Due to my unsuccessful gardening season, I have decided I don't need to work harder, I need to work SMARTER!!!!
So I decided to go with perennials. Even if 2-3 are successful this year, I will have 2-3 food products for YEARS with very little work.
I didn't go this way initially because we are in a rental home, but I still chose to plant a few perennials anyway. After very little work but a lot of seeds, I have 4 moringa oleifera plants THRIVING with no additional work and just occasional watering. They don't seem to be bothered by pests, and are very nutritious. We planted them just 4 months ago, and there is one that is already 4 feet tall!!!!
I am so proud of my little trees! To me, these guys were a TOTAL SUCCESS! 4 trees will meet many of our family of 6's nutritional needs while we are here, and I will be sure to root cuttings from these trees when we move so we can bring them with us. These trees are extremely useful trees!
I will never give up my garden because of failures. Because with my HUGE failure has come one success.
That being said, I am moving to perennials. My requirements for my new challenge are simple:
fruits in under 2 years
perennial
good reported taste
can be grown in containers
This eliminates MANY mainstream fruits and veggies. I found a few fruits though that met my criteria, and I placed my order.
White raisin bush
Goji berry
Red Mulberry
Pigeon Pea
Tree tomato
Aunt MOlly's Ground cherry
SIerra Leone Ground cherry
Dwarf Pomegranate
Cocona
Walking onion
I didn't count the moringa. These are already growing and thriving. Once I line my fence with successful perennials, I will work on my garden again. There is definitely enough for 50-75 bushes along our fenceline, which will give us a LOT of food for little money and work. It is definitely the world's cheapest food!!!!!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Mini foodtopia was NOT a success!
Mini-foodtopia was full of learning experiences! Most of them are NOT positive! After throwing every seed under the sun into the ground, and watering and weeding for weeks, the only thing I feel great about is thanks to me there are going to be a hundred butterflies around the house. Caterpillars ate through nearly every vegetable I grew!
On a brighter note, my jalapenos are doing great, and so is the lettuce. The beans and green beans did just OK. I have to say, if I put it ALL together and made them into meals for our family, we would have 1-2 meals. The pumpkins and tomatoes got demolished by caterpillars, and unfortunately, I do not have time to pick caterpillars off one by one for hours on end.
The corn's growth was stunted. Not many successes anywhere... which brings me to my next mission and my next post...
On a brighter note, my jalapenos are doing great, and so is the lettuce. The beans and green beans did just OK. I have to say, if I put it ALL together and made them into meals for our family, we would have 1-2 meals. The pumpkins and tomatoes got demolished by caterpillars, and unfortunately, I do not have time to pick caterpillars off one by one for hours on end.
The corn's growth was stunted. Not many successes anywhere... which brings me to my next mission and my next post...
Saturday, October 22, 2011
soybeans???!!!!! Already???!!!
Today, we picked our first radish and ate it (this was planted at the same time as everything else. As I had said before, I threw a little of everything in there to see what would grow. I CAN say that in sandy soil that all of my beans (and peas!), vines, and corn are doing extremely well. In fact, our soy beans have pods, and our vines are flowering! Our vines are so large, they are taking over the bed!
As they grow out of the marked beds, I move them onto the "grass" where they won't interfere with the other growing plants in the bed.
As our yard is so small and full of weeds, I opted for a weed whacker instead of a lawn mower. After all, it is a rental, so my only interest is in maintaining it as is. I do believe I am going to rake the cuttings, heat them up enough to kill the seeds once it dries, and use it as a groundcover for the next season.
As they grow out of the marked beds, I move them onto the "grass" where they won't interfere with the other growing plants in the bed.
As our yard is so small and full of weeds, I opted for a weed whacker instead of a lawn mower. After all, it is a rental, so my only interest is in maintaining it as is. I do believe I am going to rake the cuttings, heat them up enough to kill the seeds once it dries, and use it as a groundcover for the next season.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
My update on mini foodtopia
It has been about a week since I planted minifoodtopia. I can tell you in the sandy soil we have with a few bags of potting soil added, of the 4 sisters, the beans and corn are thriving. In the front, a few amaranth and quinoa seem to have made it, and 2 of the 4 strawberry plants have made it.
The last bed, with the tomatoes and lettuce and moringa, seems to be struggling quite a bit. A few things are sprouting, but I am unable to identify many, and in a few weeks may identify them as just weeds.
The middle bed has yet to be planted. I planted our herbs in Dixie cups, and put them in our small, protected greenhouse, but they did not do well. We had 1 storm, and I think most of them were flooded.
In light of all this, today I spent the entire day replanting new seeds, this time in the paper towel method. This seems so much easier, and you have the ability to only plant what has already sprouted.
I figure I will let them sprout, and then use rolls of toilet paper and rolled up regular paper to mark the little guys in bed 2, and pull everything on the outside of those tiny tubes.
I will use the same method for the places in beds 1 and 3 that are bare for these plants.
I am also working on adding winecaps and oyster mushrooms this week. They will be housed under our wood porch, which is about 4 feet above the ground. We took some leftover pieces of wood from the garden bed to build the small mushroom spaces under the porch. As expensive as mushrooms are, from what I have read, winecap mushrooms and oysters are the easiest to grow.
The last bed, with the tomatoes and lettuce and moringa, seems to be struggling quite a bit. A few things are sprouting, but I am unable to identify many, and in a few weeks may identify them as just weeds.
The middle bed has yet to be planted. I planted our herbs in Dixie cups, and put them in our small, protected greenhouse, but they did not do well. We had 1 storm, and I think most of them were flooded.
In light of all this, today I spent the entire day replanting new seeds, this time in the paper towel method. This seems so much easier, and you have the ability to only plant what has already sprouted.
I figure I will let them sprout, and then use rolls of toilet paper and rolled up regular paper to mark the little guys in bed 2, and pull everything on the outside of those tiny tubes.
I will use the same method for the places in beds 1 and 3 that are bare for these plants.
I am also working on adding winecaps and oyster mushrooms this week. They will be housed under our wood porch, which is about 4 feet above the ground. We took some leftover pieces of wood from the garden bed to build the small mushroom spaces under the porch. As expensive as mushrooms are, from what I have read, winecap mushrooms and oysters are the easiest to grow.
Friday, September 23, 2011
interplanting and companion planting plans- my garden sampler
I am trying to get as MUCH out of my 3 small beds as possible!!!! I have interplanted and companion planted everything! But my whole thing is pushing the bar and see what comes up! I will keep my blog updated on how each thing is doing, but I wanted to let all my readers know what I have decided to companion plant.
bed 1 is split in half. This bed is half sunflowers, corn, and beans. That being said, the corn is of one kind, as are the sunflowers. The beans are mixed between a few sample varieties, and soybeans. Now, there have been a lot of people that say pole beans, a lot that say bush beans... I went with Bush beans, as I was planting at the same time and did not want them to smother the corn.
The other half was planted with amaranth and quinoa. I interplanted these two with radishes and carrots. I figured that radish and carrots are companion plants, and the radishes would grow out before the carrots and amaranth/quinoa needed the space.
THEN!!!! yea, I added more... I planted a few squash, watermelon, pumpkin, and melon seeds randomly around the bed...
We will see what grows and what doesn't from this bed. I figured if I overpacked it, whatever will not grow in our soil won't grow, but I should get something! I don't think I have much to lose by doing this.
In bed 2, that has yet to be planted, and for good reason- this is the bed I am relying on to produce this season. I am going to plant this one with started plants (more on bed 2 later).
In bed 3, the little bed, it is another experimental bed- mostly! In this bed, I planted a hedge of moringa trees(against a fence), and in the remaining bed, I planted tomatoes and cucumbers in back (as companions), and various lettuces in front.
So beds one and three are purely experimental in many ways for me... it will tell me what will produce well in my little microclimate, and what won't.
OVERCOMING THE ODDS: The girl next door told me that she never bothered to have a garden because "nothing grows here". While I know this is wrong, the question is, in such a tough climate (hot, humid, rainy, then dry) what will grow? That is what these two beds are going to tell me(hopefully). I want to amend the soil the way I would if it were my own home. I just want to cut our bills. In fact, if tomatoes were the only thing that grew I would be totally happy! I would just plant only tomatoes the next season and my family would be having every thing from tomato soup to tomato sauce to tomato salad... we will update you on the status of our little garden as it comes along.
bed 1 is split in half. This bed is half sunflowers, corn, and beans. That being said, the corn is of one kind, as are the sunflowers. The beans are mixed between a few sample varieties, and soybeans. Now, there have been a lot of people that say pole beans, a lot that say bush beans... I went with Bush beans, as I was planting at the same time and did not want them to smother the corn.
