Gardening, again... page

[Kate Ruckman]

It's been a decade since I gardened, other than a few tomato plants on the front porch, year before last. I know, I know, it's hardly primal and this isn't exactly hunting and gathering (OK, well, a lot of gathering), but we like organic veggies, belong to a CSA, shop the organic section of our local market, and it finally just made sense to get back into it myself. We were part of the back to the land movement in the 70s (yes, I'm old, why do you ask??), and I gardened for years after we moved back to town. One thing and another got in my way, and I hadn't, for ages.

This feels GREAT. I know where the food comes from, it's not shipped 1500 miles, it's not weeks old, I KNOW it's organic, and other than effort and the cost of plants and seeds, it's free.

Anybody else gardening out there?

(Hey, it's exercise, too...I lift heavy things, I walk a lot more...and life is good.)

[aix_sponsa]

I have a little garden that I put a lot of work into this spring. It produced lots of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers (the taste of a fresh one straight from the garden is so different than a store bought one!), yellow squash, and black eyed peas. We got a few weeks of torrential rain, followed by blistering heat, and everything died. Now I'm just waiting to start over with a fall garden! I'd like to grow broccoli and lettuce.

For gardening related online communities, check out GardenWeb and Homesteading Today, two other forums I frequent (Homesteading Today's forum is a wealth of information on self sufficiency, not all that different from the values of the primal community!)

Jenny

[kkratz57]

Count me in! I have a 1300 square foot garden. Finally moved into a place with a decent amount of land, so I'm able to plant quite a bit. I got a late start, so this is more of an experimental year. Lots of variety I'm trying -- different kinds of tomatoes and peppers, mixed varieties of radishes (the last of which I'm turning into Mark's Breakfast Pork and Radish Hash from one of his books), arugula, collards, kohlrabi, carrots, yellow beans, acorn and spaghetti squash, cukes, cabbage, cauli, broccoli, brussels sprouts, canteloupe and watermelon.

It's a good amount of work, but I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! Something about the smell of the dirt is intoxicating. And I don't mind putting the sweat and physical effort towards it since the rewards will be plentiful.

Now I need to find all of my canning jars...

[Kate Ruckman]

I have a little garden that I put a lot of work into this spring. It produced lots of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers (the taste of a fresh one straight from the garden is so different than a store bought one!), yellow squash, and black eyed peas. We got a few weeks of torrential rain, followed by blistering heat, and everything died. Now I'm just waiting to start over with a fall garden! I'd like to grow broccoli and lettuce.

For gardening related online communities, check out GardenWeb and Homesteading Today, two other forums I frequent (Homesteading Today's forum is a wealth of information on self sufficiency, not all that different from the values of the primal community!)

Jenny

Thanks for the links, Jenny! Yes, the harsh weather's made it more difficult, hasn't it! We've just enjoyed our first green pepper, and our first tomato will be tomorrow!

[Kate Ruckman]

Count me in! I have a 1300 square foot garden. Finally moved into a place with a decent amount of land, so I'm able to plant quite a bit. I got a late start, so this is more of an experimental year. Lots of variety I'm trying -- different kinds of tomatoes and peppers, mixed varieties of radishes (the last of which I'm turning into Mark's Breakfast Pork and Radish Hash from one of his books), arugula, collards, kohlrabi, carrots, yellow beans, acorn and spaghetti squash, cukes, cabbage, cauli, broccoli, brussels sprouts, canteloupe and watermelon.

It's a good amount of work, but I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! Something about the smell of the dirt is intoxicating. And I don't mind putting the sweat and physical effort towards it since the rewards will be plentiful.

Now I need to find all of my canning jars...

WOW, good luck with all of that! I had a quarter acre, once upon a time, and I couldn't keep up. We just have a little strip of front yard that gets sun, now, but I'm SO enjoying it. Loving dirt, and compost, and visiting the garden every morning. I envy your cantaloupes!

My husband made faux crab cakes with radish, by the way, and they were WONDERFUL.

[tamo42]

Any permies in the group?

[torena]

I have two 8'x2' square foot garden beds. It's mostly tomatoes (I bought 4 heirloom varieties and then tons of tomatoes from LAST year sprung up in random places!) plus some lettuce (that have gone to flower at this point so I should probably rip them up and replant?), swiss chard, onions, yellow squash and zucchini (which aren't producing much of anything ((). This is my second year gardening and I'm still trying to remember to get down there and weed. I went down there a few days ago and found a rabbit nest burrowed in one of the squares!! The babies still had their eyes closed so I'm waiting for them to leave before I fix my fence (where mama got in) and continue planting. I hear now is the time to plant for fall, only I'm not sure what to plant..

[Kate Ruckman]

Any permies in the group?

I'd love to explore permaculture! Tell us more?

[Kate Ruckman]

I have two 8'x2' square foot garden beds. It's mostly tomatoes (I bought 4 heirloom varieties and then tons of tomatoes from LAST year sprung up in random places!) plus some lettuce (that have gone to flower at this point so I should probably rip them up and replant?), swiss chard, onions, yellow squash and zucchini (which aren't producing much of anything ((). This is my second year gardening and I'm still trying to remember to get down there and weed. I went down there a few days ago and found a rabbit nest burrowed in one of the squares!! The babies still had their eyes closed so I'm waiting for them to leave before I fix my fence (where mama got in) and continue planting. I hear now is the time to plant for fall, only I'm not sure what to plant..

Yep, once lettuce flowers, it's pretty bitter. Do you mulch? That REALLY helps keep down the weeds, and holds in the moisture. I don't know where you live, but this year that's VERY important for us. Dry and hot!

[JBailey]

We have about 4500-5000sf in crops right now, plus a laying flock and weaner pigs. But I guess we transitioned from garden to market farm a few years back.

One of our goals is to close loops and be as low-input as possible, so we incorporate a lot of permaculture ideas into our set up. We're also training our farm horse to help with certain tasks (aside from providing manure). Feel free to peruse our farm blog linked in my signature

I didn't really grow food much before moving here in 2005, and my first effort was two 4 x 8 raised beds in the square foot method. But each year has been a learning experience, and now we're able to grow 90% of our own food, plus sell enough to count as a 'real' farm. We could do a lot more if we didn't both work full time, but paychecks are helpful things. Just being able to eat food this good is worth more than money though.