Are you growing food?

[benevolentcrow]

Hello all of you food growers. Nothing taste better than fresh food from your own garden. We have only been in our new home for 10 months now and have started to build our garden up.

We have one acre and have built a deer, rabbit proof garden area. 9 3'x5' raised garden beds that are 1' deep.

Have tomatoes which I started from seed in March in the ground so far. Next is potatoes, garlic, onion, shallots, spinach and so on as the bed get filled with dirt. Composting as much as possible for fertilizer.

Living in the Pacific Northwest we have a mild climate. Tomatoes have to be babied to get them to grow, chose ultra early girls or Siberian variety are good choices. Greens like kale, collards, spinach do well here in the cooler climate.

We also have 5 apple trees and 3 pear and a golden plum tree and hope to preserve some come fall.

In the process of building a chicken coop as we have 14 four week old Fancy Bantam chicks for egg laying.

Working on it and it is work! Enjoying every minute of it.

Good luck with all of your efforts to produce good food for you and your families!

[CeltMan]

Great thread Anchor!

Ok, here is my experience.

1) I would love to be able to grow a lot more, but am limited by space.

I planted 7 fruit trees around the perimeter about 25 years ago after the main building work was completed.

They are: Plumbs (2), cherry(2), apples(2)
This year here in UK has been strange weather so the cherries are scarce.
The plumbs-damson has given up, victoria is ok. Black cherries(my favourite),...wait for it--ONE!! (which the birds ate!!!...LOL)

Three years ago, i deceided to clear a patch of garden & build 4 raised beds for growing vegetables.
They are brick surrounds, about 30" tall, approx 1 meter square.
I have semipermeable membrans in base-to allow water through, but stop weeds & tree root growing up.
I also built wooden/hinged frames for tops, & fixed nylon mesh(this is to stop both cats & birds gaining access.)

I have the following sucesses: summer salad; spinach; iceburg lettuce.
Not so much with beetroot.
This year, one is lying covered & dormant...other three: new spinach; iceburg lettuce; beetroot.
I have appplied a pellet fertiliser to soil & added some general compost + my own from the container.

I am determined to master this 'vege growing lark'...so any tips would be appeciated. (bearing in mind that I live in South UK)

[pickle]

Great thread Anchor, thanks!

We're just starting with the home grown grub... a few veg; mainly potatoes, carrots, onion and herbs at home. We acquired an allotment a couple of months ago. The aim is to be as self sufficient as possible, but we've got a lot of learning ahead.... we could be eating caterpillars instead of veggies

Home



Where babies are made...


Allotment. Lots of work to do...


Just bee


Good luck to all!

John

[Marianne]

Thanks for all the sharing.

Posted by benevolentcrow
...have built a deer, rabbit proof garden area

BC, deer are my biggest problem and reason I don't garden more. Would you mind sharing how you deer-proofed yours? We have an over-population of white tail deer ... someone introduced them to the mountain because 'they look nice' and they have no natural enemies to keep the population in check (except the occasional vehicle when they get in road).

There's a forum 'Living off the grid' with good information
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/foru...g-Off-The-Grid

Within it is a sub-forum on food and water
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/foru...?70-Food-Water

So Avalon has some good information available. Bill Ryan urged us several months ago to begin making our plans, and sharing knowledge with each other.

Love and blessings to all.

[benevolentcrow]

Posted by Marianne (here)
Thanks for all the sharing.

Posted by benevolentcrow
...have built a deer, rabbit proof garden area

BC, deer are my biggest problem and reason I don't garden more. Would you mind sharing how you deer-proofed yours? We have an over-population of white tail deer ... someone introduced them to the mountain because 'they look nice' and they have no natural enemies to keep the population in check (except the occasional vehicle when they get in road).

There's a forum 'Living off the grid' with good information
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/foru...g-Off-The-Grid

Within it is a sub-forum on food and water
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/foru...?70-Food-Water

So Avalon has some good information available. Bill Ryan urged us several months ago to begin making our plans, and sharing knowledge with each other.

Love and blessings to all.

Hi Marianne,

I took major steps to deer proof. Our garden is 21'x22' and has 12 4x4 post set in concrete to hold a 6' high fence. I hung wind chimes in the doorway of the gate to discourage any deer getting close as they to not like the sound.

I also put large pieces of cardboard that I picked up at Home Depot down on the ground to kill grass and weeds in between rows then weed fabric a finally cedar chips as bugs and slugs do not like!

Not only do you have to grow your food you have to protect it from varmints, critters, insects and so on. It's a major effort but worth it for the quality and quantity of food you can produce.

[Marianne]

Posted by benevolentcrow (here)

Posted by Marianne (here)
Thanks for all the sharing.

Posted by benevolentcrow
...have built a deer, rabbit proof garden area

BC, deer are my biggest problem and reason I don't garden more. Would you mind sharing how you deer-proofed yours? We have an over-population of white tail deer ... someone introduced them to the mountain because 'they look nice' and they have no natural enemies to keep the population in check (except the occasional vehicle when they get in road).

There's a forum 'Living off the grid' with good information
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/foru...g-Off-The-Grid

Within it is a sub-forum on food and water
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/foru...?70-Food-Water

So Avalon has some good information available. Bill Ryan urged us several months ago to begin making our plans, and sharing knowledge with each other.

Love and blessings to all.

Hi Marianne,

I took major steps to deer proof. Our garden is 21'x22' and has 12 4x4 post set in concrete to hold a 6' high fence. I hung wind chimes in the doorway of the gate to discourage any deer getting close as they to not like the sound.

I also put large pieces of cardboard that I picked up at Home Depot down on the ground to kill grass and weeds in between rows then weed fabric a finally cedar chips as bugs and slugs do not like!

Not only do you have to grow your food you have to protect it from varmints, critters, insects and so on. It's a major effort but worth it for the quality and quantity of food you can produce.

Cardboard from big box stores to kill weeds ... a brilliant idea... thanks. I have used 2-3 layers of newspaper with mulch on top, but it takes some time to put down. So you first lay the cardboard on the ground, then place weed fabric on that and cedar chips on top, is that correct? Then you'd remove it, I guess, when you till the garden in the fall. I just left my newspaper/mulch there to be tilled into the soil.

I really hope the 6' fence works, and will be interested to know your experience, BC. I've heard deer can jump up to 8 feet to get over a fence, and that you have to put a second fence up, a certain distance apart, to keep them out. But it seems a 6' fence with other deterrents (like sound, and a red light I hear they don't like) would be better than a garden out in the open for them to wander into.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has had luck with using just the other deterrents like sound and/or red lights, scents they don't like, etc.

Remembering Perelandra Nature Center's solution to bugs, etc. She has a row of plants called 'bug boulevard' ... she connects with the deva of the insect or whatever predator, and asks them to only eat from certain plants. That way everyone's happy. I think I'm going about it all wrong when I feel frustrated ... going to work on that now. Have a heart to heart with the white-tail deer deva.

Love,
JB

[benevolentcrow]

"I guess, when you till the garden in the fall. I just left my newspaper/mulch there to be tilled into the soil. "

I do not till as all of the garden bed are raised, it is just to keep the weeds from growing in between rows.

[Marianne]

Posted by marianne
"I guess, when you till the garden in the fall. I just left my newspaper/mulch there to be tilled into the soil. "

Posted by benevolentcrow (here)
I do not till as all of the garden bed are raised, it is just to keep the weeds from growing in between rows.

Ah, I see ... sorry, I missed that.

Your garden and animal projects sounds great ... I hope to someday have something similar.

Raising chickens appeals to me, my grandmother always had them.

[benevolentcrow]

Posted by Marianne (here)

Posted by marianne
"I guess, when you till the garden in the fall. I just left my newspaper/mulch there to be tilled into the soil. "

Posted by benevolentcrow (here)
I do not till as all of the garden bed are raised, it is just to keep the weeds from growing in between rows.

Ah, I see ... sorry, I missed that.

