Gardens Anyone???

[BCB]

I just finished planting my garden today. We plant about 70 tomatoes, 4 dozen assorted peppers, cucumbers (pickles), various winter squash, and a few pumpkins. Earlier this spring I put my lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, and onions in the ground�those we have been eating already. Last fall I planted my garlic�it is nearly 18� tall now. We canned over 100 quarts of tomato products (spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, my hot tomato juice, bar-b-que sauce, and pizza sauce) last fall.

How many people here plant gardens? And what size?…BCB

[Jumptrap]

I have always considered a garden,as a way of life. It's just tradition to get out and turn the ground and plant it for fresh vegetables and canning.

I reckon my garden is an acre or so. Half is planted in corn, the rest in an assortment. I gave up on certain things a few years ago after we didn't eat enough of it to justify the work. Half runners, tomatos, peppers, radishes, onions, cabbage, cukes, muskmelons, watermelons and sugar peas pretty well fill the menu. I quit sowing lettuce and setting out broccoli and cauliflower and planting potatoes. My peas are blooming, be picking in a week or so. Cold nights have slowed things down quite a bit.....but that's about to change. Supposed to be 90 tomorrow.

[Bass Ackward]

Used to love to garden. We used to plant a garden about an acre in size, but have given it up totally because of deer. So now we just go to a farmers market for canning material.

Last year we even tried to put a couple of tomato plants up on the front porch and the deer climbed 8 concrete steps about 15 feet in the air to eat every green tomato on them and eventually the plants as well. And we live in town. The deer are far worse out in the country. Nobody can farm here anymore. If you fence, it must also have a roof fence cause 15' isn't enough.

My Aunt and Uncle just moved back here and spent $4000 on land scaping plants against our advice. They just knew they had the answer with an electrified fense and silent deer horns. They lasted less than 14 days.

[kenjuudo]

5,000 sq. ft. here, not counting the corn planted on the edge of the field. That and hunting and fishing keeps the stores from getting rich on me.

jim

[Pb head]

Used to plant 3/4 acre up till 5 years ago. Then I moved to town and my garden is 8x8 ft now. Had three Troy Bilt tillers over a period of years, the last one with a log splitter attachment. I sure hated to part with it when I moved, but had no use for it any longer. The cost of those machine went up every year. The first one I bought was $450 to the door, the last one with splitter attachment was a little over $1800, but when I sold them I made a few bucks on each one except the last one which went for $1500. I loved to garden and I miss it. Have to be satisfied with 9 tomato plants, 6 hot pepper plants, and 6 green pepper plants which is enough for the wife and I.

Pb head

[Jumptrap]

Well, if TroyBilt prices gives you the heebie-jeebies, don't stop at the JD store. I just handed over $32,000 for my latest garden tiller.

[Pb head]

Well, if TroyBilt prices gives you the heebie-jeebies, don't stop at the JD store. I just handed over $32,000 for my latest garden tiller.

By God Jump, that's a TILLER!!!!

Pb head

[floodgate]

The 2500 sq. ft. garden here is Bev's province; I have a "gray thumb" and am kept out of it - I get to nurture the poisoned oak, thistles and Scotch Broom. This year we were delayed about 2 weeks by a late series of storms, but it is all in as of yesterday PM and most of it on drip. Tomatoes (50+ qts. last year) assorted peppers and squashes, 3 rows of corn, chard, basil, strawberries, currants (red and black) and raspberries. We get salads year-round from the 8' x 10 glass greenhouse, too. Drip just checked out on the 25 apple, pear, peach, olive, plum, hazel and ammon trees in theorchard and on the two English walnuts and one Black Walnut in front. Got the pig-pen ready for this year's two weaners, and shipped the three Nubian buck kids off to various homes thus afternoon (one for the locker, one for breeding and one for the latter's companion), so milking starts tomorrow AM (goat-cheesecake, yum-yum!). Sheep (15) sheared last week and wool will start to the mill Monday). Plus, (ATTN: Bruce B!) a nice used AA-Turret press came in by Partial Post this afternoon, so I've got something to occupy my spare[!] time.

Geez, Flood - whaddya do to keep occupied in retirement???

