The Greening of Gavin

5 Reasons To Grow Your Own Vegetables

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Money doesn’t grow on trees, but you can save a lot of it by growing your own vegetables.  However this is only one of the great reasons to pop some veggie seeds or seedlings in the dirt this spring.  So here are my five favourite reasons to grow your own vegetables this season;

1.  The price is right

We usually buy our vegetables from local green grocers or roadside veggie stalls in a neighbouring town, so last weekends visit to the supermarket was an eye opener.  The most significant reason to grow your own produce is the price.

Take capsicums (bell peppers) for example.  For three capsicums in the supermarket, it costs A$7.99, which was extortionate.  I can buy a packet of capsicum seeds for A$2.95 or a punnet of seedlings for $2.50 and grow in excess of 10-20 kg of green, yellow or red capsicums.  That is just one of the amazing savings.

Plant a couple of zucchinis and you will soon know what I mean!

grow your own vegetables

 2.  You decide what goes on your food

Another reason for growing your own is that you can control what goes into your food. You can either be very strict in keeping your produce organic, or use limited amounts of fertilizer and pest control that you approve of.

I personally only grow with organic methods, but the choice is yours. Best of all, the security of knowing how and what is used in the process can be reason enough to grow your own.

3.  Freshness and Taste

We’ve all run into the problem of reaching into our fridge’s crisper drawers and finding limp or bruised vegetables only fit for the chooks. You won’t have that problem when you can pick them straight from the source and put them in your evening meal on the same day.

Vegetables found in the supermarket are typically picked half ripe so that they can be transported long distances, which has a detrimental effect on its flavour.

4.  A Cornucopia Of Cultivars

Given the choice between a few types of tasteless tomatoes in the supermarket, you will probably be surprised at the variety of different cultivars that are available.

From massive Mortgage Lifter beefsteaks to stripy Tigerella, to the tiniest cherry tomato, no two are alike in size or flavour and there are literally hundreds to choose from.  And that is just tomatoes.

The vast choice of variety among veggies like beans, lettuce, chillies, potatoes, pumpkins, corn, or even onions are just simply amazing.  Just try and grow one variety, I dare you!

5.  Fresh Herbs are simply amazing

If you only begin with herbs, which I consider to be “the gateway plant to gardening”, you will not be disappointed.  Easy to grow from seed or ready bought, herbs will flavour your cooking like never before.  Rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, and basil are great choices for the beginner.

Fresh herbs are great in any dish and leave dried herbs for dead.

Summary

So if I have convinced you, why not pop down the library and pick up a few edible gardening books? It is a great place to start to learn how to grow your own.  However, remember to only plant the vegetables that you use frequently. You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew at the start.  Most of all, start small, and increase your growing space as you gain confidence.

All I can say is give it a go. What have you got to lose?  You will save a small fortune in the process, especially with the climbing prices of fresh food.

Do you think growing your own saves you money? If you are a novice, are you up for the challenge of producing your own veggies?

Kim’s Anglesey Eggs

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After watching an episode of The Hairy Bikers last night who were visiting Wales, Kim had a fantastic idea for dinner.  Being a welsh recipe, it contained two of my most favourite ingredients, being Caerphilly cheese, and leeks both of which are home grown/made. 

 Kim modified the recipe slightly, so here it is.  It is definitely less fattening than the version used on the show.  It doesn’t look any different than a normal gratin type meal, but trust me, looks can be deceiving.

Kim’s Angelsey Eggs

Ingredients

6 free-range eggs

For the mashed potatoes and leek;
500g/1lb 2oz potatoes, peeled, chopped
knob of butter, plus extra for greasing
quarter cup full cream milk
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 leeks, trimmed, sliced

For the sauce
50g/2oz unsalted butter
50g/2oz plain flour
300ml/half pint milk
1 tsp french mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
75g/3oz Cheddar cheese, grated
75g/3oz Caerphilly cheese, grated

For the topping
3 slices wholemeal bread made into breadcrumbs
25g/3oz Cheddar cheese, grated
25g/3oz Caerphilly cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 6. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter.
Boil the eggs for 8 minutes in a large pan of boiling water. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and run under cold water until cool enough to handle.
When cool, peel the eggs and slice into rings. Set aside.
For the mashed potatoes, cook the potatoes in a separate pan of boiling, salted water for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Drain well.
Mash potatoes add the butter and milk, mixing until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Meanwhile, lightly fry the leeks in a frying pan with a little butter. Stir the cooked leeks into the mashed potatoes until well combined.
For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Whisk in the flour until the mixture is thick and well combined.
Gradually add the milk, whisking continuously, for 4-5 minutes, or until all of the milk has been incorporated into the mixture and the sauce is thick and smooth.
Add the mustard  and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Stir in the cheeses until melted.
For the topping, in a large bowl, mix together all of the topping ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
Spoon the mashed potatoes and leeks into the bottom of the prepared ovenproof dish, pressing down to form an even layer.
Arrange the slices of boiled egg on top in a circular pattern, overlapping them until all of the mashed potatoes are covered.
Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then pour over the cheese sauce. Sprinkle over the topping.
Place the dish onto a baking tray to catch any drips. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is crisp and golden-brown and the sauce is bubbling.

Not only did it taste fantastic, it also contained the following local ingredients; Eggs (from my girls), Leeks (home grown), Caerphilly cheese (home made), Cheddar cheese, Potatoes, Butter, and Plain Flour (all from within local zone).  Why had I never heard of this dish before?  I was absolutely gob-smacked when I took the first mouthful.  The leeks combined with the mash and eggs was just a flavour burst that I have never experienced.  I am going to grow even more leeks for next year!

All I can say is that I know what I am having for lunch tomorrow!

Who Likes Tomatoes?

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Well if you do, and you live on the Eastern Seaboard of Australia, I don’t think you will be able to satisfy your hunger for fresh tomatoes and capsicums in a few months time or be willing to pay for the massive price hike in these vegetables.  Check out this hot article titled “Seedling sabotage devastates farmers” from ABC online.  Nothing like a unhealthy dose of Round-up to stuff up your year!

It just goes to show that our food industry is susceptible to disasters, and supply cannot be guaranteed.  It make a very strong case for becoming a locavore, and growing your own fresh produce. 

We haven’t purposely bought a fresh tomato since 2007, of which I am most proud of.  Kim may have slipped the odd punnet of cherry tomatoes in the shopping trolley out of season, but certainly not the norm for us.  As for the other vegetables mentioned like capsicums, eggplants and melons, all of these will be quite scarce in a few months time, so it looks like we will all be eating food that is in season. 

As my son Adam is quite fond of saying, “Dad, you have the skills to pay the bills”, and in this case I believe that I do have the skills to keep up our food supply in any sort of disaster to the normal industrial food complex.

I believe that growing your own organic food not only provides for the here and now, but is insurance for the difficult times ahead of us.  Please take the time to learn now, whilst there is still ample time available before the zombies are knocking on your door!  As I have stated before, we are all only nine meals from Anarchy.

I rest my case.