Starting Again for One

[cambourne7]

Hi All,

So am now turning my attention to the garden and getting some veg in the ground for the winter as i suspect with this weather were going to have lots of failed crops.

And i need to adjust cooking for one as daughter is still not keen on lots of veg including onions.

Have tomatoes, courgette, aubergine, cucumber (which i hate paul liked), stir fry veg, peppers in greenhouse and my Brussel sprouts roots from last year have resprouted (had cut off just above soil and left as soil from frozen) so i might get some sprouts. I did have some cabbage sown but its fried in greenhouse when i got distracted and did not water for a few days.

Have had tons of failed seeds this year (new seed stock) and have finally got some peas to germinate which i put out yesterday once i seen green bits :)

Need advice on growing for one, how do you decide what to grow (not good at freezing stuff) and how much to grow.

Feel like i am starting again from scratch.

Cam

[cambourne7]

[Obelixx]

How old is your daughter?  It's possible to hide vegetables such as carrots, onions and courgettes in dishes like bolognese, lasagna, meatloaf, shepherd's pie.

Even without bits of neglect and distraction it's been a hard year for germinating seeds and getting seedlings to grow IME - low light levels, cold nights, cool days....  I'm still wating for my tomatoes to get excited and they're in a polytunnel!   Garlic and shallots planted at the end of lastyear have done OK but the bulbs are small.  Haven't harvested any spuds yet as they don't seem ready.   Squashes and courgettes ar every slow.

I think the trick to growing for small numbers is to grow what you like and sow little and often so they don't all come a once and you get a succession of ripe fruits and veg and choose varieties of cabbage and broccoli that will stand well over winter. 

[cambourne7]

haha tried that and nope not going to work she's 14 and just about 5.8! haha and cooks her own meal of mine is not "right".

Yes been a very weird growing year !!

[Obelixx]

My daughter is 28, at home again thanks to Covid, and I still hide veggies as well as having a rule since childhood that she ats at least one spoonful of anything she thinks she doesn't like.   When she was a bairn I hid carrots and beetroot in chocolate cakes and now she asks for it it and will happily eat roast carrots.   Don't tell her but tomorrow night she's getting roast beetroot.

I don't try my luck with bananas and avocadoes and, since I hate them myself, never expect her to share OH's Xmas sprouts.  I can only get turnips past her if I make a Cornish pasty.

[Paulh]

Perhaps grow two thirds as much (in quantity or variety) of what you like, ditch the sprouts and cucumbers, and use the extra space to grow winter squash (if you don't already). They are low maintenance, the bush varieties don't run riot and the squashes keep for months.

Don't be worried by surpluses - they give you the excuse to knock on a neighbour's door and have a chat, even if they decline the offering.

[Vinlander]

Don't feel you need to answer, but you don't say she eats junk food, she may be eating to be expensive (eg. fillet steak for texture and status instead of rump for flavour) or nothing but carbs - the possibilities are endless - but...

I strongly believe that all "bad food" is only bad because it can stop you eating fruit & veg. I'm saying it's not what you eat that challenges your health, it's what you don't eat.

There are some more delicious versions of junk food - eg, root vegetable crisps - (which can be made at home) could be an introduction to roasted whole root veg.

Despite decades of eating I've only just registered how much nutmeg transforms vegetables - especially Pumpkin, Squash, Sweet-potatoes & Swedes.

There may be some fruits she likes , so you could negotiate a doubling of those in lieu of something particularly bad - like fake or UPF desserts. Personally the only fruit I will eat with milk-based desserts are blueberries - everything else makes the milk taste off.

I could go on, except I'm probably way off beam already.

Cheers.

PS. Does anyone else think the worst example of UPF has to be bacon made from "vegetables" (probably just dodgy extracts).

[Vetivert]

Hi Cam,

regarding the picky eating, unless your family hates squash, I'd personally recommend growing as much winter squash as possible. Some varieties keep VERY well at room temp. avoiding the freezer issue: 11 months is my record, and only because a recipe required it, I don't know their actual limit!

They're extremely versatile in both sweet and savoury recipes - baked in the skin, or stuffed with mince, fritters, pies, cakes, curries, stews, soups with a bit of cheese and a crusty loaf... heaven.

But I'm biased because I love squash, which you may not have already deciphered