|
Post by handmaid on Oct 17, 2020 22:30:19 GMT -6
So what do you feel you learned this year as far as your garden/garden practices?
I LOVED having a lettuce, kale, mustard bed that we ate from in the spring and then were too busy to clean up over the summer. The other beds were so productive that the space wasnt really needed. And the plants self-sowed again so they produced a fall mini crop without much input from us. Definitely doing that again next year.
I need more paste tomatoes. Less jalapeƱos. More sweet peppers. More beans and squash. Wont do white potatoes again, as yield was low, and I can use the space for something else. Squash bugs were simply awful, so need to probably make some netting.
|
|
sonic
Junior Member
Posts: 53
|
Post by sonic on Oct 18, 2020 1:37:44 GMT -6
I haven't had a garden for a couple of years, so in it's absence I have been growing a few things in large pots. I have had great success with salad leaves and we have not brought any all summer. I will definitely be growing some again next year.
|
|
|
Post by DirtDiva Admin on Oct 18, 2020 18:54:39 GMT -6
I will return to a smaller garden next year. I just do not need to produce this much food on a yearly basis. Will back off on tomatoes, beans and cucumbers definitely.
|
|
|
Post by handmaid on Oct 18, 2020 21:22:43 GMT -6
I will return to a smaller garden next year. I just do not need to produce this much food on a yearly basis. Will back off on tomatoes, beans and cucumbers definitely. I know we all expanded our gardens due to the unrest and virus. I am curious why you are going back to a smaller one. I want to learn from your reasoning! I definitely will cut back on cucumbers as well!!!
|
|
|
Post by DirtDiva Admin on Oct 19, 2020 7:55:36 GMT -6
My canning season is almost over. For the first time in , at the least , 30 years I am out of jars. With over 1400 jars in my arsenal I have no intention of buying more. I have lids still. This is not counting 2 full freezers and all the dehydrated food I have and some dry goods such as flour, rice, beans, cornmeal, etc. Even more importantly I have replenished my seed supply. A huge percentage of what I grew went to feeding neighbors and chickens but I saved a massive supply of seeds of everything I grew. So I now have fresh seeds as well for years to come.
My plan is to downsize the garden back down to a manageable size. Enough for eating fresh and canning anything I am short of to maintain a large variety of the foods we eat regularly. I concentrate on the crops that grow best and are the easiest to can. Lots of different beans and peas , potatoes, greens such as mustard greens for eating in the winter, carrots, and tomato products. Some squash and okra frozen along with some of the fruits I produce such as blueberries etc. Also herbs for teas.
So my plan was to build the larder back up to a larger size and now to maintain a larger larder replacing what I use. Not sure how long I will maintain this much food. That will depend on the reliability of the supply chain and the political situation probably. When I am comfortable I will reduce the size of the number of full jars I keep on hand.
For now though the motto is " If you empty it fill it back up with something" . Six empty jars can some soup. Or buy some mixed vegetables and can if available. Keep those jars rotating even through the winter. Just can in really small batches.
Plant smaller but smarter. 30 day rotations, lots of mulch to reduce weeding, ducks have been a wonderful addition to the insect control problem.