[BCB]

Geeeeeee Jumptrap, I sure hope that tiller came with an attachment called a tractor...BCB

[Bret4207]

I'm sorta in the middle of planting the garden. We've had no rain at all for several weeks and I'm on clay, so drys the word. This is the first year I've had problem getting beans to sprout. The carrots have done nothing at all, same for lettuce and mellons. I'll probably till those rows up and put in more spinach, swiss chard ( any favorite ways of using it?), onions and some other stuff. One side of the garden has had multiple loads of sh.... manure and bedding incorporated and I just put pumpkins and zucchini in there. The low side is untreated clay and really needs organic material. I'm and old "Organic Gardening" guy from back when Bob Rodale was alive. Back in the 60's and 70's that was a good outfit and I learned a lot. The mulching sytems work for me when I have time to do it. But, like Floodgate I've got a million things going on (shearing sheep today and have goats to trim and worm) and there isn't always time.

I'm still using a Frazer Rototiller and Gravely tractors so there's no $32000.00 equipment here. I just wish I could stop by my JD dealer and buy parts for my equipment. Thats the advantage new has over old. Fourtunatley I am one of those guys who can actually fix something when it breaks. And, blessings be counted, I can WELD. These days if you farm at all you have to be able to do this stuff. And, I have a small lathe (Atlas) which gets used weekly. All this so I can have fresh peas and clean up horse crap.

[Scrounger]

If you're shearing sheep, I'm sure you'll get some offers from those Texas guys to hold them for you...

[9.3X62AL]

Nothing great big here--about 1000 sq. ft., with zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, and sweet corn. Just two more small sections to plant in corn--one section late this coming week, the last in three more weeks. It stayed cold about a month longer than normal around here, so things got delayed a little--but we should have zucchini tonight for dinner.

[Bullshop]

not sure how big our gardens are... we have two a potato garden, and an *everything else* garden... we are later than most, we actually just got ours in over the past few weeks... we have, several types of lettuce, collard greens, swiss chard, etc... zucchini, cucumbers, beets, onions, carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and maybe i few other things, i am forgetting right now, our season isn't long enough for the other stuff...we are hoping to buy a tractor for next year, the tiller finally broke all the way, and to fix it, it will cost almost as much as a new one

I do know i have to get busy this week and weed the weeds, they have been growing well, already looks like a carpet in certain areas (we have chickweed mostly, and it takes over everything) - i also have to stay busy putting up rhubarb -

Bull Shop Mom

[mroliver77]

When I was a kid there was eight of us young uns and Ma & Pa and Grandma & Granpa. We planted a couple acres of garden and planted sweet corn with a two row JD planter and spuds with a shovel plow pulled by the Oliver. We spent a lot of time in the garden or harvesting and putting up the bounty. We also had a big strawberry patch and lots of wild berries to pick. I learned a lot from my elders while at work and shared some intimate moments as well. My dad was my best pal for quite a long time and we worked hard together. He was kinda excessive compulsive too. Like the time we went after strawberry plants and it was kind of late in the planting season and the owner of the nursery wanted rid of all the plants. Dad came home with like 400 berry plants! They looked bad but almost every one of them made it. He planted about 1 acre of turnips one year in August and they produced massive turnips late in the fall. The deer would come in and eat them and that was where our deer stand was that year. We ate them until we smelled like turnips.hehe They are good until you get a "hard" freeze.
These days the old man is gone and it is my four year old daughter and I with about a 25X25 garden. We have awesome soil here and I also am a throwback to the Rodale press & Mother Earth News days. Lots of rotted manure and mulch. Small garden produces a lot of food for my family of 4. I sure do miss my dad as he would do the largest share of the work and love it. Carrots....... I forgot carrots until I seen somebody post it here. Farmers raise lots of taters around us and allow us to glean the reject and missed ones from the fields. As to the roto tiller mine has not been started in a few years having such a small area now.
About 100 years ago somehow a Mary Jane plant got started in the garden. My dad noticed it was unlike any plant he had ever seen and hoed around it and fertilized it and whatched to see what it would become. Well it grew about twelve feet tall and one of his friends noticed it and told him what it was. Us kids thought it really funny until we seen how serious he was. We were told to get it out of there and burn it imediately. It did get burned but not imediately. And seeing how half the members here are LEO's, the statute of Limitations was up years ago and I seen the error of my ways, repented and am now a major redneck (according to my 16 year old). Jay

[Jumptrap]

Geeeeeee Jumptrap, I sure hope that tiller came with an attachment called a tractor...BCB

Well, there's a tiller over in the pasture but right now it's got a big **** bucket on the front. HAR!

