Living off the land

[dirtnut]

I love having a garden in my yard. I plant tomatoes and cukes and beans and squash. We now have a fruit garden as well. What do you plant? Do you have a year round garden?

 

[Janet]

My parents had one and still do. I really would like to start one myself. What do you plant in the winter? Does the temperature drop a lot in the winter where you live?

 

[SuzyQ]

We have a plum and two apples trees in the garden. We used to have a gooseberry bush but got rid of it because it was too prickly when the kids were around.

 

[jason]

I am lucky enough to live in Florida and if I had a "real" garden, I could grow pretty much year round.

Right now I've got growing:
Corn
Blueberries
Blackberries
sage
basil
mint
cilantro
parsley
aloe
dill
watermellon
zucchini
cucumber
snow peas
tomatoes
eggplant

 

[CindyJ]

Unfortunately, we just don't have the space for a garden in our little backyard. We usually do a couple of tomato plants in pots because I love fresh tomatos.

 

[chabella]

I wish I could grow year round, that must be awesome. Not too sure I would be willing to trade it off for having lots of bugs and big alligators and the such though.

 

[Glinda]

We could plant year round where we live, but we haven't tried it yet. Having a garden and lots of fresh vegetables in the back yard is great, but it's also a lot of work. This year we have zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, a large variety of peppers, okra, and eggplant.

 

[SallyA]

We were planning a big garden this year, but a few different types of tomatoes and peppers is going to be all we plant. Oh well, hopefully we'll have the big garden next year.

Here in Kentucky, we can't garden year-round, so I've been thinking about investing in a greenhouse and growing some vegetables in it during the colder months. If nothing else, it will be great to start seeds in before the weather warms up in spring. Has anyone tried growing veggies in a greenhouse?

 

[SilverVeil]

Here in SC we get two plantings a year. We can start as early as March and go until November. Most things will last until the first real frost. But it's the work. I can do it in the spring, but not when school starts. I have virtual students.

 

[Walter]

I am lucky enough to live in Florida and if I had a "real" garden, I could grow pretty much year round.

Right now I've got growing:
Corn
Blueberries
Blackberries
sage
basil
mint
cilantro
parsley
aloe
dill
watermellon
zucchini
cucumber
snow peas
tomatoes
eggplant

Wow, Jason it's really a garden! I wonder if in harvest time you would still need to go to the grocery store. Do you grow all of them organically?

 

[Walker]

I can't quite have a year round garden, though I'm trying. Successive planting between the warm and cold cycles is about as close as I can get. Right now I've summer scallop squash, winter butternut squash, lemon cucumbers, okra, bush and pole beans, roma and yellow pear tomatoes, chili peppers and sweet peppers, zucchini, cantaloupe, and edible Amaranth. I was trying corn but ran out of room. Planted between all that I have various herbs. When the coldest months come, I'll have to resort to what I've stored away in the freezer or in cans.

I wanted to plant in some fruits but yet unsure on which to have. There are dozens of wild blueberries, muscadines and blackberries though, but I get bored of them quickly. If anyone has any suggestions, toss them my way. Also, has anyone here looking into permaculture?

 

[shaun]

I'm going to be planting one next year. On the menu right now are potato's, tomatoes, and squash. But I'm sure the list will grow during the winter.

 

[want2learn]

We wanted to have a garden this year but summer time kind of crept up on us. We have plans in the works for one next year though. Our biggest problem is we don't have a whole lot of space.

 

[Walker]

want2learn, thankfully you don't need a great deal of space to grow a productive garden. You can use layering techniques and vertical growing to make the most of a small area. Right now I have two 3x8 raised beds in a small 10x10 section and still produce a great deal.

 

[Elkheart]

I'm in the same boat as a lot of you. I just don't have the space for a big garden although I would love to have one. I can remember when I was growing up that my parents would have an enormous garden and my mother would can or freeze tons of produce that we had. She made pickled beets and cucumber pickles of several varieties. She also would can at least 100 jars of green beans and then quite a few of corn. We always had what she called "garden groceries".

 

[Walker]

I forgot to mention, if you don't have much room you can use the square foot gardening method that maximizes production in limited spaces. It's used a great deal in urban areas with those who have only a small backyard. I'm surprised at the amount of food it actually produces.

There is a webpage that allows you to plan your square foot garden by selecting the width and length and then putting the plants you want into there. It'll automatically select the optimal number per square foot. Do a search for "Gardener's Supply Kitchen Garden Planner" and you'll find the page.

It's a nifty tool if you want to experiment with various sizes to see which will fit your limited space.