|
|
|
Post by handmaid on Oct 19, 2020 21:50:16 GMT -6
My canning season is almost over. For the first time in , at the least , 30 years I am out of jars. With over 1400 jars in my arsenal I have no intention of buying more. I have lids still. This is not counting 2 full freezers and all the dehydrated food I have and some dry goods such as flour, rice, beans, cornmeal, etc. Even more importantly I have replenished my seed supply. A huge percentage of what I grew went to feeding neighbors and chickens but I saved a massive supply of seeds of everything I grew. So I now have fresh seeds as well for years to come. My plan is to downsize the garden back down to a manageable size. Enough for eating fresh and canning anything I am short of to maintain a large variety of the foods we eat regularly. I concentrate on the crops that grow best and are the easiest to can. Lots of different beans and peas , potatoes, greens such as mustard greens for eating in the winter, carrots, and tomato products. Some squash and okra frozen along with some of the fruits I produce such as blueberries etc. Also herbs for teas. So my plan was to build the larder back up to a larger size and now to maintain a larger larder replacing what I use. Not sure how long I will maintain this much food. That will depend on the reliability of the supply chain and the political situation probably. When I am comfortable I will reduce the size of the number of full jars I keep on hand. For now though the motto is " If you empty it fill it back up with something" . Six empty jars can some soup. Or buy some mixed vegetables and can if available. Keep those jars rotating even through the winter. Just can in really small batches. Plant smaller but smarter. 30 day rotations, lots of mulch to reduce weeding, ducks have been a wonderful addition to the insect control problem. That made a lot of sense to me. And it helped me wrap my brain around the value of not waiting till canning season to fill them back up again. Also how to approach my pantry and inventory. Thank you for taking the time to write this out.
|
|
|
Post by DirtDiva Admin on Oct 20, 2020 5:42:41 GMT -6
My canning season is almost over. For the first time in , at the least , 30 years I am out of jars. With over 1400 jars in my arsenal I have no intention of buying more. I have lids still. This is not counting 2 full freezers and all the dehydrated food I have and some dry goods such as flour, rice, beans, cornmeal, etc. Even more importantly I have replenished my seed supply. A huge percentage of what I grew went to feeding neighbors and chickens but I saved a massive supply of seeds of everything I grew. So I now have fresh seeds as well for years to come. My plan is to downsize the garden back down to a manageable size. Enough for eating fresh and canning anything I am short of to maintain a large variety of the foods we eat regularly. I concentrate on the crops that grow best and are the easiest to can. Lots of different beans and peas , potatoes, greens such as mustard greens for eating in the winter, carrots, and tomato products. Some squash and okra frozen along with some of the fruits I produce such as blueberries etc. Also herbs for teas. So my plan was to build the larder back up to a larger size and now to maintain a larger larder replacing what I use. Not sure how long I will maintain this much food. That will depend on the reliability of the supply chain and the political situation probably. When I am comfortable I will reduce the size of the number of full jars I keep on hand. For now though the motto is " If you empty it fill it back up with something" . Six empty jars can some soup. Or buy some mixed vegetables and can if available. Keep those jars rotating even through the winter. Just can in really small batches. Plant smaller but smarter. 30 day rotations, lots of mulch to reduce weeding, ducks have been a wonderful addition to the insect control problem. That made a lot of sense to me. And it helped me wrap my brain around the value of not waiting till canning season to fill them back up again. Also how to approach my pantry and inventory. Thank you for taking the time to write this out. There are always things to can. Bones from the Thanksgiving turkey become broth or canned turkey in broth. Extra Christmas Ham becomes Ham and bean soup. Hamburger on sale make some chili. It is so much easier to throw 7 jars in the canner every week than to stand for hours doing multiple batches. Small batch canning through out the year is the way to go. As you empty 7 jars fill them up with something even if it is just carrots. There may be a time in the near future we are happy to have carrots or potatoes.
|
|
|
Post by jonathco on Dec 18, 2020 12:23:59 GMT -6
We expanded our 2020 garden from about a 1/3 of an acre, to over an acre this year, because of all the unrest and empty shelves at the grocery stores back in the early months of 2020. Out of fear for others we knew who could not grow there own food (live in the city, physical limitations, etc...), we decided to grow an abundance and help, in case grocery shelves continued to be empty. Fast-forward to the present time, grocery shelves are certainly not full, but there is ample food most of the time. We've moved and down-sized our property and will definitely be leveraging lessons learned. - 1-2 Zucchini plants are more than enough to feed a family of 6; growing 20 plants was overkill.
- You simply cannot over water onions when it's hot out; water thoroughly unless you like HOT onions.
- Sweet potatoes grow nicely in our northern climate under black plastic mulch, but curing them afterward, for long-term storage is simply not worth the work it takes!
|
|
|
Post by DirtDiva Admin on Jan 10, 2021 17:29:12 GMT -6
We expanded our 2020 garden from about a 1/3 of an acre, to over an acre this year, because of all the unrest and empty shelves at the grocery stores back in the early months of 2020. Out of fear for others we knew who could not grow there own food (live in the city, physical limitations, etc...), we decided to grow an abundance and help, in case grocery shelves continued to be empty. Fast-forward to the present time, grocery shelves are certainly not full, but there is ample food most of the time. We've moved and down-sized our property and will definitely be leveraging lessons learned. - 1-2 Zucchini plants are more than enough to feed a family of 6; growing 20 plants was overkill.
- You simply cannot over water onions when it's hot out; water thoroughly unless you like HOT onions.
- Sweet potatoes grow nicely in our northern climate under black plastic mulch, but curing them afterward, for long-term storage is simply not worth the work it takes!
Under certain circumstances zucchini can be a scourge but make GREAT chicken/hog feed. Yep strong onions are the worst. We live in a very wet climate now here on top of the plateau. We are playing around with the idea of a small structure specifically for drying things. Hanging garlic and onions to cure. Drying beans and seeds. Curing sweet potatoes also. Last year I had herbs hanging from my dining room chandelier and fireplace mantel drying Lol. Maybe like a small scale tobacco barn
|
|
|
Post by jonathco on Jan 12, 2021 8:25:18 GMT -6
Under certain circumstances zucchini can be a scourge but make GREAT chicken/hog feed. Yep strong onions are the worst. We live in a very wet climate now here on top of the plateau. We are playing around with the idea of a small structure specifically for drying things. Hanging garlic and onions to cure. Drying beans and seeds. Curing sweet potatoes also. Last year I had herbs hanging from my dining room chandelier and fireplace mantel drying Lol. Maybe like a small scale tobacco barn Our chickens get a ton of Zucchini and yellow Summer squash in the summer months; it's practically free feed!
I like the idea of a mini tobacco barn for drying things; if you end up putting one up, please do share it here or on the blog.
|
|
|
Post by DirtDiva Admin on Jan 12, 2021 17:40:41 GMT -6
Under certain circumstances zucchini can be a scourge but make GREAT chicken/hog feed. Yep strong onions are the worst. We live in a very wet climate now here on top of the plateau. We are playing around with the idea of a small structure specifically for drying things. Hanging garlic and onions to cure. Drying beans and seeds. Curing sweet potatoes also. Last year I had herbs hanging from my dining room chandelier and fireplace mantel drying Lol. Maybe like a small scale tobacco barn Our chickens get a ton of Zucchini and yellow Summer squash in the summer months; it's practically free feed! I like the idea of a mini tobacco barn for drying things; if you end up putting one up, please do share it here or on the blog.
I will share. We need some place to dry things desperately. I have a small greenhouse that I have not put up yet but I want plenty of air circulation. We need to keep the rain off but still get some air to dry things out. By the way I LOVE that tractor. Is it a Deere. We used to have an old Deere my husband called it a Johnny Popper. Back then they made a pop..pop..pop..putter noise
|
|
|
Post by jonathco on Jan 13, 2021 10:02:30 GMT -6
By the way I LOVE that tractor. Is it a Deere. We used to have an old Deere my husband called it a Johnny Popper. Back then they made a pop..pop..pop..putter noise Well thank you!
It's a late 1950's Ford 950 which spent it's life working a farm 20 miles from our home. When the farmer retired, a neighbor bought it from him, repainted it, and then drove it over the Mackinac Bridge for the annual Tractors over the Mac parade. After that, he sold it to me, where it now spends the spring, summer, and fall months disking my garden.
Oh, the sounds of an old Johnny Two-popper. You can hear the distinct sound from a mile away and recognize it. They don't make them like they used to.
|
|