The other half was planted with amaranth and quinoa. I interplanted these two with radishes and carrots. I figured that radish and carrots are companion plants, and the radishes would grow out before the carrots and amaranth/quinoa needed the space.
THEN!!!! yea, I added more... I planted a few squash, watermelon, pumpkin, and melon seeds randomly around the bed...
We will see what grows and what doesn't from this bed. I figured if I overpacked it, whatever will not grow in our soil won't grow, but I should get something! I don't think I have much to lose by doing this.
In bed 2, that has yet to be planted, and for good reason- this is the bed I am relying on to produce this season. I am going to plant this one with started plants (more on bed 2 later).
In bed 3, the little bed, it is another experimental bed- mostly! In this bed, I planted a hedge of moringa trees(against a fence), and in the remaining bed, I planted tomatoes and cucumbers in back (as companions), and various lettuces in front.
So beds one and three are purely experimental in many ways for me... it will tell me what will produce well in my little microclimate, and what won't.
OVERCOMING THE ODDS: The girl next door told me that she never bothered to have a garden because "nothing grows here". While I know this is wrong, the question is, in such a tough climate (hot, humid, rainy, then dry) what will grow? That is what these two beds are going to tell me(hopefully). I want to amend the soil the way I would if it were my own home. I just want to cut our bills. In fact, if tomatoes were the only thing that grew I would be totally happy! I would just plant only tomatoes the next season and my family would be having every thing from tomato soup to tomato sauce to tomato salad... we will update you on the status of our little garden as it comes along.
Frugal beginnings to Mini Foodtopia...
Mini foodtopia has begun! I ended up making 3 beds, 4x12, 5x12, and 5x8. Yes I know, these are wider than most recommend, but someone who lived here before us had a row style garden that had become overrun with weeds when the previous tenants moved in. So I decided to go with what they had started.
I pulled EVERYTHING, weed or not, it got pulled out. Then I dug walkways out between every other row. I shoveled the dirt to where there was a crevice between the rows previously. This made 4-5 foot beds. Then I went to home depot, and for $30 I was able to find landscaping wood. This was enough to put borders on the beds. They are temporary in my case, as we are in a rental, so I have the option to bring them with. I have not secured them. I have just used them as a visual boundary. I also bought 4 new bags of manure, and 4 of garden soil to ensure that there was fresh nutrients in the soil.
My impulse buy was 2 strawberry plants. They were $2.99, and it is not strawberry season, but I left a small spot in the corner of one of the beds for them. I figured it wouldn't hurt, and was hoping they will throw out runners and start spreading a bit.
The total cost for my 3 beds was just under $50. The cost of my seeds was about $30. I have more seeds than I can handle!!!! But at the same time, I want to plant a ton of variety because I want to know what is going to grow best here.
NOW: my confession. It was REALLY hot and buggy when I planted. I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes due to the fact that I dug up a weed and bug infested backyard that has not been maintained for a LONG TIME. In fact, from what I hear, the tenants put up a pool and never used it, and it became a mosquito breeding sanctuary! So I organized my seeds inside, and went outside. I then scattered the seeds and came back in. I wanted to get them in and growing! So now, as weed seeds are sprouting, so are my veggies, and me being an amateur, I have no idea how to identify these baby vegetable plants growing!!! I have identified a few, and will start a seperate blog as a guide to what is what.
I pulled EVERYTHING, weed or not, it got pulled out. Then I dug walkways out between every other row. I shoveled the dirt to where there was a crevice between the rows previously. This made 4-5 foot beds. Then I went to home depot, and for $30 I was able to find landscaping wood. This was enough to put borders on the beds. They are temporary in my case, as we are in a rental, so I have the option to bring them with. I have not secured them. I have just used them as a visual boundary. I also bought 4 new bags of manure, and 4 of garden soil to ensure that there was fresh nutrients in the soil.
My impulse buy was 2 strawberry plants. They were $2.99, and it is not strawberry season, but I left a small spot in the corner of one of the beds for them. I figured it wouldn't hurt, and was hoping they will throw out runners and start spreading a bit.
