THE RECENT fuel crisis, and the ensuing chaos as frantic shoppers cleared entire supermarket shelves, left many people wishing they could grow and produce their own food.

One Menston couple were better off than most - thanks to many years'

experience of self-sufficient gardening and farming.

For Carsten and Barbara Svensgaard, of Cleasby Road, growing, picking,

bottling, freezing and pickling their own produce is still all in a day's work.

However, the couple, who recently

celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary, once produced almost all of their own food on a small farm in northern Denmark.

Mr Svensgaard was brought up on a farm in Denmark, and the two first got to know each other as penpals. Mrs Svens-gaard went out to work in Denmark for several years to improve her language skills, and ended up living there.

When the Svensgaards got married in 1960, they bought a small thatched farmhouse in the rural north of Jutland. For the equivalent of just £1,000, the farm came complete with 14 acres, two cows and 50 hens.

Mrs Svensgaard said: "We went to a rather remote place, with the idea that my husband could carry out his job as an agricultural advisor."

She remembers arriving at the simple farmhouse to find a warm welcome from their neighbours - some of whom lived on farms miles away.

She said: "When we arrived, the place was spotless from top to bottom. All the wooden floors were newly varnished, and entering the hallway was just like going into a flower shop."

Mrs Svensgaard took on the care of the hens - which soon numbered over 100 - and was particularly fond of the two Danish Red 'house cows'.

"I groomed them every day for half an hour, until their coats looked like polished copper," she said.

The farm had a small dairy, and the cows produced milk, cream, butter and cheese, while the hens produced enough eggs to sell some at a local shop. The Svensgaards also developed a large piece of land as a giant vegetable patch.

Fresh fish came from the nearby

fishing village's harbour.

Mrs Svensgaard said: "The fish came more or less alive in Denmark. They would chop the heads off the Plaice, but the fish bodies would still be flopping about all over the floor."

There was much work involved in maintaining the farm, but both were well-prepared for it.

Although Mrs Svensgaard was not brought up on a farm, as a child she helped out at stables near her parents' home in England in exchange for riding lessons.

Mrs Svensgaard always had a love of animals. The farm took on a former guard-dog St Bernard, which quickly became a loveable family pet.

One of her greatest disappointments came over a small Norwegian pony.

She said: "The farmers in the north still used horses for all the work on their land in the 60s. One day a man came to the farm with a pony and cart, selling cockleshell for the hens.

"He had one of these Norwegian ponies, and I asked about it. He offered to sell the pony, the cart and the harness to me for £50. I was delighted, and went to ask my husband, but he said he we

couldn't have an animal which did not do anything on the farm."

Instead, he agreed to buy another house cow, this time a Jersey heifer in calf.

Sadly, the days on the farm ended when Mr Svensgaard's job took him elsewhere in Denmark, and eventually to Britain.

The Svensgaard's children were born in Denmark, but brought up in Britain. They were encouraged to take an interest in farming and gardening.

Mrs Svensgaard said: "My daughter bred rabbits for meat for many years. She took great care of them and they had a wonderful life, if rather short."

Today, the couple have managed to recapture many of their home produce habits by taking on a large allotment in Esholt.

Although they are no-where near as self-sufficient as they were in Denmark, they do mange to produce vast quantities of fruit, vegetables, jam, wines and even honey.

"We have lots of beehives, and Carsten is the swarm officer of the Wharfedale Beekeepers. We get lots of calls from the police and the public saying they've got swarms of bees.

"We won't exterminate them unless we really have to, especially not honey bees. We try to re-hive them, and put them on a hive site for them to settle."

As well as honey, the allotment also

provides them with enough soft fruit to freeze and turn into jam. Mrs Svensgaard produces so much jam she uses it to raise money for the RSPCA.

"I don't think I've bought a jar of jam in my life," she said.

After harvesting their fruit and vegetables, they preserve it all year round by freezing it in large freezers. They produce so much, that sometimes food has to be thrown out to make way for the next year's supply.

The many years of practice have put them in a prime position to take home many of the prizes at the annual Menston Show.

Mrs Svensgaard said the allotment can be hard work, but does not need to be tended every day, and several allotment holders team up to share out some tasks. They recently bought machinery to do some of the digging, although Mrs Svensgaard last week spent a day cutting down shoulder-high nettles on a new allotment.

They have tried their hand at growing all kinds of fruit and vegetables, but sadly, West Yorkshire's climate has not suited more exotic varieties.

One of their greatest and more unusual successes, is their jostaberry bushes. The bushes, which grow a curious cross between blackcurrants and gooseberries, are said to produce some of the finest jam around.

The Svensgaards still have to so some shopping, and regularly visit Otley Market, but for them, mass-produced supermarket food is not on the menu.

"We don't have the need to go to the supermarket. The supermarket things might look beautiful, but they don't have the flavour. There's a lot more work with things from the garden, because they have to be cleaned," said Mrs Svensgaard.

She would love to return to keeping animals, but there is nowhere large enough near to the house, and council rules prohibit animals being kept on allotments.

"Maybe one day, we'll have to see," she said.