2015 Garden Ideas.

My partner and I have vastly different ideas when it comes to consumerism. I'm a "use it until it's dead" type, and he's what I would call a "product tester". That being said, were both pretty thrifty; and one of the ways we like to avoid being slaves to the grocery store is to grow a large garden each year. We usually invest $100 in various seeds, stakes, mulch, etc. and by the end of the fall we've got enough canned, pickled and frozen fruit and veg to last us through the winter, and to share. We've got a 1/2 ish acre plot in a small town and find this is a ton of room to feed two people. Along with that, I love raising chickens in the spring, collecting fresh eggs, and then filling the freezer when the weather turns.

Along with the usuals: potatoes, carrots, beets, tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, various squash, chard, broccoli, pumpkins, lettuces and herbs, this year we're really excited to try and grow some sugar baby watermelons, and start a crop of asparagus. Last year we tried to grow ground cherries, and they were delicious, but we just couldn't find a use for them all, and we also grew kohlrabi, which we were both pretty "meh" about.

Who else is excited all ready about their garden? What kind of new crops are you trying out? Is anyone growing for the first time or thinking about getting a few back yard hens? Please share!

I think one of the best ways to give the government a big F U is to be as independent as you can be.

a reply to: Atsbhct

My wife and I planted our very first garden last year and it was a hoot. We live in a hilly area of west texas. The soil here is...rock. But, remarkably we had great success with Jalapeno peppers, squash, string beans, tomatoes, watermelon, onions, garlic, cucumbers and cantaloupe. We had enough watermelons and cantaloupe to share with our neighbors, and just like you...we're on a half acre lot.

The big disappointment was eggplant. I love eggplant and there's so much you can do with it, but...never made it out here. My wife says that the problem is the soil and that eggplants need some special mix of soil. We are cheap and we just worked some top soil from bags from Walmart into the local soil, (if you can call it that), and everything else grew great.

I've suggested chickens but my wife objects, saying they're a smelly disaster of a mess. I don't know; I've never met a chicken (city boy). But I do love eggs and chicken.

Something I'd like to figure out this year is how to grow beans! I love beans; but I like pinto beans and kidney beans and navy beans. Problem is...at our local stores I've never found any seeds for bean plants for sale. Do you know where we could get some bean plant seeds?

Enjoy your garden! Its a lot of fun.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
I think one of the best ways to give the government a big F U is to be as independent as you can be.

Something (new?) to try: add a small grove of Moringa oleifera to your garden, if you have the space.
No need to waste money on mulch, treat your soil with Moringa instead.
Fruits and leaves are edible like green beans or salad, aside of various other perks of this magnificent plant.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Hi Atsbhct,

Sounds like you're right into it. My wife and I are the same and grow all the usual crops in 3 large gardens. Got chickens, geese and had pigs until we butchered them and topped the freezers up. Going for sheep soon.

Recently put fish in the dams and look forward to catching them next year. Feed them by hand daily. We like growing 'Pook Choy' sometimes pronounced 'Buk Choy' and 'button squash' along with the usual staples. Will be harvesting my spuds this week.

Very gratifying to read here about it. Great pasttime.

Kind regards,

Bally

a reply to: Atsbhct We are excited! On our list are the regular crops for zone 5, but the ones I am stoked about trying are imperial artichoke, edamame beans, and hops. We also are planting a ton of milkweed in hopes we will get some monarchs. As for chickens, if you have them far enough from the house, neither their smell nor the mice their feed attracts will bother you much.

Seeds for beans are just other dried beans that have been stored correctly! Lots of online seed retailers should be able to send you some beans, or there is probably a garden store in your area that can suggest a really great variety. Then when they sprout, stick them in the ground, thin them out after a few weeks, and give them a trellis or some stakes to grow on. I grew some fava beans one year and they were delicious fresh.

Your first garden sounds great! Tell your wife that chickens definitely don't have to be smelly, especially if you only keep two or three for eggs. Plus, they can live on kitchen scraps, and pick beetles and aphids out of your garden!

reply to: TonyS

Definitely new. I've never heard of moringa, but we're all for trying out new trees in the mini orchard we try to play with. Thank you, do you grow it yourself?

a reply to: ColCurious

Wow, you must live in a really amazing climate to be harvesting right now! We still have a few feet of snow before we'll even see the ground.

I would love to raise a few pigs, but my boyfriend has confided that he has a soft spot for them and couldn't bear to see them off to the butcher! I certainly love my chickens, and love hand raising them, but being raised on a farm, I feel like its just a the nature of life, and I'd rather give them a good year or two in the backyard rather than a dirty old factory.

