The Front Porch Swing

[LeslieDJoyce]

LJ, you are such a hoot!!!

They may be over but I still have the hairdo.....I rather miss parts of the 80s but enjoyed the 70s WAY more...way more.

BK, if we ever meet in person, I'll bring you a bottle of Georgio.

 

[Gldnrose]

Now...you guys are going to find out something about me that you may find quite odd...but then, just about everything about me is a little different, so this should be no less. I LOVE the smell of skunk...always have. I read once on Ann Landers that there are whole factions of people out there who love the smell of skunk, so I'm not alone but maybe just one of the few that will admit it. To me skunk smell is the smell of spring and tidings of warmer days to come...just love that smell.

Skunk smell never really bothered me from afar too much. But a few winters ago I must have had one under my house somehow and it "let go". My husband woke me up around 4 am cause he smelled something. It was so strong, I didn't even realize it was skunk at first. It smelled "hot" or "electrical" if that makes sense. But after fully waking up and moving through my house, UGGHH! My house smelled like skunk FOREVER. It was horrible. No matter how much I washed our clothes it would just re-stinkify them. I tried everything under the sun. All I ever accomplished was adding to the stink.....pumpkin spice skunk, lol. I definitely don't want that to happen again.

I live near a coffee roaster plant and love the smell in the air when they are roasting....I'll have to see if its similar to skunk, lol

 

[LindaB220]

Hello from Kentucky. It's awfully nice of you to invite all of us chicken keepers to your front porch for a relaxing time with conversation, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and sweet cakes. My state is famous for several things -horses, basketball (go big blue) ,bluegrass and bourbon. So, I'll be bring the Wild Turkey Bourbon to put a giggle in the day.;-)

Welcome to BYC Bourbon and coke. Yum!!! Haven't had any for a while but love it.

 

[Gldnrose]

My sister likes the smell of skunk... I don't mind it from afar, but upclose is another story!

I've been looking at seeds, and trying to plan out my garden. I was on a website and "shopping".... went to check out and had over $100 worth of seed! I think I need to rethink this! I am really wanting to plant and can a lot this year, but I don't want to get overwhelmed either since this is my first garden by myself! I've always helped out with my grandparent's HUGE garden, and reaped the benefits... but haven't done it by my lonesome....

I am definitely wanting tomatoes, potatoes, g.beans, squash, cucumbers, lettuces.... and I'm sure there is more....
What do you all suggest planting?

There are 6 of us, so it takes quite a bit to feed us anyway... Not sure how much of anything to plant either....

Sorry this is so rambly.... I'm thinking out loud.

I like to plant bush beans. I think you get a lot more and you can usually get a couple of plantings in. My husband always plants pole beans and for some reason they always get away from us and they are not too great if they get too big, tough and stringy.
My son always does potatoes. I love going out in the fall and helping him dig them up. Yours kids would love it. Get dirty and find "gold" at the same time. )

I have had rotten luck with the zucchini the past couple of years. they either rot at the end of the fruit or something. Last year I had a huge bug invasion and could not get rid of them. Bums me out too, its my favorite vegetable.

It's so easy to keep adding to the cart isn't it. I always have to go back and pick and choose what I can end up getting.

 

[Searsmom]

My sister likes the smell of skunk... I don't mind it from afar, but upclose is another story!

I've been looking at seeds, and trying to plan out my garden. I was on a website and "shopping".... went to check out and had over $100 worth of seed! I think I need to rethink this! I am really wanting to plant and can a lot this year, but I don't want to get overwhelmed either since this is my first garden by myself! I've always helped out with my grandparent's HUGE garden, and reaped the benefits... but haven't done it by my lonesome....

I am definitely wanting tomatoes, potatoes, g.beans, squash, cucumbers, lettuces.... and I'm sure there is more....
What do you all suggest planting?

There are 6 of us, so it takes quite a bit to feed us anyway... Not sure how much of anything to plant either....

Sorry this is so rambly.... I'm thinking out loud.

Oh, that is so me. I must have $200 worth of seed in the freezer from the past 4 years. Sometimes it helps me to make the decision you made above - what you definitely want to plant. Then pick two kinds - one a reliable one that you're pretty sure will get you a harvest. The other can be a frivolous variety of the same kind. Yukon gold potatoes and those purple fingerlings. Better Boy Tomatoes and Cherokee Purple. Yellow summer squash and tromboni squash - etc. Plant lettuce now, before too many slugs/snails come out.

I'm under orders not to buy any seed this year. I have to use what I've got.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Someone sent me this on facebook today, and of course I thought of the independent people here ... sorry guys, you'll just have to do what us females have been doing for years and do some gender projecting to understand this "adventure" applies to you, too ...

Disney Princesses Sing "I Don't Need A Man"

 

[Searsmom]

That was funny! My 5-year old wanted to watch more. Her favorite character is supergirl - her secret identity. She saves the day all the time! Who needs superman?

 

[LindaB220]

Someone sent me this on facebook today, and of course I thought of the independent people here ... sorry guys, you'll just have to do what us females have been doing for years and do some gender projecting to understand this "adventure" applies to you, too ...

Disney Princesses Sing "I Don't Need A Man"

Loved it!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

My sister likes the smell of skunk... I don't mind it from afar, but upclose is another story!

