This is what self-sufficiency – in seasonal veg – looks like in February!

Here’s a quick video to show what self-sufficiency in most seasonal veg looks like on the allotment today.

I take a quick walk around the plots and do a typical February harvest, then I take a few bits from the store room at home and show everything cleaned up in the kitchen.

The photo’s at the end show the finished product and the raw ingredients.

It’s worth pointing out that self-sufficiency is a game for us. We don’t need to be self-sufficient and when it doesn’t suit us we are happy to forage from the supermarket, especially when it comes to fruit. However it it’s in season then we are probably growing it and eating it from the garden or the allotments.

Last year we harvested about 6000 litres of fruit and veg and this year we aim to do a lot better!

If you are new to my allotment videos you might find a bit of context useful. We have three allotments in my family, mine (Steve), my wife’s (Debbie) and one of our daughter’s (Jennie). We also have a small kitchen garden at home. They are all managed in an integrated fashion, so don’t expect to see the usual mix of veg on each plot.

On Jennie’s plot, for example, we focus on potatoes, squash, alliums, and brassicas. This video provides an overview https://youtu.be/q1k-2vIoSQ8. I do a monthly tour of each allotment, roughly one a week, you can find the tours here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFhKoRR-NiCJn5Y6rZf0RCCqycu3xvofX.

Our approach to allotment life is to: grow as much as we possibly can, to be self-sufficient in veg all year round and in fruit in summer, to give away our huge surplus to friends and family, and to have as much fun as possible.

My wife and I spend about 4 hours a day, 4 days a week on the plots (on average) and we keep nudging that down as we eliminate non-productive work: like grass cutting, weeding and watering as much as practical. We are both newbie gardeners, only starting the allotments in 2016.

I’m a bit obsessive about the nutrient density of the veg that we grow and making the plots easy to work because it’s through this allotment lifestyle and food that I’ve overcome a debilitating auto-immune disease.

I’m always aware though that it might not last so I make sure that I don’t work too hard, eat the most organic fruit and veg I can and design the plots so that I can still work them if I flare up again.