What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

Never had a store bought veggie better than home grown love mustard leaves in salad with arugula and fresh tomato

 

[ShrekDawg]

Consider spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, however you like them for chili, raw in salads, etc.
That being said there is a family in I think Pasadena, CA who uses their entire property for growing food. I believe they claim to be able to feed their family entirely from what they grow there. It has been quite a while since I read an article about it though.

I’ll have to try all this!! Thank you!! And I’ll have to look for that story. Though I think I’d prefer to use the land for animals

 

[ShrekDawg]

That's what I want to do some day... You can do so much with tomatoes. I haven't ever liked the raw so someone told me to eat the ones I grow because they taste way better.

They are definitely much better haha although I’ve heard it’s best not to water too much because it can dilute the flavor but idk if that’s true. But it’s best to water less but deeper/longer watering a anyway rather than frequent but only a little teeny bit of water

 

[ShrekDawg]

They have some really good looking lettuce at TSC. Good peppers and tomatoes too but this lettuce looks super tasty and as a bonus is already ready to eat haha I think they call it “gourmet salad mix” and it’s a leaf lettuce combo but obviously some of them have more of some kinds than another. But I thought they might be good to get. Think I’ll come back though. They’re like $22 or $23 which is a little pricey but then again maybe not considering it includes the nice container and all the dirt and the salad is ready to eat instead of having to wait haha

Was also thinking of getting this plastic sheeting and maybe some cattle panels or PVC and possibly making a little greenhouse or something.... thoughts??? They have varying thicknesses. 2, 4, 6, even 1.5 mil

 

[FortCluck]

They are definitely much better haha although I’ve heard it’s best not to water too much because it can dilute the flavor but idk if that’s true. But it’s best to water less but deeper/longer watering a anyway rather than frequent but only a little teeny bit of water

A little stress on tomatoes goes a long way. I learned a lot about them from a friend who's certified as a master gardener. She took courses at VCU to get it. She's the one I got all my tomatoes from.

 

[FortCluck]

They have some really good looking lettuce at TSC. Good peppers and tomatoes too but this lettuce looks super tasty and as a bonus is already ready to eat haha I think they call it “gourmet salad mix” and it’s a leaf lettuce combo but obviously some of them have more of some kinds than another. But I thought they might be good to get. Think I’ll come back though. They’re like $22 or $23 which is a little pricey but then again maybe not considering it includes the nice container and all the dirt and the salad is ready to eat instead of having to wait haha
View attachment 2107564View attachment 2107565

Was also thinking of getting this plastic sheeting and maybe some cattle panels or PVC and possibly making a little greenhouse or something.... thoughts??? They have varying thicknesses. 2, 4, 6, even 1.5 mil

View attachment 2107566

You can grow it for way cheaper, but it's your money

 

[ShrekDawg]

A little stress on tomatoes goes a long way. I learned a lot about them from a friend who's certified as a master gardener. She took courses at VCU to get it. She's the one I got all my tomatoes from.

Oh wow that’s awesome!!! She sounds like a great resource haha curious what you mean by stress though??

 

[ShrekDawg]

You can grow it for way cheaper, but it's your money

Yeah I know and I already have some planted and growing but it is teeny tiny and will probably be at least a couple months before we get anything from it. Plus I feel like the container alone is worth that much haha it’s huge

 

[BReeder!]

I

Anyone growing to sustain their family without the grocery store?

I'm 100% not buying veggies at the store once my garden is officially growing. I should start harvesting some stuff in as little as 25 days from now.

We have quail, chicken, ducks, and turkey as well.

Would like to get to that point with the garden. The expansion this year gives us the opportunity I think. My big worry is maintenance once we're hey everything planted. I'm mulching all the walking paths. I need to find a source of low cost straw to mulch the growing areas. I'm also going to use grass clippings and unsifted composted to mulch the growing areas. I do think I will grow 6 months worth of potatoes and sweet potatoes. I also shouldn't need to buy tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini or yellow squash once all those start coming in. I will pickle and can some as well to last into the winter. If corn cones in good, I will be able to put up quite a bit of it in the freezer to last a while. Fingers crossed for a healthy bounty of onions and leeks that could last 3-6 months. We also should not have to buy lettuce once it gets going in the garden.

There is still so much that I need to go to the store for though. Fruit particularly. And there's all the months without harvest where I will have to rely in the store for fresh produce.

 

[FortCluck]

Oh wow that’s awesome!!! She sounds like a great resource haha curious what you mean by stress though??

Letting them get a little leaf curl from not watering right off. Not killing them. There's a fine line. It makes the fruits sweeter.