Self-Sufficiency in Kannesten

Little T helping me sow a flower meadow to keep the bees happy

I quite often get the question about what I do now that we have moved to Kannesten. I gave up my accountancy job in London and now I am seemingly doing nothing. I am certainly not taking a long vacation; we are laying the groundwork for our self-sufficiency.

This is a long-term project, as we won't be self-sufficient for a long time to come. However, I do hope that we can become self-sufficient with some of our vegetables this year. We already support some of our egg consumption through our own hens and we have collected a shedload of wood, which at least will support our kitchen stove through next winter. Yesterday, we set up our first water butt and we are collecting chicken poop, so we are self-sufficient on water and feed for our vegetables. More food and energy supply will come over the next few years.

Cabbage growing in the stables

The list of vegetables that we are growing this year is long and we are using this growing season to figure out what works in our soil and weather. Beetroot, all kinds of cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, pumpkin, tomato, pepper and onion to name but a few. Needless to say, we have seedlings pretty much everywhere - we have even set up a room in the stables with lights to create the perfect growing conditions for the little ones.

Jerusalem artichokes will provide a hedge on the south border of our vegetable patch

Watch this space for updates on our self-sufficiency!