Self-Sufficiency for one

Government statistics say that, for one reason or another, there are many more of us living alone than ever before. Whereas a house may have previously contained a family of four, it is nowadays just as likely to have a single occupant. Publishers have quickly latched on to these statistics and there's a plethora of cooking books and the like, aimed specifically at the one-person lifestyle.

Such facts, combined with a brief but unexpectedly enforced period on my own without partner and family recently, have set me thinking about the practicalities of self-sufficiency on a small-scale.

In front of our house here in France, I have a large allotment sized vegetable garden. At the side and within easy reach of the kitchen door, I have three small raised beds, ideal for salad stuff and herbs. The two are a perfect combination for a family of four, providing fresh vegetables all the year round, but for a single person, the large patch is totally unnecessary as the raised beds can produce all that is required.

You don't need a large plot of land......

The problem with the concept of self-sufficiency is the erroneous belief that a large plot of land is required. Tom and Barbara Good's attempts in the classic series 'The Good Life' on BBC TV, showed, admittedly, tongue-in-cheek that it would be possible to achieve self-sufficiency even in the smallest of suburban gardens - perhaps it might be sensible to omit the pigs and goats, but otherwise, with a little planning, a single person might be surprised at how self-sufficient he or she can become.

Raised beds can be adapted to suit any size of available space and have the added advantage of looking attractive thus forming a feature in the garden rather than detracting from it. Railway sleepers make the ideal border, being strong, robust, and heavily preserved, the right length and, cut in half, almost the exact width. (If you're ever tempted into cutting one with your chain saw, use an old chain as the preservatives, hardness of the wood and the odd piece or two of gravel that has attached itself to the tar, will ruin a new one and no amount of sharpening will get it back into condition). Ever increasingly difficult to get hold of, in the absence of sleepers, you might be forced into constructing a bed with breezeblocks or alternative materials.

If starting from scratch, make them any length but never more than four feet wide - the whole point of a raised bed is that the soil should never be compressed by standing on it and so it is necessary to be able to reach the middle from either side. If you're building a bed on concrete, an existing patio perhaps, the height needs to be about two feet, but otherwise, less than half that depth will suffice. With some existing soil at the base, it will take less to fill with good quality and expensive compost. In future years, the beds can be kept topped up by the addition of home produced material from your composing bin, but initially, it will probably be necessary to buy sacks of the stuff.

Protect Your Beds

On my own beds, I have made polythene frames that I remove in the summer. With the aid of their protection in the spring and autumn, however, it's possible to extend the growing season by at least six weeks and make the ultimate goal of self-sufficiency more of a reality. Careful planting of a variety of crops should mean that it's possible to take a daily harvest sufficient for a main meal for one or two people.

Seasonal crops such as fruit shouldn't be thought impossible for the single person with a small garden. There are a variety of fruit trees that can be grown and trained against the house wall or left permanently in tubs. In fact, growing trees in tubs could increase your options, as it may be possible to consider some of the more delicate types if you have a porch or sheltered corner into which they can be wheeled for protection in the winter. When choosing varieties suitable for your individual situation, remember to either buy two or choose a self-pollinating type.

Soft fruits are easy to grow in tubs, buckets, old chimneypots or any similar containers and take up very little space. A couple of plants in each receptacle will provide a daily picking for one person throughout the particular season and if different types are chosen, it's possible to create an extended cropping period. Any pot grown plants will obviously require more regular watering than those planted directly into the ground, but as they are being grown on a small scale, an automated system of watering should be a simple matter to arrange. The soil will also need regular feeding as the growing plants will very quickly leach it of any goodness. Herbs grow well in tubs and, being mainly of Mediterranean origin, will tolerate dry conditions.

Grow-bags have their place in the self-sufficiency garden and, provided that they do not contain any disease spores or chafer beetle larvae at the end of a season, the soil contents can be either added to the raised beds or compost heap once they are finished with.

Constructing a Compost Heap

A compost heap is essential in re-cycling waste matter from the garden. It can be bought, but provided that you bear in mind a few 'rules', it is a simple matter to construct one yourself. It shouldn't be too big (perhaps around three feet square and equal height), preferably with four sides, as the temperature necessary for the chemical breakdown of waste matter, is more easily regulated. Any material that was once alive can be added but beware of including too many lawn clippings as these will just turn into a hot soggy mess without the proper care and attention. Woody articles should be avoided, as they will obviously take longer to breakdown than any of the softer stuff like cabbage leaves. Once the bin is full, it should be covered with a piece of carpet or something similar and left for around a month. Then comes the backbreaking bit, as the contents need to be removed, turned, replaced and left again. Done properly, it should be possible to use the contents of a bin started in the spring, sometime in the late autumn. The contents of the bantam shed after cleaning out also make a useful additive to the heap.

You cannot really consider yourself anywhere near self-sufficient unless you can collect eggs from your own poultry. In a small area and with only one or two human mouths to feed, I would have no hesitation in insisting that you get yourself two or three bantam hens. If you have neighbours, I would suggest that you don't even consider keeping a cockerel. Bantams take up far less space than large poultry, eat about a third the amount of food and make less mess - they also have a lot more character. Housing is quite simple, especially if you buy one of the latest 'must have' units designed for the small garden.

But Which Breed?

Some of the lighter Mediterranean breeds such as Anconas and Leghorns will lay well and be less inclined to go broody but having said that, it is surprising just how many eggs some of the heavier bantam breeds like the Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex and Wyandottes will lay during the course of a year. For absolute guarantee of eggs, choose one of the hybrids which are suited to free range conditions -these are egg laying machines if fed and kept correctly.

Before rushing out to buy your birds, it will pay to mention your intentions to the neighbours. It's essential they're on your side as you don't want them making any complaints to the local authorities or blaming you for the appearance of rats in the garden. On that point, keep everywhere neat and tidy and don't leave food lying about. Keep sachets of rat poison under cover and in places where they might possibly try and set up home.

At certain times of the year, you will have more eggs than you need, even from two or three bantams. In the interests of good neighbourliness, make sure you take them the odd half dozen - the gesture could have good results with your neighbours offering you surplus produce from their garden.

Even from these brief notes, it is possible to see that just a small area can provide enough food for the single person. 'Self-Sufficiency for One' has a certain ring to it - I wonder if there are any cook book publishers willing to diversify?!!