just a thought/idea that crossed my mind..

I'd say that if you have a couple of acres, 3 days a week and the enthusiasm, you'll definitely produce more food than the average person
However, you'll need to start planning and preparing now so that you can get your winter crops in. Good Luck

Yay Well im actually sorted for this year, ive been working since Feb on about 1/2 acre ive got tomatoes ripening, loads of cucumbers/chillis/beans/ cabbages/sprouts salad leaves, leaks, corn spuds, turnips/melons and squashes plus a lot more, and ive got winter crops going in soon, im actually really proud of myself this in what I have achieved so far, and for the rest of the ground im thinking of mulching with seaweed/manure or a green manure like redclover, im gonna test the ph just to see recheck how it is

Ive been growing veg with my dad for the last year or 2 but this year ive really gotten into it and next year I want to be as productive as I possibily can!

Sounds fantastic Do you eat all that you grow - or do you buy veg in - or sell your surplus?
To my mind, Self sufficiency (even partial) means you're ready to eat cabbage every day if that's all you have! To eat anything that you've grown rather than buy anything in - unless you can barter/sell your surplus for something else.
I go through these phases myself - last year I decided to regard my gardens as a little smallholding, that my "job" was a farmer, and I was surprised how it changed my attitude to my garden. I'm still working my smallholding!!

good luck with the course.

A lot of your success is down to the weather, not the "work" that you put in. So far this year I haven't harvested more than a lettuce

Good luck with your course, but it is extremely difficult to be truly 'self sufficient' unlike the unrealistic and idyllic garden in 'The Good Life'.
We have around 3 hectares (if you include pond, woodland and built bits) and a huge veggie garden. Even though I am retired and pretty fit, I find I simply cannot keep up with the work needed in weeding, planting, and harvesting. In summer there is a massive abundance, but even when you plan winter crops well, you often find these are affected badly by climate conditions, so there is very little produce from even kale and sprouts. Even with the polytunnel there are periods with nothing we can harvest in January and February. Storing food is part of the answer and our French neighbours grow enormous beets which keep all winter, as do some kinds of summer and autumn squash.
The biggest problems are with diseases (like blight this year) which can wipe out most of the crop despite all the work and effort. We now have a food drier and have tried to process as much fruit as possible this way to store for winter.
What I guess I'm trying to say is growing enough to be truly self sufficient is beyond most of us, especially if you aren't using heavy machinery like tractors and organic methods of weed, pest and disease control. You also cannot underestimate how much time and hard work all this takes.
Nevertheless, it is fabulous fun trying and very satisfying.

Thank you guys for the well-wishes!

Its a 2year course and I have done the first year this year and are adding more days later on this year

I know im kidding myself in thinking im going to be truly self sufficient, I guess I am kind of in awe of the simple "Little House on The Prairie Way Of Life" In a way it was kind of how my Dad/parent lived they all grew their own food back then and had their own smallholding/farm and indeed one of the areas I am using was used for my great grandfathers spuds over 50 years ago.

But as I have 18acres or so, its being grazed at the mo, I'm thinking of taking about an acre of it next year for veg growing (plus the 1/4acre I am using this year and the area my dad does the spuds in,) he plans on doing about 8 rows about 20ft long next year, we always have our own spuds though, only a few weeks ago did we finally finished using up last years hoard and already have started on this years crop of.

I think my one enemy will be the weather, mainly wind, rain is annoying too but the gales batter everything, so as well as the partial bit of shading from the ditch, ill probably erect a wind barrier with the fine mesh stuff, it works well in my other patch! It will also keep cattle out (along with the mains fence)

Im thinking ill do the "tougher" crops in the field, ones which love space and from my experience this year are quite tough despite the winds we have had! like squashes, spuds, sweet corn, most brassicas carrots, onions and have the "delicate" /shorter cropping plants in my more sheltered patch like climbing Beans, lettuces/spinach, chards,kale berries, maybe a few outdoor cukes/courgettes for fun.

One thing though is that id raise the most in modules first to get them started as they wouldn't make it direct planted in irish weather, except for carrots/parsnips.

The amount of work involved, like said is unimaginable but my Dad also loves this and knows a lot since its what he did growing up, we grow everything organically with the exception of the blight mix but he's changing that this year even to a bluestone mix which is less toxic but my spuds this year will be 100% organic even if blight comes i'm just going to cut down stalks and see what happens! Last year we kept the veg for ourselves, we stored all the spuds/turnips/onions and other stuff, but the year before we sold our excess produce, something we're still looking into

I was just looking at my dads spuds this evening and they look quite promising despite the poor start weather wise!

where abouts are you in SI? pop your location in your profile.

I'm in NorthKerry, right on the coast

It helps if you're vegetarian, and if you're a creative cook, ie prepared to eat meals other than "meat and two veg".

I grow about £500 of veg & fruit a year (I did weigh & cost it all one year). In reality it means that all I buy during the growing season is pasta & rice (and not even that if I have new potatoes).

In winter we live off frozen soups & stews. I'll buy a bit of Quorn if I fancy a change, and cheese. I don't eat much bread.

I grow lots of beans for drying, which give me more than enough protein.

if you can produce more than you are now,then you will definitely be smarter than the average bear,eh,boo boo,power to your elbow..

One tip that may or may not be useful is to canvas your local area to see what crops local shops would be willing to take from you. We always have an abundance of rhubarb and we had an arrangement with our local greengrocer that he would take the rhubarb in exchange for a "slate" - that way I can buy bananas, lemons, oranges etc off the back of my rhubarb. certain crops people will pay a premium for - have you seen the price of 3 sticks of rhubarb or a handful of broad beans in the supermarkets??? We did also think of doing the same with red and black currants but we would have needed to have invested in plastic containers as that's the only way the shop would have accepted them. Its definitely worth having a chat with any local greengrocers or deli's.

Yeah thanks that's a really good idea about asking local shops, im in a very small costal village, so we get a lot of tourists, hmmmm im gonna mention it to the local shops one thing though wouldn't you have to have some kind of license for shops to take produce no?


500 That's amazing

I was Vegan for a while but im now pescitarian but I catch as much of my own fish as I can for myself as well as for my cat and dogs

Im really looking forward to using beans in stews, I have a lot of Broads atm but although the pods are huge, the beans inside are tiny, I cant wait for runners/frenchies!

I eat broad beans in their pods - when they're about little finger size. Don't have to wait too long for them that way!