[MT Gianni]

Our normal garden size is 15' x 150' but we are " summer fallowing" 1/2 this year to try to cut down on a weed infestation. We plant 3 varieties of potatoes, Russetts, yukon gold and reds, Broccoli, cauliflowerand beans along with carrots, tomatoes and 3 or 4 kinds of peppers. The corn was displaced by the summer fallow. All in addition to strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, pie cherries, 2 apple trees, 2 plum trees and a pear tree and if we don't get enough huckleberries for jams, jellies and chocolates I never hear the end of it. Gianni.

[Buckshot]

.............For the 20 some years we lived in the boonies we'd have gardens of various sizes in different locations. Part of it depended upon where the horses were, and the size depended upon how enthused we were. I did have 48 assorted fruit an nut trees at the end of the house. A few different kinds of peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, a pear, 3 almonds, a few beverly hills red delicious and a couple green apple tree.

That was a bit of work due to thier different pruning requirements and spraying cycles. You wouldn't think people could get tired of tree ripened fruit but everyone was begging me to please stop bring it around as they still had some form last time. My wife isn't a canner, but her mom and my grandmother were. I used to make a point to Donna about that, during the winter when having dinner at their house we'd have MY peaches and apricots in pies or cobblers THEY'D made with MY fruit.

I put in a 12x12 raised strawberry bed with netting to keep the birds off. Everyone got sick of'em. Donna did do up a bunch of preserves and they were great. You can keep Smuckers!

The last few years we were there I got together with the neighbor and we decided we were going to have us a big ole garden. We tilled up a plot between us where we'd had the horse corrals several years ago. Then we raked up long mounds and covered them with plastic and filled in between the rows with straw. We'd punch a hole in the plastic to plant. We also put in a long raised strawberry bed and a raised herb garden.

Due to the heat we can't grow head lettuce but we had 4 different kinds of leaf lettuce. We had a couple kinds of green beans, peas, Chinese snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, swiss chard, and carrots. We had 12 tomato vines growing inside 4' tall rings of hogwire fencing. I hadn't put in a drip system but that would have been the way to go. Instead I had rainbird sprinklers that did a good job of irrigateing. We had a veritable flood of produce and it was way more then us 3 or the 2 neighbors could handle.

Now in town I have to be satisfied with a peach, plum, and avocado tree and strawberries growing in 2 split longways wooden barrels.

............Buckshot

[carpetman]

My backyard is a very small one here in Texas. I had a small plot,only about 2,000 acres that I thought I could raise a small garden on. Being so small,I couldn't see buying a tiller,so I just turned it with shovel. Raked it and got it all smoothed up and decided to plant chickens. Had to haul the baby chicks in one at a time---my pickup being so small,couldn't even haul two at a time,even by tying one on--just wasn't room. (I was able to plant chickens as I don't have any sheep to worry about them trampling my chickens). Got everything ready and then realized I wasn't sure if I should plant them head first or butt first. Planted head first and watered them and they died. So I made numerous trips again and hauled in new chicks. Planted them butt first and watered them and same thing--they died. I contacted Texas A&m agriculture dept and told them about the problem. They said send soil sample,which I have done and am awaiting results.

[wills]

My backyard is a very small one here in Texas. I had a small plot,only about 2,000 acres that I thought I could raise a small garden on. Being so small,I couldn't see buying a tiller,so I just turned it with shovel. Raked it and got it all smoothed up and decided to plant chickens. Had to haul the baby chicks in one at a time---my pickup being so small,couldn't even haul two at a time,even by tying one on--just wasn't room. (I was able to plant chickens as I don't have any sheep to worry about them trampling my chickens). Got everything ready and then realized I wasn't sure if I should plant them head first or butt first. Planted head first and watered them and they died. So I made numerous trips again and hauled in new chicks. Planted them butt first and watered them and same thing--they died. I contacted Texas A&m agriculture dept and told them about the problem. They said send soil sample,which I have done and am awaiting results.

2000 acres? Thats the problem. You cant plant 'em in a flower pot, they get root bound!

[carpetman]

Wills,I was afraid that would be the problem--having only 2,000 acres. I do have this one area that is wasted space as some kind of dad burned black,slick liquid oozes out of the ground and makes a mess of things. If I could figger away to clear that up,might have enough room,but even that is heck not much over 12,000 acres.