Your garden and animal projects sounds great ... I hope to someday have something similar.

Raising chickens appeals to me, my grandmother always had them.

Love, love my chickens! They all have names. I will post pictures when we are further along of some of my projects. The raised beds maintain a higher temperature for better food production. Good luck in all of your endeavors. Love and blessing we are going to need it!

[Antagenet]

I like to grow things that other people might not readily identify as food ;-)
red amaranth leaves are delicious in salads
green amaranth leaves also good in salads and tasty to cook like spinach

Salad greens; Sorrel is my very favorite, lemony taste. Arugula, lettuces.

Herbs; Basil, Chives, Dill, Thyme, Aloe Vera, Ginger.

Noni and Papaya trees.

Squash, Asian long beans, Sweet potatoes, Okra.

And of course, spending time in the garden is healing and blissful.

[Maria Stade]

I have lots of deers around here but they have never gone too my plantings but I also have chickens some times loose and othervise in chicken tractors, I think that the chicken and my cats keep the deers away.
I had a groop of 30 animals passing by as I was watching.

[Maia Gabrial]

I have to say that I have a green thumb, but this and last year everything I tried to grow died within a short time. The sun was hardly ever out. And the skies were always filled with chemtrails. I understand that aluminium is not only deadly to us, but for plants as well....

I've thought about emailing NATO again and asking them if they're tired of being morons destroying our planet.... But the last time I did that they increased chemtrails in our area....

[Maria Stade]

Here are the adults that came last year.
It is tre collored Orpington realy nice birds.

[Maria Stade]

Here was last year when we broke the grass turf and the place where I live behinde it.

[Maria Stade]

Posted by Maia Gabrial (here)
I have to say that I have a green thumb, but this and last year everything I tried to grow died within a short time. The sun was hardly ever out. And the skies were always filled with chemtrails. I understand that aluminium is not only deadly to us, but for plants as well....

I've thought about emailing NATO again and asking them if they're tired of being morons destroying our planet.... But the last time I did that they increased chemtrails in our area....

I had problem last year due to to litte sun so the aubergine did not succede.
Yea they better just leav the planet while they can.

They did spray on sunny days so Jorr called the lokal news.

[Anchor]

The way this thread has gone, is really nice to see.

One tip I found was to constantly "engage" the natural environment. I ask the garden for help. I am grateful for what it does.

It makes the things grow I need, and it is pretty harsh about nailing the things I thought I needed but do not.

Some roo's jumped the rabbit fence, into my veggie and had a play, they also stomped on some of the garden that is unfenced.

I asked them not to do that again. I said if they needed any herbs from the unfenced herb garden they could take whatever they wanted if they were careful not to damage the plants.

Now they dont go in the fenced area, and watching them tip-toe round the herb garden is really funny

[Maria Stade]

It is important to have a agreement with the wild animals the deers get food in the winter but on the other side of the house
I Was lolling when they where eating gras betwen my grafted apple plants.
Rabbits come here at own risk the cats will not let them far.

[wavydome]

I need a little more than persuasion with the deer. The deer are daring and very attached. Despite the avid hunters in town. (I'm vegan but get along fine with hunters). The most-effective, easy and least objectionable repellent, (adamantly excluding dried rotting flesh) is an old can with the slightest amount of petrol byproducts like used motor oil, with dirty fuel or paint thinner... Plus human hair trimmings, dog combings..... It is a longer lasting rot which needs disposal anyway and is in very small amounts. It stands out just beyond the garden's edge. Keeping it covered from abundant rain here.

[benevolentcrow]

You can grow food anywhere. This is from Keep it Simple Farms in Redmond WA.
Little veggie garden on top of a chicken coop. Love it!

http://www.kisfarm.com/resources/blog/

[Maria Stade]

Posted by benevolentcrow (here)
You can grow food anywhere. This is from Keep it Simple Farms in Redmond WA.
Little veggie garden on top of a chicken coop. Love it!

http://www.kisfarm.com/resources/blog/

That is a great way to use the space and also gives the chickens shelter.