Posted on 04/05/2010 11:30:57 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Potato gun ammo is an easy grower :)
I can relate to the $64 tomato; I am a garden noob, and, last year, I grew potatoes in grow bags for the first time. Don’t tell my husband how much our potato harvest cost. But it was a good experience, and, this year, I am growing some more with little cost.
My wife talked me into buying a big 21hp riding lawnmower and trimmer so I can do my own yard instead of paying to have it done. It will take me at least a year to break even.
The original plan was to buy a tiller and plant a garden but the one that attaches to the tractor is way too expensive and the “plows” you drag behind the tractor are worthless.
Bottom line, I can’t wait for the vegetable stands to open up. Hopefully I can find some South Carolina tomatoes here in Houston.
By the way, I actually need the exercise of taking care of the lawn. Not from riding the tractor but from trimming. Riding the tractor is the fun part.
I inventoried my canned goods the other day so I know what to concentrate on this summer. 324 quarts including tomatoes, salsa, green tomato relish, sweet peppers, hot peppers, sweet hot pepper relish, pork, cabbage soup, green beans, pickles, dilly green beans, vegetables, and sauerkraut.
In my neck of the woods a garden does not save money. It just gives you something to do and tomatoes that taste good.
I had 27 fruit trees in my backyard in SoCal..and a 60 x 16 garden.
Had mulch in the drip zone on the trees, ( less watering..)....Pruned them once a year.
Had a timed auto-watering system in the garden. Raked between the rows 2-3 times a week....Pretty low physical stuff...once it was in place.
Actually therapeutic..after all the work. HA!!!
Since a tiller would be used only about one or two times a year the best thing to do is to rent one when you need it. No storage no upkeep.
How did the cheery bushes do and what kind of taste are we talking about? What type of shade/sun mixture. We live in Memphis is summers are brutal. I’ve thought about getting some from Gurney’s.
My problem is I was going to have to till a yard that’s never been tilled. And that’s too much work.
I am growing potatoes in buckets and containers. This will be my first attempt at them.
Prophetic words. There are three or four bills (mebbe more) pending (backed by the agricultural conglomerates) that are so loosely written that they will give the USDA authority to inspect/close down your backyard garden. All to protect you, of course. (cough)
These were the Hansens from Gurneys. They had them on sale, 3/$4 back last April or May. I couldn’t resist LOL. They’re ‘pie’ cherries. Not ‘sweet’ ones. Ie, canning cherries. They get mixed reviews online but it’s a privacy hedge for me now so the taste will be negotiable. Hubby set them out, I mulched around them by laying down a couple feed sacks and then covering that with grass clippings. To about 2ft out each direction from the shrub itself. Kept them watered (but not too wet, they hate wet feet!) during the driest spells and put triple 13 around them a couple times during the summer/fall too.
These get 2/3 day sun. The ones that get more sun are actually doing better (of course). We live about 200m south of you in Memphis. I understand that during the warmer winters they might not get enough chill hours to bloom down here so you’d have more luck with that.
Try ‘Lasagna Gardening’. I did that last year with my tomatoes and watermelons. Worked splendidly. No tilling. Just ‘cored’ out (with one of those bulb planter thingies) a small hole for my melon seeds, put in a couple cups of potting soil, then my seeds, then covered with more potting soil. Around the dug out place I put down some feed sacks, and newspapers. Covered those with grass clippings and watered everything in. Put triple 13 on the general area a couple times. When the melons got started I put each one on a styrofoam piece saved from packing. Easiest melons ever. No weeding, no tilling. Just eating.
Now, having said that you still need to till after. It’s easy then because the ground is softer. The newspapers and grass clippings just till right under as well.
No idea what Houston gumbo would do. Wouldn’t hurt to try it somewhere though. I’m lazy. I always try the lazy way first LOL.
I bought some cheap seeds and grew them side by side in the greenhouse with the expensive seed. Surprisingly, they grew just as well - now I will have to wait and see if the produce as well. If so, I’m sticking with the cheap seeds.
LOL!
As Hubby was wheel barreling bags of soil to my new raised bed today, he said "I can't help thinking how many vegetables we could have bought for this."
Lol, keep trying! What have you tried to start?
But that’s another thing about a home garden. It’s great exercise!
My gardens don’t pay but I enjoy it, it’s good exercise, the food tastes much better, I get a healthier diet because I’m always looking for recipes to use my over abundance of produce. It’s all good.
Diana in Wisconsin has a "Beneficial Bug Mix that she swears by -- a combination of pretty flowers that attract good bugs that eat the bad bugs. No EPA inspectors required! :)
I got mine all planted yesterday—and then it went and rained like crazy today. In Bakersfield. In April.
I think everything survived.
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