| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sherrye |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 07:12:00 AM
well i usually start brain storming now for planting. i have seen some threads on raised beds etc. here. this year i hope to plant a huge garden. we signed the permanent loan modification papers. i feel good about this spring planting. last year it was a feeble attempt. we thought we would have to move from foreclosure. i did very little. this year in all seriousness i want to produce enough to sell and give. papa and i have done it in the past. what has changed is health and our energy power. so we are open to your ideas. ways to make it easier. we have help from folks younger this year also. lisa and ron are HUGE helpers. i am so grateful. any ideas are gladly accepted...low maintenance easier plants to grow ways to fertilize. i know this year i am going to use excess cow milk from isabelle for part of my fertilizer program. i know there are some amazing brains out there full of know how. thanks ahead happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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| graciegreeneyes |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 7:41:26 PM
I'm hoping to make it through the garden season without getting derailed - seems like something always happens like a layoff, a wedding, an injury that sends me for a loop:) So operating on the assumption that it will be a successful year I want to put my whole "back 40" into production rather than weeds and have lots of stuff to can/freeze/give away etc. I have been doing all heirlooms for the last few years and I love it. I want to add herbs and some raspberries this year too
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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| LadyInRed |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 6:32:47 PM
I am thinking of doing most of mine in Heirlooms too. Loved my Heirloom tomatoes last year!
Such great flavor! I am drooling over the Seed Catalogs right now too. :+)
Blessings,
~peggy
Farmgirl #1326
http://ladyinredsite.blogspot.com
http://pegsmiles7.wordpress.com
http://www.sunshinefarmgirlcoop.com/PeggySmithsStudio.html#
"I'm only as strong as the caffeine I drink, the hair-spray I use and the Girlfriends that I have." |
| TJinMT |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 2:40:49 PM
Boy the seed catalogues ARE really coming in, aren't they? It's so exciting! I have a set of those removable page markers from the dollar store (little post-its work great too), and have been marking pages like crazy. I'm thinking to go almost all-heirloom this year!!
This is my first year with a greenhouse (praise the Lord and hallelujah!) so I'm really hoping to do some fun stuff with that. I'm thinking out starting organic seedlings to sell to friends, etc... and wondering what all I might put in the greenhouse to grow in there, like greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers, maybe even a small FIG tree!! Woohoo, figs would be cool in Montana!
~TJ of Green Willow Place
www.MyWesternHome.wordpress.com
"We make a living by what we get, but we build a life by what we give." ~Thomas S. Monson |
| karla |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 1:24:37 PM
The seed catalogs have started coming so i am in the planning stage! It is my year to make lots of salsa so there will be lots of onions, tomatoes, peppers, & jalepenoes. I also love my heirloom beans so I will increase my plantings of those.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
http://rua2j-grammysheirlooms.blogspot.com/ |
| TJinMT |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 12:20:11 PM
Angela - I think it was online... a place on Vashon Island I believe. I know that's not much to go on!!
~TJ of Green Willow Place
www.MyWesternHome.wordpress.com
"We make a living by what we get, but we build a life by what we give." ~Thomas S. Monson |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 11:32:26 AM
My garden plan is to revamp our raised beds this year and join a CSA :) Next year, let's cross fingers that all is right with my little spot of earth, here in Kentucky.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| melody |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 11:30:36 AM
Sherrye...I was just thinking about that last night---Maybe because it is raining here instead of snowing. But, our winters are so long it will be a little while before we can plant again, but I can DREAM....
Our soil is poor here being so close to the bay it is mostly sand so a couple of years ago we started transforming our entire yard (including the front yard) behind a beautiful picket fence--to raised beds. They are WONDERFUL-Now I have no front yard but will have a lot of established herbs in two of our beds and plenty of room for summer vegetables.
It will be nice to get my hands in the dirt again-I really miss that this time of year!
Melody
Farmgirl #525
www.bythebayhandcraftedsoap.blogspot.com
www.lemonverbenasoap.etsy.com |
| Penny Wise |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 10:31:39 AM
TJ that "subscription" idea sounds great- do you remember where you read it?
Farmgirl # 2139
~*~ counting my pennies and biding my time; my dreams are adding up!~*~ |
| TJinMT |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 10:04:59 AM
I'm with Angela - mulch, mulch, mulch!! I love using shredded leaves on top of dampened newspaper sheets (about 8 sheets deep laid straight down on the soil after having been dampened in a bucket for 10 seconds or so). Clean straw (not hay!!) is great too if you can find it. Mulching saves tons of time weeding, plus makes happier plants because it keeps the soil moisture levels consistent.
Are you going to sell at a Farmer's Market? Direct? I read a really neat deal about a small mom-and-pop farm that sold "subscriptions" to customers... each month they would have some of whatever had come ripe that month, flowers, veggies, herbs... you going to do any canning to sell at Bazaars in the fall, or all strictly fresh produce? I'd work up a good game plan and take it from there... you could sell herb breads, jams and jellies, salsa and spaghetti sauce...
Exciting stuff!!!
~TJ of Green Willow Place
www.MyWesternHome.wordpress.com
"I wanna write my blog, and live my life, beneath these Western Skies..." (with apologies to Chris LeDoux! smile!) |
| natesgirl |
Posted - Dec 30 2010 : 08:57:27 AM
Try mulching all your plantings. I mulched with shredded newspaper and sawdust last year. It really helped. I bought end rolls from my local newspaper office so there was no ink on it, then used the mail shredder to fill trash bags with the stuff. I used the sawdust to hold it down. The shredded newspaper dries and blows away pretty easy, but wet sawdust dries to a crust and holds down the paper.
I also made wider rows with double plantings for all the small stuff (carrots, lettuce, onions,ect) so I could have more in less space. Look into square foot gardening, but consider going with 2-3 foot rows instead of 4. It's easier to work from a stool if it's 3 foot or less. I did the math about 10 times and found a 3 foot wide row will put out 5-8 times the produce depending on the plantings than that same amount of land used in normal single rows. You can double and sometimes triple your production by doing block plantings, and they look really interesting as well.
You can usually get lots of free manure and sawdust if you do a little hunting on craigslist in the free listings or the farm listings.
We even found some short pieces of farm fencing and some small tree logs for fence posts for free on there! It made wonderful pea vine trellisses and we grew our green beans up them as well!
I could send you the idea my Hubby came up with for building me a wonderful living room greenhouse to start my seed in if you have room for that. It's kinda big, mine's a little more than 9ft x 4ft, but could be scaled down or up if you need it to. I was using a 9x4 table as my bottom shelf since we didn't have the plywood for all the shelves I wanted in it, but the exact measurements aren't set in stone, they can be adjusted.
It would also allow you to grow year round on quite a bit of things if you are inclined. I will have 3 of these running in my house by next winter for a full lettuce line with carrots, onions, peas, and green beans. I need 3 so I can run 2 as trellis style for the beans and peas and then one for the small stuff. I may add beets and a few other root veges if I can find the space.
Wow! I guess I tend to babble like a schoolgirl when growing and gardening gets brought up! LOL! I'm a garden addict with a 5000 square foot garden, 3 raised beds, a blackberry patch, and will be adding in a rasberry patch and a blueberry orchard this year. I am also begging for 5 more raised beds, some flower beds around the house, and a fruit tree orchard. My Hubby keeps telling me he can't take a second job to fund my addiction because he wouldn't be here to run the tillers for me. I have 3 different sizes for all the jobs he has to do with them! LOL!
Email me if you'd like a book written for you about all the different ideas we've tried and are still using. Ha! Ha! I can send you a list of books and articles that are really helpful and maybe give you some of our wild ideas.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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