((Serious Gardening))

[NanaKat]

Quote:
A few posts back (#296) I posted photos of part of my garden. The photo with the corn and cantalopes/watermelon also has 16 foot cattlepanels attached to three T-posts. There are blackberry canes tied to the panels. I can weave the canes thru the 6 " square openings and tie the canes to the panel as well. the old canes are easy to remove the following spring when I tie up the new canes. The vines are loaded with berries and are easy to pick.

 

[Carols Clucks]

Those look really good, did not realize you had berry vines on yours too!

Going to have to look for something similar

 

[homesteadmomma]

I'm a little slow finding this post, but I'm a garden addict. I might love it more than my chickens, but don't tell them. I have really spread the garden out this year, and unfortunately, only filled about half up until last week. Three days ago I found quite a patch of volunteer tomatoes in the tomato bed (separate from the main garden, so I can rotate in the case of any issues). I moved the new plants to the garden and filled up four, 25 ft rows. Now the garden doesn't look near as empty, but I'm not sure what I will do with the extra tomatoes this year. We have excellent luck with all varieties of tomatoes here. Last year I canned about 50 quarts and started to give them away mid-July. This year I have also planted brocolli and cauliflower, about 20 different greens, romaine lettuce, parsley, onions, potatoes, bell pepper, kohlrabi, beets, radishes, sweet corn, and carrots. So far so good and it looks like at this rate, I should have a good year.

Now to explain my addiction....

I grew up in town, never had a garden. Married a man that grew up living off the land. Now have to feed three little ones and with the price of gas, store trips are just not possible. So I decided to bust my butt and make it so we could live off of our 5 acres the best we could. So far we are raising chickens for eggs and meat, have a garden capable of producing enough produce to feed our family all year round, we hunt deer, rabbit, squirrel, etc for the rest of the meat. The only things I buy at the store are milk, bread, and butter, but I would really like to start with a dairy animal of some sort, and I will be planting grains for the fall garden to make bread at home. I spend a good two hours each day in the garden, weeding, harvesting, planting, etc. I drag my kids out there to keep an eye on them and let them "help" the best they can.

So glad to see so many gardeners and can't wait to read your posts! Going to be a late night...

 

[krcote]

Quote:
What a beautiful life you lead!

 

[pinkwindsong]

hi.. I think I might have gone a bit haywire on squash... I have the little white summer squash.. yummm.. but then I have tons of acorn squash tons of butternut , Im good on the spaghetti squash.. what am I gonna do with all the butternut and acorn squash? when its ready do I just put in the cabinet and keep cool.. till winter /summer?

this is the first year in a long time that we've had a garden and my husband tilled it huge so I just keep filling it up.. I do as much weeding int he am when i let my chickens out and then again in the eve.s I have a bad back so its not weed free but Im trying to keep it in check..

I have planted
honey corn
honey and pearl corn
silver queen ( not doing too good?)
one row of pole beans with the honey corn
a row of beets only half is coming up
a row of radishes
5 rows of bush beans
1 row Lima beans
1 row but about 7plants took.. peas
white summer squash
butternut squash
acorn squash
spaghetti squash
7 swt tater vines
9 zucs
9 cucs
3 cantaloupe
4 watermelon
7 broccoli
onions
20 tomato varieties..

all in all planted is 41 different varieties of vegetables and i just got seeds for lemon cucumbers, pumpkins well start at july 4th as well as gourds...


everything is looking really good.. i have my first zucs that i will harvest tonight.. looking at now Im worried I have bit off more than I can chew. Then on top of that I keep seeing things I want to add.. All of a sudden I have a very addictive behavior that has come out that i didn't have before.. first the chickens and now garden.. ( not a good time for me to take up drinking..hahahha)

why did i write.... oh yeah... how do I put up the squashes and keep them good. we are going to can as much as possible and freeze ( is there a freezer bag better than others? )

bye for now )O(
Pink

 

[Kassaundra]

An update on my water garden, the spinach mustard appears to be the only thing sprouting, the lettuce did but then dissapeared. I haven't started the duck weed yet for the chickens, but that is next.

 

[homesteadmomma]

Quote:
What a beautiful life you lead!

Thank you! But it's not near a beautiful as I would like, but it fits our family, and I hope by the time my children have grown, that they will love and respect what nature can give us and what stores simply can't.

 

[HHandbasket]

Quote:
A word of advice--keep your eye on the duckweed. It reproduces FAST.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
A word of advice--keep your eye on the duckweed. It reproduces FAST.

That's the idea. It will be in a pool in my yard not near any water ways at all.

 

[Kassaundra]

My first time to dehydrate raspberries and it was a suprise, they don't dry chewy and leathery like cherries, but crisp and airy like a puffed cereal.