow too many and can't even give them away.
@Nollie there is a whole book called "what shall I do with all these courgettes" not read it myself but it's supposed to have lots of good ideas. Reading back I agree freshness is the key to taste pick & eat same day preferably within hours. Some crops are worth more the price of raspberries always astounds me they are so easy to grow too. Things like Broad Beans -there is so much waste with the pods I would never buy in shops but home grown every time.
Ratatouille for the freezer or the inevitable chutney! My hubby is a chef at a small country pub so home grown organic produce will always be welcome there but I have heard courgettes are prolific!!
Totally agree, Allotment Boy, about freshness of home-grown veg, especially sugar peas, which is the one vegetable I absolutely have to grow. Frozen pea producers proudly point out how quickly they freeze the peas after they're picked, which preserves the sweetness. There's nothing to compare, IMO, with peas eaten within a few minutes of being picked.
However, returning to garden mistakes... I'm still incapable of planting shrubs far enough apart to give them enough room when they're mature. You'd think I'd have learnt after 50-odd years of gardening, but apparently not.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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Totally agree, Allotment Boy, about freshness of home-grown veg, especially sugar peas, which is the one vegetable I absolutely have to grow. Frozen pea producers proudly point out how quickly they freeze the peas after they're picked, which preserves the sweetness. There's nothing to compare, IMO, with peas eaten within a few minutes of being picked.
However, returning to garden mistakes... I'm still incapable of planting shrubs far enough apart to give them enough room when they're mature. You'd think I'd have learnt after 50-odd years of gardening, but apparently not.
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-sneak-some-zucchini-into-your-neighbors-porch-day-august-8/
It's a common practice in the US, for any day in August. You take a great sack of courgettes to your neighbors front porch, ring the door bell, then run/drive away.