The Simple Way to Becoming Self-Sufficient in Food

Well said

Love the concept of "Part-time" self-sufficiency.

Something else to consider with garlic is growing the bulbs you need to provide the cloves you'll be planting for next year's garlic crop. I've been growing on the same garlic for 27 year now, the numbers have changed over the years as the number of cloves and their size per bulb have increased, i now need fewer bulbs. Presently a bulb a week to eat for 52 weeks, average six large cloves per bulb so i need another ten bulbs for seed, and like you've done add in a few more as insurance, around 65 works fine, usually still have a few bulbs left at the time of the next years harvest, not the greatest at this point but still better than whats available for sale.

I started by growing my favorite herbs, lettuces and edible flowers. Later, I added string beans and mini-cucumbers. Lots of fun!

You really broke it down! Thank you!!! Made it so much easier to plan out.

I always grow extra in case of failures, as you day, and more happily to give away.

Garlic has to include what you want to replant to have the same crop or more next year, extra number planted depends on number of cloves per bulb.

Great video Huw! You made me realise how self-sufficient we are (and I wouldn't have described us as such). There are certain crops we don't have to buy for months as we are harvesting from the garden or eating what we have in storage. Very happy with this and wouldn't want to try to be fully self-sufficient, I think—unless I had to!😁 Part-time is good!

Super concise practical videos thank you. The only thing I would add, there a benefit to planting hardness in the autumn and then some softneck in spring. That way you'll easily have garlic all through the winter (softneck will store longer from the late summer harvest).

Thanks, Huw, for another brilliant video. I agree with Tina (below): the joy of growing is when you get a harvest you can share with neighbours! It's the fun of community engagement that makes it a pleasure, and learning from each other's failures and successes - and sharing the excess produce. I was touched when a neighbour blessed me with broad bean and runner bean seedlings, and another built a cold frame for me. I've been able to give away loads of apples from our bumper crop, and my neighbours love our rhubarb more than me. It was fun learning how to use a friend's apple press, which they came round to demonstrate, but I may not be so popular if I invite someone round to process my horseradish roots!!

We were raised eating in season. My Mother, and now I, canned food for winter. We had onions, and potatoes in storage. They lasted until spring. Then we ate fresh greens, and started all over again. The thing I learned from my Mother was to grow what we enjoyed eating. We also tried things to see if we would like them. At that time, we had never heard of raised beds or any of the modern methods. We did, and still do, practice Companion planting. No sprays, or anything. The only problem was always animals. Deer, Raccoons, and Groundhogs were the worst.
GOD bless

Do you allow for apprenticeships in person? Or listed on WOOF?

I needed to hear that.

im confused :( im new to gardening and hoping to start growing as much fresh produce as i can for me and my family, im in the planning stage of what raised beds to have for production but i dont know how to find out what 'zone' the northwest (greater manchester) is so i dont know what to plant that will grow here :( can anyone please advise me? thanks.

For me it's a hobby, I'm growing herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, garlic. I'm going very slowly, I don't want to get to the point where I feel like I have 2 jobs.

As I make and eat quite a few curries I often blend to a paste garlic and ginger in equal amounts and put in ice cube trays and put in freezer then put in bags and use as and when. Saves chopping later on.

Great tips

Refreshing to see such a young man with so much wisdom and simplicity. Thank you Hew

I so gree.
This IS a beautiful documentary!!

Start with a plan and work towards it incrementally. But also and I think it's worth saying. Try to split your garden area. You don't need a lot of space to grow a summer garden that supplies a lot of produce. The other half or less should be a perennial garden. Jerueselem artichoke, asparagus,herbs edible flowers, etc in a spot where there is little to no maintenance is a great gift for no or little work. Keep it mulched and weed free that's all and they just grow year after year. Also remember processing is a lot of time and work as well so pick crops that are prolific producers and easy to store makes your life easier too.

Thank you! What a wonderful video!

PS I like the UK accent far better than the US one!

I would love if you can show a typical meal using produce from your garden.

God common sense, I love it. Thank you!

My goal is to become 100% self sufficient, hopefully with enough left over to trade for firewood. I've given myself ten years to accomplish this. So now, year one, I'm just doing a lot of experimenting. Lots of different crops, and some really obscure ones for fun. My main goal this year is to get a ton of seeds from what I'm growing, and also to improve the soil as much as I can. So that hopefully by next year I'll know more what I'm doing and have a good start without having to buy a lot of seeds or soil and fertilizer. Getting the infrastructure up will make for a good head start next year too, having all the beds and greenhouse and everything already in place. Not expecting a great crop this year, but will hopefully learn a lot and set myself up for success next year.

Thanks Huw, self- sufficiency is what we need now. You are a heaven-sent...

