Do You Have A Garden, Why Or Why Not?

[AZChickenQueen]

I garden because I am ornery and looove a challenge! I live in the desert, so this does take some doing.

We (meaning hubby and I) have a citrus grove consisting of 13 full-size orange/grapefruit/lime/lemon/tangelo trees. We also have 6 dwarf citrus and planted a small fruit orchard this last year (peaches,figs,pomegranates,apples,apricots, almonds &apriums). It is important in our clime to find fruit tree varieties with low chill-hour requirements; of course the citrus just love it. Also this year, we decided to put in a veggie garden because we are very concerned about what the "food" supply in this country has become, and want to be more self-sufficient as well as organic/non-GMO. SO...having lots of experience with the destructive nature of the local wildlife (rabbits, javelina, pack rats, ground squirrels, coyotes and LOTS of ANGRY, HUNGRY birds-LOL) we decided that the only way to have a garden was to have a friend weld us a giant cage completely enclosed in a rigid, steel mesh. We then filled it with raised beds set on top of 3-4 inches of gravel and placed metal screening on top of that underneath the beds so no critters could dig up through the bed soil. Here is the result:



And a more recent picture:



So far, the only downside is the water bill (ahem!) but we feel that our health is worth it and gardening is so much fun! Also, we didn't really THINK about it when we planted all of those cucumbers and watermelons, but they climbed straight up the cage and onto the roof, so we now have to get up there to harvest!

Good thing it's made of sturdy stuff...Oh, and of course our very spoiled chickens love the fresh produce they get as daily treats.

 

[jbirds2012]

we're expanding our kitchen garden to almost 1/10Th of an acre witch will be plenty big for us. i know it's gonna be more work or i like to call it play but now we'll be able to walk in between the veggies. i like to garden because i love to grow plants the taste of garden fresh vegetables just can't be beat. i love to give the weeds and extra zucchini etc... to the chickens, turkeys and guineas they get all excited and come a running. i admit that there's times when i look at the garden and all i see is work (play) and then it feels good to be on top of it again. i can and freeze. we are working toward being as self sufficient as possible. we live in the country, DH has a goal to go one year without going into town. won't bother me much, i don't really like going to town much anyway.

 

[pollitaroja]

I garden the square garden way is less time consuming and at 64 years old easier on the body. When I learn how to post pictures Ill show it.
Or go to The square garden site is very interesting ,Mel Bartholomew has several books on the subject.

 

[DadandJB]

I garden the square garden way is less time consuming and at 64 years old easier on the body. When I learn how to post pictures Ill show it.
Or go to The square garden site is very interesting ,Mel Bartholomew has several books on the subject.

Square foot gardening is an awesome system, especially for those with limited space, or for those like yourself that are beginning to find it difficult to keep up with a full sized garden. My best friend got into gardening but only has a very small space, perhaps 10 x 20. I taught him about square foot gardening and it has been a huge success! Even I am amazed at how much they are able to produce in such a small area.

 

[Cold Canadian]

I Have always had some sort of garden ,although now we have two .We grow what ever we want ,some items for just fresh eating and some for storeing .I grow a garden for a few reasons ,first ........there's something about working in the soil that I feel is good for you ? Second .......everything tastes better ! Third ........I don't use chemicals to grow anything and that is most likly the best reason ......chemical free food that's healthy for you and you don't have to be afraid that you could get sick from eating it Most celery in the stores has never even hit dirt ! It's grown in a water solution that gives it all the chemicals that it needs to grow .....at least that is what they do in the Northern zones . We just had a recall on Romain lettuce ? I never have to worry about that with my own !.

 

[erinszoo]

I have had a garden since I was 12 when my dad dug up a bed beside the house for me to plant. I can't imagine not having a garden to grow. Now, some 30 + years later (that's plenty of accuracy for now) we have 6 raised garden beds that are 3' x 10' plus multiple barrels and other smaller beds that we grow asparagus, several varieties of squash, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, eggplant, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, brussell sprouts, kale, rutabagas, carrots, radishes, spinach, celery, cucumbers, several varieties of melon, corn, grapes, apples, cherries, onions, garlic, pecans, and chestnuts in. We greenhouse in the winter with a rocket mass heater stove for warmth. We also take care of my dad's garden at this point which is 12' x 30'. We sell some produce to help out and feed our chickens greens throughout the year from what we grow.

 

[Daisy8s]

I garden because it's the only place around here that nobody else messes up! In fact, everyone avoids the garden area like the plague because they know if I see them I'll make them come and help. So, in exchange for absolutely no help I also get complete peace and quiet...which, as a mother of small kids, is just fine with me.

(I'm not really a grumpy person...just reaching that point where I'm all done with children wanting me to, "look at this! look at this!" All. Day. Long.)

 

[Carebearsmiles]

I garden because i enjoy gardening. Besides the veggies, i have a nice small collection of irises and I grow fruit trees as my hobby.

OK, I confess. I grow fruit trees because I love to eat fruit.

I have some young fruit trees and I CANNOT wait for them to give me fruit! : )
I have a peach tree that did produce baby peaches this year. They never got more than pit sized and didn't ripen. I'm hoping maybe next year will be the year.

 

[Farmer X]

I'm a horticulturist, so I tend to work as much in other people's gardens than in my own, but I'm slowly trying to change the focus to have a nursery and organic produce operation here. We have about 3,500 ft of raised beds in so far, the dream is to have about 2 miles of them in the end ;-).

I was a bit surprised this year by the chickens' appetite for tomatoes. I'll have to plant a bunch more of the grape tomatoes next year in the hopes that they'll leave the other ones alone.

 

[Brucepierce]

Hey Daisy8's
Thanks for the post I thought it was me being selfish, I'm a stay at home dad 5yrs now, and I'll do almost anything to get some quiet as well...dig gardens, split wood, paint, sweep, rake, clean...anything...thought I might be alone