The total cost for my 3 beds was just under $50. The cost of my seeds was about $30. I have more seeds than I can handle!!!! But at the same time, I want to plant a ton of variety because I want to know what is going to grow best here.
NOW: my confession. It was REALLY hot and buggy when I planted. I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes due to the fact that I dug up a weed and bug infested backyard that has not been maintained for a LONG TIME. In fact, from what I hear, the tenants put up a pool and never used it, and it became a mosquito breeding sanctuary! So I organized my seeds inside, and went outside. I then scattered the seeds and came back in. I wanted to get them in and growing! So now, as weed seeds are sprouting, so are my veggies, and me being an amateur, I have no idea how to identify these baby vegetable plants growing!!! I have identified a few, and will start a seperate blog as a guide to what is what.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Welcome to Foodtopia!
Hey big family bigger bills! We finally made some progress! Big family bigger bills big daddy got a promotion at work, and we are being relocated about an hour south to Sarasota-Bradenton. This is great for us, not only because it comes with not only a raise, but we found a wonderful landlord that will allow us to put a vegetable garden in the back yard! We also found a community garden that is $20 per year for a 200 sq. foot plot. I have already ordered seeds of all sorts (my next post!). I ordered a various array of herbs for our first season, plus several of the basics, and a few of the not so normal.
Our "home" has a sand backyard with... sand! I am assuming at this point, grass will not grow in the areas where there is a TON of sun and fast evaporation... very fast.
I am thinking of designing a 5' x (as long as I can make it!) vegetable garden in the yard. With wood boards as the sides, I plan on making a square foot garden. I am trying to leave as much space in the backyard as I can for the little ones to play.
I am also not trying to spend an arm and a leg on this garden, it is not permanant! I am planning on digging 3" or so down, and conserving the sand. Then I plan on putting up a 6" wall on every side, and putting a very thick layer of newpaper just below my 6" wall. I will build it at a slight angle and put a mesh covered hole at the end for the water to escape to, with something to catch the excess water to be reused. In our permanant home, I hope to make this space some sort of an area that has plants that love wet feet. Above the newspaper, I will add the 3" of sand from the yard, 2" of manure (from Craigslist, it is actually $2 per bag, and goes toward supporting rescue horses, which works for me!). On the very top, I will add 1" of normal compost, and an inch of hay (or straw, whatever I can get my hands on).
Throughout the year, I plan on adding compost from grass cuttings, mushroom compost, kitchen scraps, etc. I will add this as the seasons go by, but I want an immediate start to my vegetable garden on the cheap.
I hope it will not go as poorly as my "1 gallon grow bag experiment". Yea, great for starting trees, not much else. But if you want to do a "kitchen experiment", and see what you can grow from the seeds of your produce, it was fun! At the same time, don't expect much from veggies!
Thanks for joining me!
Our "home" has a sand backyard with... sand! I am assuming at this point, grass will not grow in the areas where there is a TON of sun and fast evaporation... very fast.
I am thinking of designing a 5' x (as long as I can make it!) vegetable garden in the yard. With wood boards as the sides, I plan on making a square foot garden. I am trying to leave as much space in the backyard as I can for the little ones to play.
I am also not trying to spend an arm and a leg on this garden, it is not permanant! I am planning on digging 3" or so down, and conserving the sand. Then I plan on putting up a 6" wall on every side, and putting a very thick layer of newpaper just below my 6" wall. I will build it at a slight angle and put a mesh covered hole at the end for the water to escape to, with something to catch the excess water to be reused. In our permanant home, I hope to make this space some sort of an area that has plants that love wet feet. Above the newspaper, I will add the 3" of sand from the yard, 2" of manure (from Craigslist, it is actually $2 per bag, and goes toward supporting rescue horses, which works for me!). On the very top, I will add 1" of normal compost, and an inch of hay (or straw, whatever I can get my hands on).
Throughout the year, I plan on adding compost from grass cuttings, mushroom compost, kitchen scraps, etc. I will add this as the seasons go by, but I want an immediate start to my vegetable garden on the cheap.
I hope it will not go as poorly as my "1 gallon grow bag experiment". Yea, great for starting trees, not much else. But if you want to do a "kitchen experiment", and see what you can grow from the seeds of your produce, it was fun! At the same time, don't expect much from veggies!
Thanks for joining me!
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