Frugal forages | Blackberries | Tomatoes

About 2 weeks ago I dragged my other half along blackberry picking.

It's very spiky, so be careful - but there was an abundance of these along one of our quiet roads on the island.

We were probably picking for about half an hour and we got near to 900g of berries, for nothing!

                           


Over the next week this made 2 Blackberry, apple and date crumbles and a pie - best of all the blackberries didn't cost a thing.

If this is something your interested in its definitely worth a go, last year I got a huge haul of these that I ended up freezing a large batch and making jam to last for months.

This is somewhere between pie and crumble, I didn't have enough pastry for the top, so thought on my feet. With some salted caramel ice cream this went down a treat.

Mmm Pie!

Finally, on the subject of foraging I have harvested the last of my Romanian Dwarf tomatoes, here are the lovely and sweet little beauties.

Did you grow any goodies this year? Or perhaps you've been foraging, please leave me a comment below.

Cookie x

Living off the land.. not quite

Ok so it wasn't exactly a bumper crop but I grew it myself, it didn't take very long and it was relatively little effort.

I absolutely love growing veg for so many different reasons, in the winter months I look forward to February/March time when I can start sowing my seedlings and get the ball rolling.

 

For me its a great thing to pass time, it doesn't take too much time but it's something that I can have playing in the background. The other thing I really like it seeing the whole process from start to finish, seed to vegetable. 

Another positive is that you truly know where the produce has come from and the process used to grow it, I haven't used any harmful pesticides or fertilizers.

I love to learn, I am by no means a gardening guru and I scour the web and YouTube for inspiration, tutorials and everything to do with gardening.

Of course you do also get to eat the veg once its grown, I tend to grow cucumbers, a couple of tomato varieties, radishes, beetroot, kohlrabi, spring onions, courgettes, peppers and aubergines, potatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries and apples. 

Home grown vs Store bought

I need to be more selective and I haven't grown all of the produce listed above this year, but not far off. 

Now for something you possibly weren't expecting, I live in a townhouse with no garden, I have a small patio area at the back and a small area at the front and manage to grow so many veggies and fruits in medium to large pots. 

If you haven't tried growing fruit and veg I would recommend giving it a go, the seeds and compost don't cost the earth, and although all in all it probably costs less from the supermarket the process is enjoyable. It's fun to do with kids and they will love being involved in creating your own produce.

My ideal plan would be to live on a farm, have a couple of animals, perhaps a goat and some chickens. I don't see this happening for the foreseeable future but I am considering a spot in my local allotment.

Cookie x