back yard gardens

Out here in surberia we have pristine lawns, but what would it take to convert to gardens ,and raise enough food for a family of five .on small half acre lots?your comments please as people are out of work a small garden is not out of the question.

It depends on the condition of your soil (where do you live?), what tools you have and how much time you have to devote to it. I'm going to send you a U2U.

Google "backyard food garden" and that should bring some great results.

I think that rather than me waffling on about bits n pieces you may find it easier and more useful to get a copy of Backwoods Home Magazine, its an american publication that covers just about every aspect of food self sufficiency.

Here's some good viewing, the original "Victory Garden" movie from WWII (20 minutes):

www.archive.org...

Shows a family growing a 1/4acre garden, both early and late crops. Interesting stuff, gives an idea of the amount of work involved.

Back yard gardens, my favorite pass-time! You can start here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

You can also Scroogle any number of related key words and get tons of great links. You should definitely start prepping your beds now, testing the soil, etc.

Good Luck!

My Grandparents had quite the Victory Garden that they maintained for 35 years after WWII. Something was always in season and my Grandma's fruit cellar was always full. In addition to the garden they had apple, pear and plum trees. They always had enough for themselves and any friends and family that needed anything.

I would love to prepare a small plot in my small suburban yard this Spring.

as my name implies i grow tomatoes ,mostly heirloom

but i also do corn ,watermelons,cucumbers,straw berries and such

i live near the ocean so i catch my own mullet and emulsion them for organic ferts

just make sure you ground has plenty of organic matter

all plants are just water wrapped in a pretty package they will do there thing just make sure you have lots of organic matter in the ground

i dont fuss to much with them just keep them on the dry side and not to to wet

it will help with the movement of cal. and phos in your garden

mist once a week with fish emulsion and it will keep most pests ,rodents,disease,funguses down to a min

just dont over love them and you will do great

just take a real good look at all green plants around the area of choice and see how they are doing

if they look sick post some picks and ill try to help with the issue at hand

good luck hope i can help

They can be very productive. The yield from by backyard was far greater than the allotment from the farm co-op I belonged to. Better quality too. I quit the co-op.

Below is a list of reccommended plants, total row length, plant spacing, and estimated production. This list is a general guideline for growing enough food for a family of 4 for one year. Granted, in suberbia, you probably dont have access to this much land, but you asked, so here it is.

Note: this is not my list, rather was put out by a local university. U2U me if you want the link, dont want the entire world to know where I am. Thanks.

Also, when I typed this I spaced the numbers, when I hit Preview post, ATS automaticly removed the spacing, so it could be tough to read, I did insert commas, hope that helps a little.

Rows are in feet, plant spacing in inches.

Plant, Row, Spacing, Yield
Beans, 100, 6-8, 50 lbs
Beets, 50, 2-4, 50 lbs
Broccoli, 50, 18-24, 30 lb
Brussels Sprouts, 50, 24, 30 lb

Cabbage, 60, 18-24, 90 lb
Carrots, 100, 2-4, 100 lb
Cauliflower, 50, 18, 75 lb
Celery, 25, 6-8, 45 lb

Sweet Corn, 100, 12-14, 100 ears
Swiss Chard, 25, 6, 25 lbs
Cucumber, 25, 12, 50 lb
Eggplant, 12, 18, 15 lb

Endive, 25, 10, 15 lb
Kale, 25, 10, 25 lb
Kohlrabi, 50, 4, 50 lb
Lettuce head, 25, 10-15, 25lb

Lettuce leaf, 25, 3-6, 20 lb
Mustard greens, 25, 6, 15 lb
Scallions, 10, 1-3, 10 lb
Onions, 25, 2-4, 25 lb

Parsley, 10, 4, 5 lb
Parsnips, 50, 3, 50 lb
Peas, 150, 2, 40 lb
Peppers, 25, 18, 25 lb

Potatoes, 150, 10-14, 200 lb*
Radishes, 25, 1, 18 lb
Rutabagas, 50, 4, 75 lb
Spinach, 25, 8-10, 20 lb

Summer Squash, 10, 30, 75 lb
Winter Squash, 25, 48, 60 lb
Tomatoes, 75, 24-36, 150 lb
Turnips, 50, 3, 75 lb

*Potatoes. I have had better success personally growing potatoes in tires as opposed to a patch in the ground, but whatever works.

Not included in the above list are any types of herbs. However, anyone who takes the time to learn about herbs can easily grow a continuing supply indoors or set aside a small outside plot to grow a years supply.

I have never tried a garden this large, but am gearing up for something along these lines this year. I will be omiting a few of these items, and adding others, mainly more corn, tobbacco, cotton, and coffee. Then again this is just a referance.

If you are unfamiliar with gardening, do not attempt something of this scale, all you will produce is anger and hatred for your inability to produce anything. I know, I got in over my head before I took the time to learn and do things correctly.

Lastly, growing food is great, but it does have its drawbacks. Primarily time. Alot of time starting seeds, transplanting, watering, weeding, etc... so be prepared to work your garden. Also, there is the problem of processing your harvest. The more you grow, the more you need to read up on canning, drying, cold storage, etc...

Hope your garden goes well.

My paretns have just over half an acre, and raise enough tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peppers, squash etc to feed a family of 8 if needed. They also raise 5 chickens for the eggs, but they also do wonders for fertilizing the soil.

Hey thank for the links and tips you guys are the greatest
im not working right now so I got the time

Below is a link to good garding information on the NC State University website. I hope this helps!

Backyard Garden Info

If you are truly interested in a backyard garden get a green house, detached or a lean to. Great for beginners extends your growing season and if you build a proper lean to it can lower your heating costs aswell. Not to mention you can mostly eliminate bug problems.

Take a look at what the people over at Path To Freedom have done. This guy has produced something like 6000 pounds of produce a year on a small lot in the city.

It is possible, it just takes a lot of work and research.


[edit on 29-1-2009 by fritzM]

As others have said, where you live has alot of bearing on soil condition, what will grow and when.

Check out the websites of your state's department of ag. or state university. Many of them have guides and tips for this very thing.

Im married with 1 kid. I have 2 Gardens in my back yard. They are bordered with retaining wall bricks and a couple feet above the yard so they have great drainage. Both gardens are 20foot squared. I grow way too much food for my family. We Fill up our freezer and give the rest away. We could easily survive off my gardens if we had to. I have a fence around them that is 3 feet high to keep the animals out. If we needed meat i could just open the fence and let the rabbits come in and trap them. But as long as the grocery store is open ill get my meat there.
Gardens are alot of work. Get a few gardening books and grow what grows best in your area. Also make a small compost pile that you can till into your soil when needed.