Posted on 03/10/2022 6:43:41 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Excellent information!
I grow sauce tomatoes and can them for sauce.
For eating, I can just grow a couple plants.
LOL! :) Mmmmm! PIE!
Having more limited garden space in the past, I learned to grow what was cost effective.
In CNY, Upstate has so much good agriculture, that it was simply not worth the garden space to grow onions and potatoes. They could be gotten cheap enough in season from almost any farm stand.
Same with zucchini and summer squash.
I never had good luck with peppers. The climate just isn’t right for them but I try every year anyways.
The things I find worth growing is garlic, a very low maintenance crop. Prep the bed in the fall, plant the cloves, mulch the bed with straw, and harvest in July/August. Almost nothing bothers it, unless some critter plows through the bed, at which point, once the stalks are broken, they just don’t do well.
Now that I have a larger garden, I did container potatoes, which worked out great. I planted onions and am still using those up and they are still crisp and juicy. Make sure you get good storage varieties.
I’ll be trying peas and beans again, but I think the slugs tend to get those.
I will also do butternut squash this year, and Brussel Sprouts.
My pumpkins last year came in great, I got a few 20 pounders. I just finished canning up the last of what I did not have space in the freezer for.
Turnips do well, along with beets.
For us, it’s cool weather crops, which generally store well. Now I just need to learn how to successfully store the root crops.
Don’t know about jackass, but just put in some ‘Monkey Ass’ tomato seed about an hour ago. :-)
Never had a problem with peppers, even super-hots; in soviet-occupied Red Hampshire. However, I grow everything in Earth Boxes and root pouches...perhaps that is the difference.
We’re near the Upper Valley and it is a tad cooler than east and south of us. Enough to put us in another climate zone.
My son lives near Concord and he’s always 3-5 degrees warmer than we are.
And we were kinda envious of what our nice neighbor from Guatemala grew from containers! Count the tomatoes, praise God.
At least you are facing West:)
Amen! How many people were able to ward off COVID (or other illnesses) because they loaded up on Vitamin d3 from all that sunshine they soaked up gardening? A benefit you can't assign a monetary figure to...
Great stories & info! Thanks!
Last season my single Plum tree (Mount Royal - a self-pollinator) produced like crazy-mad. I made a few tarts, but most of it went into Plum Butter, which is a spreadable for using on toast or pancakes & waffles.
I got so many positive comments on it (I think it was the Cardamom spice which has a unique flavor) that it’s going to be in the rotation on good plum years.
Speaking of free/found food: One year my BIL found buckets of wild grapes growing along a busy highway, near his workplace. He’d go out at lunch and harvest them and later made jelly. He called it, ‘Traffic Jam.’ ;)
The best compliment I’ve gotten to date was from an Amish neighbor who I shared tomatoes with. He no longer gardens due to his health. He said, pointing at me, “Woman! You know how to grow a tomato!” LOL!
This jackass (and his wife, who is not a jackass) grew up on good-size farms...we are keenly aware of where chicken, beef, bacon, and eggs come from...and have memories of the 'red snow' after animals were processed for the freezer...yum!
Two things with peppers:
1. They like HOT & DRY. Plant them in the most sun possible. Unless you’re having an exceptionally rainy season (which you can’t help!) let them dry out well between watering.
2. Don’t be nice to them! Go easy on the fertilizer & especially the nitrogen content of your soil/fertilizer. Go easy on the compost on them, too. They need phosphorus more than anything for good blooming and fruiting. I put a scoop of eggshells and bone meal in their planting holes, then they are on their own for the rest of the growing season.
See if that helps with your pepper production. :)
Containers (as in my case) also keep the root systems a bit warmer.
TONS of Amish and Mennonites around East Tennessee...I have always believed that East Tennessee could become the breadbasket of America after California slides into the ocean.
One of the funniest and saddest movies ever.
I think that most people will break NOT break even growing a garden. A garden may be a satisfying hobby today but which might become a necessity in the future. (Or, if not necessity, provide some relief from rising food costs and possibly, better food quality.)
People might consider beginning gardening now for the sake of experience. It can have a steep initial learning curve. Better not to wait until there is a food emergency to learn. The more you know the sooner you can move from the hobby side to production, reliance, and maybe break even on your investment.
The other reason is that there is preparation and lead time involved in gardening.
Bare Bones; Start with a fence; A gardener needs a fenced in area unless you live on an island that has no dogs, rabbits or deer. First year, turn the soil, prepare and plant your garden. Second year; you have already tilled your soil (Or piled books of straw on your no till plot!) gardening will be easier and require less work.
(Also, after the first year you should know if there was enough sun to support continued gardening in your selected plot.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.