When one thinks of kitchen gardens, vegetable plots and allotments one rarely visualizes a scene replete with masses of flowers. No our imagination and memory play us pictures of rows of worthy vegetables; a patchwork of foliage with few if any flowers. And if you trawl the associated books flowers rarely get a mention except in the older tomes where a row of flowers may be included 'for cutting'. So why do we so ruthlessly exclude all the flowers from our visions?

-Every kitchen garden grows apples; but what are you to do with the inevitable surplus and the many imperfect ones? Turn them into cider is the answer. Cider is the traditional British drink. Some think of beer as the traditional beverage but beer is relatively modern being a sixteenth century corruption of honest ale (-they found they could use less malt and maker a weaker beer that would still keep if hops were added as preservative). Ale had to be strong stuff to keep and was full of body so acted as much as sustenance as drink.

I do not like using car tyres in the garden. I agree they are not aesthetic and they may be a source of pollution if kept long enough until the rubber degrades. However a tyre full of soil in your garden is probably less harmful than the rubber dust blowing in off the road outside. Tons of rubber are worn off tyres every day, that's why millions are replaced every year. The dust then blows around until it is washed into the soil or drains.

So you already grow your own vegetables and fruits, make your own pickles, jams, juices and wine. Next as many are doing you could consider growing your own eggs and or meat. I grew up on a farm and know that keeping such as a few hens is not difficult. Be warned though- most books on the subject dwell too much on diseases and problems. In practice with backyard animals, especially fowls, few troubles ever arise. True you should be aware of potential difficulties but in practice these are rarely encountered.