Something for Nothing (Ish)

Growing your own can be a massive help when trying to work to a budget.

Our season wasn't without issues, and we're really only just getting to the point where we have veggies that are ripe and ready. Rainbow chard has been our biggest gardening win this year as it continues to put out after a chop - I think I read that if we cover it before the frosts it should come back next year too.

The chillies are just starting to ripen which means soon they can come in to dry and I should have a year's supply if not more of them sorted.
The massive fails in the garden were the aubergines and anything we left in the cold frame - someone decided all of these were really tasty and that was the end of that. Oh and the Nero, damn you cabbage whites!

Next year we have a plan to get the garden fully operational with some self constructed pallet beds round the back of the sheds in the garden - which should make next year's budgeting a bit easier, especially when Mr ATL gets back to bulking. The pallets we have got essentially either for free (from Mr ATL's work) or we have found a local centre that will drop off a lorry load of them for 99p with delivery for free - RESULT! It's now a case of waiting for another dry weekend to start the set up.

Hedgerows and forgaging
We're lucky that Mr ATL and I live in an area where we have loads going on in the hedgerows. Opposite the house we have cherry plums, mirabelles, sloes, bullaces, damsons, blackberries, cherries, apples, figs and elder.
In the garden we have blackberries and damsons that have grown wild over the year.

For us it's a case of remembering to utilise this 'free' food source. I fully intend to go blackberrying in the week to make use of the glut that we have in the area presently. The cherry plums, damsons and mirabelles we tend to pick and send to my folks so they can make them into jam - that's obviously without the ones we munch as we pick.
Bullaces and sloes are really helpful for making Christmas presents in the form of flavoured spirits and chutneys.