Please don't dive straight into trying to be self-sufficient. If you do you are likely to end the year frustrated, burned out and lacking enthusiasm to continue. There's rarely a need to rush, take a few years and practice the key skills and lifestyle changes that you need to make it a success.

There are a few big decisions and investments that you need to make too and I will try and guide you through them, although we are only really have expertise in the approaches that we decided to take.

Learn to harvest

One of the most neglected topics in gardening is harvesting, every book covers sowing, planting, weeding and watering, but harvesting barely gets a mention. For me harvesting is a key skill and it becomes ever more important the more you harvest.

We've learnt over the years that the better we get at harvesting, the more we eat and the more we enjoy growing our own food. The key insights were:

  1. Harvest more of a plant
  2. Harvest different parts of the plant at different stages of maturity
  3. Intentionally harvest thinnings
  4. Get organised and only harvest once or perhaps twice a week
  5. Clean and pack your harvest, so it's even more convenient than supermarket shopping
  6. Learn how to store your produce

I cover all of these topics in my chapters on harvesting, advanced growing techniques and storing products. Sections on each specific type of fruit and veg, provide more details too.

Start growing the easiest, most productive and healthiest veg

The advice to 'grow what you like', sounds sensible, but it's actually bad advice in many ways. For most people it constrains them to thinking about home grown food from a supermarket mentality. I've written a whole chapter going through a new way to think about growing your own food and provide tools you can use too.

https://youtu.be/hgvFzrq08Bo

Your experience of buying supermarkets encourages you to believe that there's only specific parts of a plant that are edible, that veg can only be eaten at specific stages of growth and shape. Supermarkets also import fruit and veg from all over the world, giving you the impression that you should aim to eat the same produce each season, rather than discover superior alternative plants for each season that are interchangeable in your recipes. My year round growing guides explain how to the extend the season for your favourites, and substitute during the rest of the year.

Get organised and into the routine

Many people comment about how organised I am and how much time I must spend gardening, "it must be a full time job", "you are so organised". Neither of these is true. I only spend about 12 hours a week on the allotment, a lot less in summer/winter, a bit more in April, May, September and October. The kitchen garden takes less than 2 hours a week.

I'm also naturally disorganised and live a very free and flexible life, with little structure and constraint. I've taken all that organisation and captured it in systems that nudge me do what's needed, when it's needed, they keep me on track, without getting in the way of the rest of my life.

I make all of these systems freely available, so your can use them yourselves. Not everyone will garden the way I do, so I provide a range of tools to help.

A routine is also important, it helps to have a pattern to your weeks, months and seasons. We harvest on a Sunday, clear and plant on a Monday, start planning next month on the 25th, plant for spring in February, plant for summer in May and plant for winter in September/October. I know these are the busy times so I know when to not go on holiday. A harvesting routine is particularly important and I cover that in detail.

All that said I do sometimes get a bit overwhelmed by it all, usually in May, so it pays to remind myself that it will soon pass and I will be enjoying the 'lazy days of summer'.

Learn about your growing space

For more on how to mitigate some of the quirks of your growing space, see the chapter on growing under cover.

Every growing space is different

It takes a little time to understand your growing space, to tune your planting to exploit it to best effect. This is especially true if you grow in a garden, with fences/walls which provide shelter, but also shade at different times of day. Here are a few of the factors to consider.

Soil

Your soil can vary quite considerably, even on a small plot. Not just the composition of the soil (sandy, silty, clay) but also the extent to which it drains, competition from tree/bush roots in your own garden or next door. Some soil might also harbour diseases. So you need to try out your soil with different test plantings and figure out what grows well there. A thick mulch of compost, or a raised bed can also fix a lot of problems.