New Year thoughts.

Every New Year brings new thoughts about what to do with our  land :  what shall we grow, what is easy to grow, what is best bought when in season and cheaper than doing it yourself.....

Each year we seem to be  growing more and more,  that obviously has to be stored so we now have 3 freezers running, plus jars of dried, brined or vinegared stock.  Drying and storing in jars is the most economical,  buying in season actually works out cheaper sometimes when you take into account of these things.....seeds- compost- pots- bottling- gas- electricity etc.   Add to that the immense amount of time we spend digging and rotavating, planting and weeding, watering and harvesting, and at the end of it there might be a bug-infested soul destroying crop!

So this year we have decided to grow things that are easy and reliable,  such as beans and peas,  chillis and strawberries,  kohlrabi and globe carrots,  kale and lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers in smaller numbers so we have enough to pick and eat as and when needed,  squash and courgettes in the newly built raised side garden bed - again, only enough to eat without the need for another freezer.  Plus we want to grow things that can't be bought, such as horseradish,  but we've given up on swede, turnip and sweet potato, there are easier alternatives to those such as squash.

We always try to grow onions and garlic, with some success, but never achieve the size of onion that we can buy locally.  25 kilo sack for 5 euros 50 cents - 22 cents a kilo / 59 huge onions.  Can't get them to grow that big, ours are only pickling size at best!  Our garlic always grows but never very big and this year it didn't store well, all went soft and although I've planted it in the hope something may happen there is no sign of anything yet.

Potatoes are another extra, we plant sprouting forgotten ones and if they produce enough for a few meals it's a bonus but it's easier to buy them.

But the strawberry plants are flowering and fruiting again, we had fresh strawberries on the Christmas trifle,  they seem to be unstoppable.

We have plenty of other things to occupy ourselves with,  we won't be sitting by the pool all day bored stiff and it would be nice to get out and about with Monty and Pip for long walks.

These new year thoughts may yet change as we look at the seeds we have left  from last year, look at the land and the amount of compost that needs to be dug in,  I'm sure we've thought all these thoughts before and ended up planting as much if not more than the previous year - but we don't have room for another freezer, the shelves are full from this year, so it'll have to be grow to eat only.   And I'd like to have a year that doesn't involve spending  every Sunday  watering,  and filling storage tanks for the coming week.

Whatever your plans, thoughts, and resolutions are for the coming year, hope you have a good one.