Chocolate eclair

Spent a fortune on gypsum, sheep pellets, compost, top soil and mulch for our garden. Weeds grow happily in the clay soil but my shrubs and flowers less so .
Happily house and garden are now for sale, hope someone buys it soon for a good price 🤞.
Must try and avoid clay soil and a sloping garden in our next (UK) home.

The other issue with growing one's own fruit and vegetables is our health. Various ailments mean that we struggle to do the planting, digging, lifting etc that we used to sadly. The other issue is mental health struggles, some days I can't face gardening or having to water the garden. It just feels too much.
I have planted cucumber, cherry tomato, capsicum, chilli and lettuce today. Hoping they may tempt someone to buy . If not, we've got the beginnings of a salad!

SSky

Connections! Know the right people or work at the right places and food becomes cheap. I'm over manual labour now but used to get free eggs, tomatoes, milk and meat so pretty much sorted lol. The prices in the supermarkets are just silly right now. We'll survive

Moses2013

I hope it sells quickly for you. Do you have the tomatoes under a cover? We have them all in the greenhouse and since then no problems.

Chocolate eclair

Thanks very much. Not hopeful for our first Open Home in 40 mins as it's throwing it down. I wouldn't want to come out in this weather!
I've only planted one tomato plant as I hate the things. Nothing is undercover, though the strawberries have netting over them. Currently got some geraniums that are looking like waterlillies with the amount of rain we're having today. Just caught a thrush having a bath in the pooling water which I consider very rude given that we've got a beautiful bird bath on the deck!!!

BEVS

Yes we will. We have quite a good barter system going on. Helps no-end now we are on NZ state pensions.

I hope it sells quickly also.

We grow our tomatoes and veg outside here . Would be too hot in the greenhouse. My best contribution each year is the sweet corn. Astonishing plants.

NZ may not be able to veg garden itself out of an unavoidable CoL rise but it will help many many low income folks get through. It will be hard for a while - and not for the first time in my lifetime - but it will pass. It always does.

There are at least 4 community gardens in this area . There is also the give or free swap produce that goes on. Meanwhile quality cheese is now the stuff of myth and legends.

old.sparkles

Cheese is not my thing, but found this - https://cheesemaking.com/products/ch...-making-recipe

Not sure how difficult it would be - and looks time consuming - but there may be alternatives.

Chocolate eclair

Cheers. Husband has had some success with sweetcorn, he's not bothering this year with the house sale.

Sounds great that there are so many community gardens in your area, I think there's one linked to a primary school in our area but not sure.
Myself and a friend share baking and a few fruit and vegetables but there's no bartering going on within our circle. Perhaps I'm too soft because I'm happy to give stuff to others but don't expect anything back.
Other friends have a lifestyle block, sadly they keep sheep and I don't like lamb!

Yes, things will get better, they have a habit of doing that. I'm looking forward to being back in the UK and being able to buy British goods at a normal price. When you can't tolerate local cereals that's an expensive problem.

BEVS

Our recently returned neighbours ( younger with children) & others both here and back there have told us things in Blighty are stupid expensive right now. I might be-moan cheese. They are moaning fish and chips. Fuel costs and all manner of other stuff. I think we are all feeling this pinch . Some more and some less and obvs. nowhere near some countries.

Still. Who the heck cares eh? You are getting to go Home.

Moses2013

The polycarbonate greenhouse gets very hot, but that's why we keep the doors open in summer. Even in Germany or Spain, people I know get best results from greenhouse as any rain will damage them and they get hotter temps than we do. Only if it's constantly above 32C would you have a problem. Chillies also do best under a cover, but the rest we have outside.

mikelincs

Someone bought a small container of cherry tomatoes and went through the self checkout, somewhat suprised when it came up as £900 for the item, Supermarkets comment, it was a glitch and has been rectified, we apologise to any customer affected.

LittleGreyCat

Buying veggie seems strange at the moment.
There was an onion shortage in Whangarei because the weather was too wet to lift them
We passed on buying courgettes in Nelson because the price seemed twice that in the UK - isn't there an extended growing season in NZ?
Still, after all the other costs of flying from the UK to NZ the extra cost for veggies is trivial.
It just doesn't feel right to pay over the odds.

Justcol

Veggies are seasonal with very seasonal prices.
$6.99 for a cabbage today 😳

BEVS

I suppose the over the odds thing is that the price may seem extortionate if one is used to cheaper prices.
The UK would get NZ fruit and veg at a cheaper price than NZers can buy it . Tomatoes are a really good example of this. Those are for export first and for NZers second.
The same goes for fish/shellfish and meat. It is all with the eye to export.
Then there is the price rig thing. Prices rocket up when it is known that the consumer will want that particular foodstuff. Unless there is a glut for some reason , you won't get cheap in NZ.

The way to go is network/barter/exchange. With the way stuff grows in NZ there should be more than enough for everyone so share and share alike works well.

LittleGreyCat

Just to note that we are staying for a couple of nights in an annexe to a lovely house which looks much like our Kiwi dream.
Near Linkwater.
Woke up this morning to find a selection of fresh home grown tomatoes on the outside table.
So free - if you ignore the rent we are paying.
Close to Picton but Queen Charlotte Drive is in a really bad state so the area has similar problems to the Coromandel with roads being wiped out by slips

BEVS

Linkwater is lovely. Enjoy this weather .