Jun 9
Boy, have I been busy. Since May 1st I have been in the garden every day prepping, planting, watering, weeding and protecting this year’s selection of vegetables. I have developed shapely upper arms from carrying countless 10 litre (10 kg) buckets of water from the house to my vegetable patch. I have acquired in-depth knowledge on the burrowing habits of moles. I am tired, I am tanned and I am happy. Read more
I was born for this life. I can’t explain the joy it gives me, watching seeds grow into plants, then watching them flowering and fruiting. I have spent many happy hours watering and transplanting and already I am getting dividends. My herbs are on fire – I can barely keep up with them. My tomatoes are growing taller by the day and my cucumbers have begun to flower, giving me my first tiny cucumber of the season. Read more
My conservatory is a sea of green. My tomato, cucumber, pepper & chilli seedlings have now been transplanted and fill one set of shelves. My windowsill is covered with red vases containing an assortment of fresh herbs – rosemary, melissa (lemon balm), basil, coriander, tarragon and mint. The smell of the herbs is intoxicating, particularly when the sun shines and warms the leaves. Read more
Since I began my journey towards self-sufficiency I have become more and more aware of waste, whether it’s water, energy or food. I hate seeing even small amounts of leftover food going to waste, even if I don’t have an immediate use for it. I will put it into an appropriate container in the fridge or pantry and try to use it within a few days. Read more
This year I have vowed to provide more regular updates on my vegetable growing endeavours. Last year I had some great successes and took millions of photos, but was so busy actually doing it I hardly got round to writing about it. To take the pressure off, this year I will write shorter posts more frequently. Some might contain only a few words and photos, just to show you how things are progressing. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep that going, even when the growing season kicks off in earnest. Read more
The snow has cleared, the days are getting longer and my desire to get back out into the garden is growing stronger by the day. We had some great successes last year and had extended periods where we ate mostly our own vegetables. We also managed to store a large amount of fruit and vegetables for use over the winter. This year, though, I want to do more. Read more
I’m starting to get excited. It’s been a strange winter here in Lithuania as global warming takes its toll on the weather. We missed out on deep snow and crisp, clear blue skies and instead had only a sprinkling of snow and almost perpetual greyness. While the gloomy skies have done nothing for my mood, the change in the weather does mean I can get started earlier than expected on my spring planting. Read more
I am exhausted. Totally and utterly exhausted. But in a good way. My legs are wobbling like jelly and my arms feel like they’re about to fall off. My forehead is covered with little streaks of clay from where I brushed my hair back from my face. Freckles are beginning to appear on my nose, reaffirming my Celtic heritage. Read more
My Food Odyssey 