I love your fish set up, we don't have room for a pond, but we've often talked about a small aquaponics set up to grow herbs and greens all year, as well as stock the freezer with some trout. If you haven't heard of it, it's pretty amazing what you can output with only a little effort.

reply to: bally001

I always read about zones in gardening magazines, but always rely on other gardeners in the area to tell us what will grow in the yard, but it looks like I'm also a zone 5-er. Five "b" to be specific. Do you start your seeds inside like us or sow them after the frost is gone? We like to start seeds in eggshells, then plant them a day or two after the last frost for most plants. I've never tried to grow edamame or artichoke, so cool! A friend of ours grows hops a little ways away and he has repeatedly told us that it's pretty easy and they're a hardy crop! He's constantly experimenting with homebrews, and trying to find really great varietals.

As for monarchs, I hope you attract some, they're getting very sparse from what I hear! We have an issue in this area with bee and bat scarcity, so, less pollination and more Mosquitos. We built a little bee house, and a bat house, hopefully that helps.

Our chickens don't attract too many mice, and we mostly feed them vegetable scraps. They get a big area to roam in and some times I'll stick them in the garden, so the poop is spread around and doesn't smell too much reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

the ground on my half(ish) acre isn't very suitable for growing anything other than desert flora. My yard is mostly xeriascaped (at least in the flower beds).

For my food products we are going to focus on herbs, and trying to get some fruit trees going. I expect peach should do fairly well.

I love my little fruit trees! My peach tree has never fruited, maybe I have a variety not well suited for my region, but we have apples, plums, pears, and an Asian pear tree as well. We decided, because I'm short and were only two people, to dwarf the trees when we started them years ago, and they all grow more like bushes. Really handy for picking.

Have you tried raised bed, straw bale, or container gardening? Straw bale especially can be a nice growing medium when the soil is sparse, and it just decomposes away eventually. If you have some sandy soil that isn't too rocky you might be able to plant a bumper crop of carrots or beets or potatoes, they seem to like a looser ground. Maybe even parsnips!

It sounds like TonyS might have a similar soil situation! Maybe you guys could share some tips.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

We garden on Vancouver Island where the ice age glaciers dropped off all their rocks when retreating... an area proud of its gravel pits, with awful soil. Water retention is the greatest problem and I find that if I really water/mulch the fruit trees/ shrubs for a few years they are good to go.

I just put in bush cherries, an Asian pear, and some more apples. Wish I could grow peaches. My neighbours have wonderful peaches but I've tried three times with extra hardy varieties and an early death came to all, I even sprayed for peach leaf curl. Figs do great in our soil though and we get really swamped in the fruit. Maybe kiwis next year when I figure out where I'd have enough space for them.

a reply to: Atsbhct Ha ha! yes, i am a zone nerd. Here on the edge of the St Joe National forest, I got punished with snow in June when I was audacious. Dead hibiscus. I have to start tomatoes, basil, and the artichokes inside, but if it is warm by May 1, I can direct sow and things will do ok. But not every year. It is supposed to be in the 60s next week, but it is probably just a cruel trick. Thank you for this wonderful thread!

a reply to: igloo

Vancouver Island always struck me as a paradise!

I was reading this week about something called a "Fruit Salad Tree" which has different fruit varieties grafted onto it. I might try one of these for peaches, as it has plums, which I know will grow fine here, as well as peaches, apricots and nectarines. It might be the answer!...or it may shrivel and die, only time will tell. It's a neat idea either way!

I don't think I've ever tried a fig outside of my grandfathers Fig Newton cookies. Are those made with some sort of fig purée? Is Fig Newton a person? Am I suddenly inspired to name my next pet Fig Newton? They look so delicious when I see them in recipe photos and whatnot. How do you like to enjoy them?

a reply to: Look2theSacredHeart

I can't wait for fresh tomatoes! Hothouse will not do!

I don't know if I have a thumb the specific shade of green for growing flowers! I always make sure to grow nasturtiums, they're easy and delicious and the lizard loves to eat them; but, other than that, I'm kind of terrified of the investment and pay off. I've always dreamed of having a tea garden filled with mint and chamomile and marshmallow root and the like. Hibiscus makes delicious tea as well.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Man, i love fresh tomatoes. I usually just buy them from a local grower at the farmers market. We live in some rough brush country, and the dove descend on our garden like a plague.

I was coming back from lunch....i could hear all the dove out in the pasture. They didn't sound so happy about the rain we are having today.

Ugh, and I thought doves were supposed to be a symbol of peace. You need to start a war with those doves.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan