Confessions of a Clumsy Scot

So the whole point of the blog and Instagram initially was showing my wee garden and home so thought I’d do a wee post on how I got here.

We do love a conspiracy theory, what you believe or not is up to you but I don’t enjoy having to eat and enjoy things that are regulated by people who don’t really care about us.

I have quite a big garden, and having enjoyed being in the garden with my granny while growing up I thought I’d try and utilise the space I have.

Now I’m very much a beginner so I’m just doing trial and error and this will take a very long time. But my thought process is if I can make what I’m putting into my body and environment, even 1% better then I’m going to do it.

This year I tried a couple of different fruits and veggies to see what I can do well or what I need to work on. Those were carrots, Broccoli,  Spinach, Strawberries, Tomatoes and Chilli’s.

All of them grew to my amazement, however I wasn’t on the ball enough and I lost my Broccoli and Spinach. The tomatoes grew very leggy so I learnt I need to give them more room to grow, stake them earlier and to give them more nutrients to fruit. I only started my Chilli’s in October inside and they’re growing nicely so hopefully come spring they’ll be established and ready to fruit.

I’m ready to expand for next season, and I need to manage my time better so I can’t wait in terms of growing my own foods!

I’m also cutting down on chemicals. If I don’t need it, I don’t use it and I’m always on the hunt for more natural ways to clean/wash etc. I’ve stopped burning candles and I’m on the lookout for some natural ones instead.

We don’t use central heating anymore (we actually ran out of kerosene and never bothered to buy more) and I adore using our wee stove. It heats our living room and kitchen where we spend most of our time and we both find having a colder bedroom is a lot more refreshing too. It also means if there is a power cut, we still have heat, means to cook/boil water and a little bit of light.

I’ve cut right back on the meat I buy from supermarkets. I generally only buy chicken now (there’s unfortunately nowhere locally to buy fresh). I love being able to support local farmers and crofters by buying their meat and its far better for our bodies and environment, as well as directly supporting farming and local businesses.

This is just the changes I’ve made so far, and I can’t wait to continue this journey. One day I’ll hopefully even have some chickens too!