I've been looking at seeds, and trying to plan out my garden. I was on a website and "shopping".... went to check out and had over $100 worth of seed! I think I need to rethink this! I am really wanting to plant and can a lot this year, but I don't want to get overwhelmed either since this is my first garden by myself! I've always helped out with my grandparent's HUGE garden, and reaped the benefits... but haven't done it by my lonesome....

I am definitely wanting tomatoes, potatoes, g.beans, squash, cucumbers, lettuces.... and I'm sure there is more....
What do you all suggest planting?

There are 6 of us, so it takes quite a bit to feed us anyway... Not sure how much of anything to plant either....

Sorry this is so rambly.... I'm thinking out loud.

You need to see if there is a source in your area where you can buy things cheaper than you can grow it...like potatoes and corn. They take up a lot of space and may or may not yield enough to justify it and can overwhelm your garden plans. Potatoes have to go in early and the potato bugs can be overwhelming. Corn is every animal's favorite plant when little, so crows, deer and groundhog can take out your crop in just one night after it has gotten no more than 4 in. tall. If you don't have a cellar, the potatoes need cool storage....so growing a lot of them can be problematic. We've gotten around that before by digging a deep hole, lining it with straw, and storing them underground in that manner.

Pinetree seeds company has the cheapest seeds of all the catalog/online companies and they have a relatively good selection, though not as good as in the past. You might want to shop for seeds there first...for example...one seed I got at PT cost 1.35 per pkg and at Harris Seeds the same seed cost 2.20 per pk. And PT tells you how many seeds are in each pack, which most of the others do not.

Then there is the health aspect...do you want to grow everything you eat because you know it hasn't had any chemicals on them or can you compromise by buying some of your veggies from local farms? If so, buy your corn...you can never grow it as big and nice as they can and it will suck up a lot of garden space. If you want to grow your own, plant your beans and squash and cukes in the corn to save on space. Nothing is like that first sweet ear of your first corn crop...ever. No farm stand can match that.

Concentrate on crops that will have big yields if you are going to feed a big family and want to can in quantity...tomatoes, beans, corn and potatoes are your big four for canning and will be your base of canned nutrition because they all yield large amounts of food per the space used in the garden and all can be used in many different types of dishes. As opposed to, say, squash vines that take up a lot of space but may just yield enough for a small canning and just how much canned or frozen zucchini can one eat in a year?

You'll want indeterminate tomato types because the ones that come on all at the same time can put you under a big deal of stress trying to get them picked and canned all at the same time without spoilage. For table and canning squash, you'll want yellow straight necked squash because it's very good yield, is tender and flavorful enough to use in many different kinds of dishes, is easy to grow and it doesn't take up as much space as a lot of gourd/squash types. Be mindful of vine borers for all squash plants...early prevention will help avoid later heartache.

You'll want lettuce types that are slow to bolt and you'll want to plant them in partial shade if you can get it in your garden spot...it will extend your lettuce yield. It's handy if you plant some fast growing and slow growing types to give you a better selection and lets you keep up with your lettuce bed...that's the one that is most likely to get out of your control unless you are harvesting nearly every day. Keep it small, but planted well, and replant when you pick individual heads of cos or romaine types right away so you can get get a longer running harvest.

Unless pickles are a large part of your family's diet, I'd only plant a few cucumber plants for table eating and salads. Can up the excess for a few jars of pickles but I wouldn't give too much of your space in the garden to cuke plants simply because they are not a staple.

Square foot gardening can let you squeeze in some of your salad type veggies into areas where you wouldn't normally think of planting them but where you can still get a good yield from them...like onions, spinach, radishes, etc. I had one of my best and biggest sweet onion crops one year by planting them in the spaces between my tomatoes, which is usually wasted space.

Green peppers are nice and they are great for table veggies...but how much will you eat if canned or frozen? Don't give them too much space in the garden unless they are a big part of your diet. Same with hot peppers, broccoli, melons. Having a lot of variety is always lovely but it doesn't focus on the first and foremost goal of a garden for a large family and canning for the coming year...focus on the big four and anything that can reasonably augment of go with them in your diet and in dishes for the coming year.

Go with a medium garden this year so you won't get overwhelmed, can up everything you grow and then see if it lasts all year long until next harvest. If it does not, plant more the following year. If you get to the end of this year's harvest and can see that you didn't can enough, buy from a farm stand to augment that supply and next year plant more, go bigger.

No one can truly tell you how much your particular family will consume and what they are likely to consume except time and experience.

BK, if we ever meet in person, I'll bring you a bottle of Georgio.

Oh, could you?????

HATE the smell of that stuff...like bug spray hitting the back of one's throat. Do they even still make that stuff?

Oh, that is so me. I must have $200 worth of seed in the freezer from the past 4 years. Sometimes it helps me to make the decision you made above - what you definitely want to plant. Then pick two kinds - one a reliable one that you're pretty sure will get you a harvest. The other can be a frivolous variety of the same kind. Yukon gold potatoes and those purple fingerlings. Better Boy Tomatoes and Cherokee Purple. Yellow summer squash and tromboni squash - etc. Plant lettuce now, before too many slugs/snails come out.

I'm under orders not to buy any seed this year. I have to use what I've got.

 

[perchie.girl]

I love skunk smell too.... So does mom. We are both coffee drinkers.... Hmmmm I wonder if there is a correlation....

deb