Growing your own and the battle to pick it before the slugs get to it!
Morning everyone, just a quick post this morning as I've a busy, busy day ahead. Who'd of thought I'd have this problem in retirement!
I've just popped out into the garden to pick raspberries to put on our breakfast as we have fruit and yoghurt every morning - look at me, all healthy! It usually goes downhill, rapidly, from this point I might add but I do try to start the day with good intentions. I was wondering if anyone else grows their own fruit or vegetables? We grow strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and rhubarb. We have tomatoes growing in the greenhouse and also have a herb garden. We have just planted some runner beans that our neighbour has kindly given to us. He put six plants into the greenhouse for us and we have only been able to plant three as the others were stripped completely by snails in a day - so annoying!!!
 |
| Strawberries and baby tomatoes in the greenhouse |
We started to grow a few things ourselves as we eat so much fresh fruit and veg and the prices just keep on going up and up and so our shopping bill was constantly rising. I intend to buy a couple of blueberry bushes this year too and give them a go. We grow the raspberries and beans in tubs to try to give them a fighting chance against the army of snails and slugs that inhabit our garden.
 |
| The rhubarb patch |
We also have a Co-op nearby and have found that if I pop in about eight in the evenings, they have really reduced their fruit and veg. Sometimes I go in and there is nothing but other times I have come out with a carrier bag full. It's hit and miss but definitely worth popping in if I'm passing.
 |
| Example of what I can get from the coop. The reason I paid by card for such a small amount was because there was a huge queue and so I used the self serve which only takes card payments. |
Does anyone else look out for reduced items to help the housekeeping money go further? What other things do you do to try to stretch your cash?
 |
| I will miss having lazy breakfasts in the garden when summer ends. |
Have a great day everyone
Jules x
I will try to read all comments and reply. Please be polite and kind. Thanks :)
Welcome to blogland, I am a yellow sticker addict, it saves us a fortune.
ReplyDeleteHi, lovely to meet you. Do you but anything that's reduced or just certain things? It's amazing how much shops reduce food by isn't it? I only tend to buy fruit and veg.
DeleteHi I try and buy fresh produce really, there is always cakes, breads, ready meals etc, but I don't really buy much of that anyway, there is always so much rubbish but I am careful, I want good healthy things really, I shall write about it when I do another shop.
DeleteI have just wrote about yellow stickers today.
DeleteWe are huge meat eaters and my savings trick is to be at the grocery store by 8am at the latest because anything that will reach the 'best before' date on the day is marked down 50%...my freezer downstairs is full of it and so it the fridge freezer. We've been doing this for the last four years.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about going early I didn't realise that they would reduce first thing. I bet that saves you a small fortune. What supermarket is that?
DeleteZehrs
DeleteI don't go to the shops especially for the yellow stickers (as you call them in the UK, we have 35% off stickers), but if I come across them on the products I need, then I'll buy these of course.
ReplyDeleteHi Ivy, I don't either usually but I will pop in the coop if I am passing as it is literally 5 mins from my house.
DeleteLook forward to reading your blog,we are hoping to retire early too.🤘
ReplyDeleteHi Beth, make your plan and do your very best to save as much money as you can. Pay off any debts and reduce your outgoings where possible. You can do it! x
DeleteNo debts whatsoever,mortgage paid off,solar panels installed,some savings,but husband reluctant to give up working full time (he’s self employed) I’m trying to persuade him to work just say 2 days a week,he will be 60 soon and I’m 55
DeleteI have 2 rows of runner beans as always.....5 " sungold" tomato plants that are in the ground next to the beans. There are some raspberry canes but they aren't doing much at the moment. One gooseberry bush, and rhubarb needing to be picked again! The runners got off to a slow start, but most are now at the top of the canes and the tomatoes are going out of control with stems all over the place. I probably need to " stop" the growing shoots soon! I have been watering them every night now for weeks.
ReplyDeletePretty much the same as us, can I ask about your gooseberry bush Frances. We had ours in a large bin and it never bore fruit so we planted it in the garden last year but still nothing. Any ideas? x
DeleteI think we inherited ours 40 yrs ago with the garden.....I don't remember planting it anyway! Certainly been there a long time. It is in a narrow bit of earth between the path and the fence and just seems to keep going. Never gets fed or watered and produces fruit every year. Perhaps you are cosseting yours too much? Sorry I am not an expert on goosgogs!
ReplyDeleteI'm a yellow sticker shopper too, I mainly buy fresh fruit n veg and anything else that we can use. It saves me a fortune and we eat very well too June I only spent £85.14 it's just the 2 of us and the weekend grandson x
ReplyDelete