I started gardening a few years ago and the thing I struggle with most is sucession planting. I started off trying to grow everything. Now I usually choose 5 or 6 things I know are going to do well in my garden from previous years experience but I plant massive amounts and get one bumper harvest. I usually do tomatoes, broad beans, shallots, runner beans and salad leaves. I'd love to get better at sucession planting so that I could spread out my harvests or plan better so that as one thing finishes I can stick something else into the space

Quite simply, don't bite off more than you can chew. Excellent posts.
I must admit, I only potter around in the garden, a few tomatoes, some garlic, spuds on containers etc.
When I retire, only a few years away, I intend to ramp it up as I will have the time to put more effort and intend to use gardening as part of my exercise routine.
One problem I HAVE noticed though, is horsetail coming up in my green house and I can't get rid of it. Any advice please?

Great video!

total lunacy. You are NOT growing food. You're having fun in your garden. Since mankind has been around no known groups of humans have been sustaining themselves with leaves. Humans need one of the following food to get enough energy and protein: 1-MEAT 2-CEREALS 3-LEGUMES 4 TUBERCULES, but to some extent. That's it. If you're growing leaves, such as kale, lettuce, spinards, carrots, cuccembers, you're just have a crop to feed your daily salad. If you think that the Roman Legion invaded and took over Europe more than 2000 years eating what comes out of a vegetable garden you're not thinking well. Same can be said for the pioneers in the Mid West or Napoleon army when they walked toward Russia. The number of raving loons who think that they're self sufficient because they grow salad, I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

At one time I liked carrots, yet now I don't like them much, maybe they get used to much in foods I eat from shops/menus , I do like radish seed pods, so when I can, I let them go to seed n my yard's hotter summers, They can be harvested almost every day for quite some time, taste like the roots, yet produce tons more than a single root. Some years in the past, I grew so much food I couldn't quite handle putting away the harvests, several people that grow food forests have so many crops putting out food, they likely have to give lots of it away, which is good.

Got your book as a birthday present from my husband and now I'm here watching all your videos! Well done! I'm fascinated with your work 👍🏼 Love from Italy 🇮🇹✨

Where I live, with 5-6 months of full winter with deep snow and down to 25-30 C below zero, I would need a huge garden to be fully self-sufficient all year. I plant salads, spring onion, potatoes and peas for eating during the summer. Kale, tomatoes, peppers, squashes and garlic is ready in august-september. That is for autumn and winter, pickling, preserving and drying + fermenting some and eating some fresh. Autum is harvest season so many vegs is cheap to buy so I fill up with bought where my own harvest is lacking. Of course I could sow more but there is a problem with storing it, I already have three freezers for meat (hunting husband), berries and some mushrooms and vegs, a root cellar would be awsome to have!

Thank you very much for your very interesting and encouraging video's, I greatly appreciate your attitude regarding slowly adopting a more self-sufficiency pattern/
as a very elderly carer I am a great deal slower than younger folk and because of losing time because of same it can become somewhat frustrating trying to do the
preparing, planting weeding between bad weather but so lovely when eating, achieving this, so you were most welcome.
As for others who have closer ties to family and good communities around them, this too is very nice but a good deal of people living closer with ill or disabled people do not want this
because the majority of people in today's world keep a great distance, for fear of adopting a burden.
Well, you have a very encouraging attitude that does not come across as being too swanky but a very nice young man.
Thanking you once more, Maureen

In Idaho USA, onions are close to impossible to grow. The state Ag industry won't allow bulbs to be brought in and purchased seeds are non-viable so quickly. But I'm bound and determined to get a perennial onion in my garden and will keep trying until I succeed.

For someone with less space, you could cut down on your number of garlic plants by snipping off and using the greens occassionally.

How is self sufficiency possible if it takes months for produce to grow ????? Months to grow, lasts 3 days? Depending what you're growing as some are more filling then others, you would need 40+ patches all growing at different times or so then comes the new season and you'll have to start again

Thanks so much for this.

I love your videos, they challenge me to try things

Inspired by you, I cooked my first meal last week from home grown vege- tomatoes onions garlic potatoes eggplant peppers courgettes
It was so satisfying. Just bought your book too. Thanks 🙏 for sharing your wisdom

I never bother estimating how much I will need for myself, I just keep sowing and planting as I have the space for. Any surplus is always gratefully received by people who cannot grow their own.

I love how you embrace each season and much knowledge of the region you are in. I am forever learning how to grow in the city on a small patio. This year, I hope my blue berry plants come back as I have mulched heavily. They are in pots too.

My red russiun kale froze out early December. So much for my winter crop.

I like the celebrating the season bit at the end. Great video.

Brilliant video

Nice very helpful

I don’t have space or time right now to be completely self-sufficient but so I’m focusing on crops that are easy (like garlic) and/or expensive or hard to find.

❤

Beautiful video.