Best way to growing your own crops?

Hi all,

Just after the best way to grow my own crops in my back yard?

Im looking at vegetables that are all year round type ones.I had in mind tomatoes, cucumber and maybe potatoes?

might I suggest buying a gardening book.
When the power grid goes down, you won't
be able to google "How do I plant cucumbers?"

Find out about the "deep bed method". It's just what it says really, but that means you can grow your veggies a lot closer together, so you're fitting more in. Raised deep beds, even better.
Companion planting is a good thing too. e.g. Sweetcorn and lettuce together. The sweetcorn is ready to take off when you're picking the last of the lettuce.
If you can, grow some fruit trees. Most trees come on dwarf rootstock nowadays so that's great even for a small garden. Three trees make an orchard, so I read. I bought a victoria plum about 4 years ago and got buckets full of plums this year.

If I could change the layout of my garden I'd bring the veggie plots closer to the house. Right at the back door would be better. Too late now though, everything's built and static.

reply to post by boondock-saint


Aint that the truth. And I wont be able to get a $12 tent off ebay either.

Agh!!!

I'll just use dead people for tents, and hope for the best I think...

There have been plenty of good posts here in the past...may I direct you to some of those. Excellent info and reference material there...oh, and print it....bind it, and you have a book of real life experience gardening.

Beyond that, how big of a yard do you have? Are you on well or city water? Do you live near a lake? What is your climate and enviroment like?

Too many variables unknown to give specific direction...so the ball is now in your court.

Here are some intresting start points for you to gether some info:

- Aquaponics ( Fish and crops in a "looped" system)
- Foodforrest ( Let nature work for you, just harvest)
- Permagarden ( Smaller version of Foodforrest)

I suggest you google those words in the Google video section.

reply to post by q_ball


You might check out a book called Square Foot Gardening

Here is a website about it, also. Square Foot Gardening 101

Raised beds or mounded soil takes a lot of the work out of setup.

For 4 season harvesting try www.fourseasonfarm.com... and the book Four Season Harvest

Also, just something I've found useful, if you search the net and find good info run off copies and create your own folder for it. A three ring binder and hole punch can keep your info organized and accessible. Remember, without power you can't google it!

Best thing todo right this moment?
Use the "Search" function here on ATS.
There are plenty of threads that will steer you in the right direction.

Use your local library and if you can't, then order a book or three from amazon...
It's not hard, really.
I've done it this year for the first time.
Turned out more amazing than I expected.
There's something about harvesting your own crops that makes a man satisfied.

All I did was talk to the older folks who actually had to live off their own gardens at some point in their lives.
There's alot of good information from those who have experience.


Instead of asking a conspiracy site how to grow a garden....
....get motivated and school yourself as much as possible.
I am not trying to be rude but this isn't 'gardening.com'.

Learn about composting so you always have good soil replenishment. Also have a section close to your house for herbs. Many of them flower, so they make good ornamentals that you can flavor food with, or make into various tea. Learn what flowers bring in birds and beneficial insects, so things pollinate properly, and they also eat the bad bugs.

All excellent advice above, I can only tell you what I know by my own hand which no amount of books can explain, "know your soil". That's the secret! Some people have clay, some sand, some with good drainage and some with no drainage. Alkaline versus Acid soil.

I think the first step would be to take a few samples from where you wish to plant and call your County Extension Office (typically associated with a nearby University) and ask if they do soil testing. Sometimes there is a fee for the testing but it is so worth it.

Here is an example of how I grow excellent cucumbers, watermelon, and cantaloupe: I buy myself a bale of straw (not hay because some folks consider alfalfa as hay). Cut the strings and open the bale to create 1 to 2 foot mounds or rows. Every two feet I place a two handfuls of soil on the top of the row. I do not mix it, I simply just place the soil on the top. Then I plant two seeds per soil top. When the plants sprout the soil begins to compost the straw below and as the plant grows it covers the mound reducing watering and providing all the good stuff the plant wants. I still fertilize every 4-6 weeks with a 10-10-10 (very basic tomato food) fertilizer.

I guarantee your cucurbits will thrive and you will have an abundance of fruit!

I began using this method when I found out that clay causes most cucurbits to turn bitter.

Here are some pictures to show how I did it, I also need to note that the cucurbit family does not like water on their leaves if at all possible, so a drip system or soaker hose is much better than a sprinkler. Not much you can do about rain unless you build yourself little umbrellas!

Although this appears to have a substantial amount of soil where each plant is, this is just two handfuls and then the straw begins to decompose. I did zero tilling and the mounds of straw just sit on the surface of the ground. I used the poles as a means to border the bed and can be rolled away to move them.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9d25ae8f7c7e.jpg[/atsimg]

in this photo you can see watermelon at the forefront, then my cantaloupe, then the cucumbers. These all have the potential to cross pollinate but will not effect that year's fruit.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6e5e3c4fa42c.jpg[/atsimg]

Here is an excellent pdf file Cross Pollination of Cucurbits

reply to post by Greensage


I like your method. That would keep the weeds way down, and add to the soil under the hay also, making it richer in case roots found their way down that deep.

reply to post by snowspirit


Thanks! This is an excellent method for growing potatoes as well, except a box should be built that can be added to for height as the potato plant grows; if planks are used then potatoes can be harvested from the bottom as the plants are still growing upward new potatoes will grow which increases the yield.

Here is an example:


Planting shallow at first, and then as the plant grows the sides are added upward, but rather than using soil just use plain old cheap straw. Still have to fertilize but the composting will create its own soil.

Ultimately it will look like this, and then just remove the planks below to harvest as the rest is still growing upwards.

reply to post by Greensage


I have a ton of gardening books, but I have learned still more today.
I've done potatoes by stacking old tires before, which helps with the colder weather up here, but you can't harvest from the bottom that way. Another of your ways worth remembering.

That's also a good design for a contained compost pile, with the bottom being where the good soil ends up, and you can still keep putting compostable scraps in the top.