Well, considering the lecture I gave everybody yesterday on growing your own veg, you will glad to hear I’m helping DJ plant out more vegetables today on his day off. After months of inactivity, the plot is starting to come alive again – and the asparagus bed is incredible! This will be the first year we’ll be able to eat some of it – it takes about three years to grow it from seed. As you can see, DJ built a little frame to keep it from falling over, but now some of it has grown way past it and is even, dare I say it, taller than me!

But while plenty of things we planted have come up, including three different varieties of potatoes, peas, horseradish, and courgettes, a few things haven’t, which is worrying DJ a little bit. So we are going to plant them again today. He did grow some green manure in one of the patches and dug it in a while ago, and the instructions said that you couldn’t plant anything initially for a couple of weeks while the green manure settled in, but it should have been fine by the time we planted the veg, which is all a bit puzzling. Maybe the seeds were duds. Who knows? This is all the fun of vegetable growing!

Besides the veg plot, we’ve also been wondering what to do with the rest of garden and particularly the flower borders, if that’s a grand name for what we have at present, which is a few shrubs, a couple of flowers and a whole heap of weeds! Well, to be fair, some parts of the garden are mature and look good thanks mainly to the foresight and planting of the first owners of our house. But besides DJ’s fabulous vegetable patch, we’ve neglected the rest of the garden because until this year we’ve concentrated on updating the 1970s décor inside our house.

But planting up a garden can cost an awful lot of money, and we want to avoid spending too much cash on plants and shrubs that then might take years to fill out. So we’ve been taking cuttings of things such as our lovely euphorbias which are evergreen and quickly take up lots of room, and looking also to maximise certain plants that are wasted elsewhere in the garden and hidden by other stuff by moving them somewhere else. Plus we’re going to plant out some annual seeds we already have such as nasturtiums, nigella and busy lizzies etc. to get quick colour.

However, I am wondering whether this false economy given perennials will keep coming back every year and you have to keep planting annuals. Although I suppose as long as you plant self-seeding ones or collect the seeds, as you can with nasturtiums for example, then it’s not a bad idea.

DJ and I love nasturtiums as they are so colourful, flower for months and quickly fill out a border or hanging basket with just a couple of plants. So we have planted up a hanging basket each with three nasturtium seeds in a competition to see which one will do better. He of course is convinced his one will win the day. He is really the gardener so is likely to be more successful, but on the other hand he admits he’s a vegetable man and doesn’t really ‘do’ flowers!

Meanwhile, I have to report that we’ve both been out a bit this week and haven’t had a chance to get to grips with the…er…flightless partridge (aka squirrel) yet, so we’ve had to put it in the freezer until next week when hopefully we will sample its delights.

Let me know your frugal gardening tips. And have a great weekend!

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Is it just me or do your hackles rise when you see Kerry Katona trotting about in those irritating Iceland ads, loading up her trolley with cheap pizzas for the kids and braying about how wonderful it all is? I have nothing against Ms Katona or Iceland for that matter – I too have shopped there for BOG OFF offers in the past. And I’m not a parent struggling to feed my children. But if DJ ever overcomes his morbid fear of ‘small people’ and we have kids, I hope I won’t be shovelling cheap pizzas and chicken nuggets down their throats morning, noon and night.

True, we’re all experiencing the brunt of rising food prices and nobody more so than people already struggling to make ends meet. It makes sense to look at the weekly shopping bill and try to trim it by shopping around. There is nothing wrong with that, or the odd pizza. I lived on microwave lasagnes before I met DJ and he showed me there was another way.

But even in an economic slowdown, I think it’s important not to start eating rubbish just to save money. It’s clear from all the research into cancer and our ‘five a day’ that eating good food - good quality meat, and fresh fruit and vegetables - is vital to stay healthy (before you say anything, I’m not sure if that includes squirrel!). However, nowadays proportionally people spend less of their income on food. In 1957 a third of incomes went on food and non-alcoholic beverages. Now we spend only 15 per cent on food and more on housing related costs, such as rent, mortgages and council tax, our cars and leisure time.

OK, we don’t have much choice about paying the rent. But often when the property market slows people spend money on DIY to improve the homes they can’t sell. So before you think of adding a new bathroom or kitchen, why not spend the cash on your family’s bellies by building a vegetable patch at a fraction of the cost?

Not everybody has a garden. If you don’t, then why not try to get an allotment? Or if that is too difficult because of the waiting lists, find a friend with an allotment to help out, or someone with a garden who also wants to grow veg you could join forces with and share the produce. There is a council estate in Bermondsey which has turned its entire communal lawn into a vegetable plot, and many urban food growing clubs that you may be able to join.  But if even if you can’t find a plot, then it’s still possible to grow herbs, tomatoes and lettuces in pots on your windowsill. You can also grow mushrooms in a box under the bed. Your friends may laugh but you’ll have your own delicious produce!

Growing vegetables isn’t always easy and it’s hard graft. You’ll need to do a lot of reading, not to mention digging. There’s also a little financial outlay, especially if your soil isn’t great. We have clay soil that’s hard to work and could have taken years to get right, so DJ cut to the chase by building raised beds on our lawn and filling them with bought topsoil. And you can’t plant your veg just anywhere. You need to see where the sun travels along the garden and which areas get the most light before you decide where to put your plot. Plus you’ll need to work out ways of storing your produce so as not to waste it. Many herbs, beans and fruits can be frozen, while other things, such as apple slices, can be dried or turned into jams and chutneys. If you want to be really clever, you could build a root cellar to store vegetables.

We also fight a running battle with pests, birds, foxes and cats which try to eat or dig up our plants, oh…and the odd rogue pet chicken that occasionally finds her way in there (naughty, Thelma!). But it’s really rewarding and the produce tastes so much better than anything from the supermarket.

So get digging!

Do you grow your own fruit and veg? Would you compromise on food quality to save money?

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How was your bank holiday? Mine was rather…interesting. Apologies in advance to vegetarians, animal lovers...and those who have a delicate stomach...

I went out for the afternoon yesterday while DJ took the car and went fishing. By 8pm I returned home late and grumpy after problems with the local trains on the bank holiday, a particularly annoying replacement bus journey spent in the company of a group of American musicians, and footsore after foolishly wearing uncomfortable shoes in the heat. As I approached home I spied a black object hidden carefully behind a plant pot on the doorstep. My heart leapt…Could it be what I suspected? I approached with trepidation. How long had it been sitting out in the sun?

The handwritten note stuck to it caught my eye. “Shot at 5pm. Nice and fresh, hope you enjoy it! John.” I picked it up and it felt surprisingly light but warm. DJ was not back so I had no choice but to take it indoors myself. Steeling myself, I laid it on the work surface and gingerly peered inside. Sure enough, there were two grey squirrels, perfectly intact, if a little bloody. I was surprised at how little revulsion I felt, considering my fondness for small furry animals.

The gift from John the Poacher wasn’t entirely out of the blue. He popped round last week asking how we’d got on with Mr Bunny and cautiously sounded out our attitude to something more exotic. Grey squirrels are a notorious pest and game keepers are only too happy to be rid of them. However, eating them isn’t as socially acceptable as eating rabbits. In his book Cook on the Wild Side Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says was once reviled by his local press for shooting and cooking a ‘flightless partridge’ as they are known. One woman complained it set a bad example to children and that anyone who killed a squirrel should be forced to eat it. Er…wasn’t that the point?!

DJ had asked whether the grounds where John shoots might lay out poison for them, but fortunately they don’t so the squirrels should be safe to eat.

I waited for DJ to get home before tackling them – never having gutted or skinned anything in my life - and praying we wouldn’t also have to gut some trout. But fortunately for me – rather than him – he hadn’t caught a thing. After a late meal we set to work. This time I wasn’t about to get away with not participating in the skinning and ‘paunching’ (gutting) process, and I suddenly regretted eating so much at dinner as I greenly surveyed DJ laying out the squirrels on the draining board.

The little fellas were surprisingly difficult to skin, perhaps because it was now a few hours after they’d been shot, much harder than the rabbit had been, DJ said. And for less meat as you can only eat the meat on the haunches. I was game initially, but after watching DJ skin his I began to lose heart. “I’m not sure I can do this,” I said faintly. However, I pulled myself together and managed to skin most of my one, although I turned green at the paunching bit and DJ took over.

Now we have to decide what on earth to do with them. For now I think we’re going to do a casserole – probably similar to rabbit recipe as we already have the ingredients – because there isn’t much meat so we need to bulk it out. Especially as John rang asking if we could save a little bit for him!

I’ll let you know how we get on…

Would you eat squirrel or does it go against the grain?

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I met up with an old friend of mine last night I haven’t seen for ages as she’s been travelling all over the world, learning to scuba dive in the Philippines and caring for pandas in China no less! All very glamorous!

And now she’s well and truly got the travel bug – something which has never really affected me. Whenever I think I want to go somewhere exotic on holiday I am quickly reminded when I go that I rarely travel long distances because I get car sick, sea sick, motion sick, air sick, sunburnt and of course am usually ‘sensitive’ too, shall we say, to the local cuisine. The second week of my last exotic holiday two years ago to gorgeous Central America was largely sponsored by Imodium, but I digress…

Of course, one of the problems with travelling is that it tends to cost an awful lot of money. Air travel isn’t cheap, even if the cost of living and accommodation in your chosen destination happens to be fairly low. And if you’re volunteering or simply bumming around taking in the scenery, it’s unlikely you’ll be earning any money. When you come back you’re probably broke as you’ve spent a fortune while you were away, and earned nothing and yet – as seems to be the case with all the people I know who’ve been travelling – you’re dying to pack your bags and do it all again. But, instead, suddenly you have to get a job and find somewhere to live, at least until you can save up the money to hit the road once more. And even if you can easily find work, it’s the rent that eats up all your money, especially in London where my friend lives.

But she has come up with a novel solution to the problem, which I think is really inspired. Instead of finding somewhere to rent, and spending a small fortune, she started staying on friends’ couches for a little while until she began worrying about outstaying her welcome. Then an opportunity to housesit for a mate came her way. They were grateful for her to provide the service for free – looking after their pets and generally ensuring the place looked lived in and the lights were on etc. to deter burglars, in exchange for a roof over her head. Anyone who has pets knows how expensive it is to put them in kennels/cattery etc. and a professional house-sitter doesn’t come cheap either at anything from £25 to £44 a day or more.

Now she’s booked up for the next month or so with free house-sitting sessions, while she freelances in London, and living rent free. The only downside is that she has to live out of a bag, but she’s used to doing this anyway having been travelling for six months. And she’s never in the same area of London twice. But on the plus side, she’s saving a lot of money each month, yet not irritating friends or her parents by looking for a free ride. I think it’s a great solution!  Have a good weekend. xxx

How did you save money for travelling? Have you ever done any house-sitting?

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Practically every time I visit a petrol pump now I gasp when I see the prices. The psychological barrier of £1 a litre has been well and truly breached, with some forecourts flogging it for up to 119p a litre. Ouch!

At least there are a few internet gadgets out there to help. Petrolprices.com is one of a handful of websites I've stumbled across which help you track down the cheapest petrol prices in your area. All you have to do is type in your postcode and a number of possibilities come up. Although, to be fair, they're not always that helpful. Apparently the cheapest petrol pump near us is at an Asda supermarket, which currently charges 106.9p a litre. Great. The only problem is it’s over 4 miles away and it’s not in an area that we tend to visit anyway, so I’m not sure it’s worth the journey. Perhaps instead it’s time to adopt some fuel efficient driving techniques.

Luckily we drive a 1.3L Micra which is pretty cheap to run, if not the height of driving chic. The older 1.0L version we used to have was even more efficient but just couldn’t cope with the hills where we live. Oh…and there was the small matter of my driving it into another car in our station car park and ruining the entire passenger wing, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that.... This model is better, well, as long as you don’t have anybody too traditionally built sitting in the back and we rarely have anybody else in the car anyway, not having children or relatives nearby. And it’s surprising how much stuff you can fit in the back – something we discovered while doing up our house and spending lots of quality time in B&Q. While you won’t get a shed in the back of one, we’ve managed to fit pretty much everything else in there.

The Micra does have air conditioning, though, which eat fuels so we should stop using it. After all, it’s hardly needed in this grotty weather anyway! And I also need to stop driving like an Essex boy. Accelerating and braking hard, as er…I tend to do sometimes, apparently uses up lots of petrol. And the best top speed to do is 45 to 50 miles an hour because anything over that is less fuel efficient. Despite all the hard braking and revving, I’m not a speed freak and tend to drive at about 50/55 on national speed limit roads anyway, much to the annoyance of the big black SUVs that always seem to be driving behind me. I should also turn off the engine while stationary for long periods in heavy traffic as experts say this helps prevent wastage too. Not a problem, as I already stall for Britain…

Adopting the right gear for the right situation also promotes fuel efficient driving. Hmmm…something else which needs work. I often blame the Micra’s sticky gears for being in the wrong gear – fifth instead of third, etc. but I think the problem is really down to user error. And make sure you keep the tyres properly inflated.

Of course, the best way to save on petrol is not to have a car at all! Ultimately a car is a lousy investment and eats money. And the revelation by the Times newspaper yesterday that the government has abolished a tax exemption on certain older cars, making them virtually worthless, is another kick in the teeth for motorists.  But where we live it just isn’t practical not to drive. Frankly I’m impressed by a couple I know who have a child but simply refuse to buy a car and they do fine, although I think they have their groceries delivered or get a taxi home from the supermarket, which is what we used to do before we succumbed to being petrolheads.

Do you have a car? How do you save on fuel? Or do you think owning a car is a waste of money? Leave a comment and let me know.

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