A general gardening question!!

[Alexander Newman]

I'm looking to start on a self sustainable garden in South eastern Kentucky.
I have about 6 acres to work with and maybe 2 or 3 to devote to a garden.

So far I'm planning to grow beans, squash, peas, zuchini, cucumbers, brocolli, tomatoes, egg plant, peppers, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, carrots, corn, onions and potatoes.

Is there any changes you'd make to that list? How much should I grow of each? Is 2-3 acres enough to grow a garden to support me??

Something to also consider is the land itself already has a blackberry/raspberry bush and USED to have an apple tree...!

 

[Hinotori]

Start small or you'll get overwhelmed. Can always expand each year. Some of the great gardeners will be on to tell you some ideas, but I can tell you how it's been for me in a new place and climate. I grew up gardening and was always good with plants.

How is your soil? When I started a garden two years ago I tilled a 50x50 spot and planted seeds and tomatoes with high hopes. My soil here is nothing like Moms.

I found out i started to big. it took me two days to rototill the rocky glacial till we have for soil. Only the peas and squash did well. I had a very hard time trying to keep the grass and clover under control and ultimately lost that battle. I can't how that much ground each days. Mom did not believe me on the amount and speed at which the stuff grows here.

Last year I put in two 4x8 raised beds. One full of strawberry plants that grow like weeds here. The other had pole peas, onions, and zucchini. All grew very well. I never got to eat any peas because of the stupid deer and elk. They also ate my strawberries. I'll do more beds this year and am fencing.

I've planted trees each year now, and berries. 5 semi dwarf pears. Three different varieties. Only the two Bartletts are doing well. The 4 cherries were doing good until the deer ate them last summer. I think two are dead. Two apples are doing good. The two plums are thriving. Deer didn't touch them.

I put in two hazelnuts. Only nut that thrives here and the deer left them too.

Lots of blueberries, some currents, serviceberry, black and raspberries. And a whole bunch of Pacific crabapples.

It's all a test each year for me to see what makes it. I have a pen of chickens I'm moving through the garden as well. They are eating and killing grass while fertilizing. I'll plant rhubarb this spring on some of that ground. I'm also going to test plant some grain patches and see what does ok.

 

[Alexander Newman]

How reliable are farm dogs in pest control??
At least as far as Deer, Groundhog, Rabbits and other such that might destroy my crops.

I know that my family used to farm there when I was younger, but hasn't in a long time. Kentucky has fairly fertile soil that's very clay like.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Clay is tough to get productive. Do you have an overall plan for the property? It's easy to get excited and ready to jump right into it. Planned placement of your garden space with respect water drainage, future enhancements can help reduce rework of large projects.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Clay soil CAN be very fertile....but like FJ said...it can be tough to coax anything out of it. Weather makes a very big difference - too wet and you've got nothing but a big slippery mess - too dry and you might as well be trying to grow in a concrete garden. The best advice I can give you is lots and lots and lots of compost. It'll loosen the soil and improve the fertility at the same time.

Good luck!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Clay soil CAN be very fertile....but like FJ said...it can be tough to coax anything out of it. Weather makes a very big difference - too wet and you've got nothing but a big slippery mess - too dry and you might as well be trying to grow in a concrete garden. The best advice I can give you is lots and lots and lots of compost. It'll loosen the soil and improve the fertility at the same time.

Good luck!

Agree completely. Compost if you have it, manure, even grass clippings can help big time if you don't. Even some sand can help speed the process. Drainage is still really important to consider first and foremost.

 

[Alexander Newman]

Was planning on using some of my fishing discards as compost.

I can also use dried grass? That would be easy o could just mow the field and take the yard....

What do you mean my overall plan? I do have an idea of what I want. Maybe If the question was more direct I could be more specific!!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Just having a overall plan of how you want things laid out will help reduce stress and rework,when updated ideas require moving things. LOL With clay-ish soil, you have to be aware of the drainage - you can have perfectly amended loamy soil in your garden space, but if it sits in a depression surrounded by clay, your garden will become a soupy tea cup in moderate rain if the water can't drain out.

I use a lot of both composted and dried plant materials. Just make sure you get the weeds/invasive stuff out of it (chickens are a big help with weed seeds) - It took me 2 years to get the tansy out of the garden when it got into the dried grass by mistake.

There are also multiple techniques for doing the garden itself. Some like lasagna gardening, some as mentioned above, prefer raise beds, I tend to use a more traditional garden setup with heavy mulching.

 

[Britesea]

I gardened in the Bay Area of CA for 10 years before I escaped to Oregon. Adobe, or clay, soil is a fact of life there. I quickly decided to go with raised/framed beds; that way, I wasn't amending the soil I was walking on. With raised beds there is no problem with drainage, and by putting a piece of 1/2" hardware cloth across the bottom, I kept the gophers out as well. We had chickens and guinea pigs (my MIL raised them in a big way-- like 500 animals!) so we had LOTS of litter and manure for compost.
My garden beds here in Oregon have the opposite problem- the soil is sandy and water runs right through. The watering patterns have to be different; with clay, the water spreads out on the surface and slowly seeps in, so a weeper hose worked beautifully to water the entire bed. With sand the water goes straight down so plants to the side of the weeper don't get any water. I don't have the 500 guinea pigs making compost for me anymore, so I've been hitting up the horse rescue down the road from us. It's pretty good, but there's more weed seeds in it than I would like. The soil has 2 years of amending in it now, so I'm hoping this coming season it will hold the water a little better.

 

[NatureBoy]

I would definitely add some okra.
It is great raw.

I would add some of the more productive cole crops.
Broccoli is huge but produces a very small head.
Collards, Kale, turnip, chicory, etc.

You will also need good cover crops like oats, barley, etc.
And legumes to fixate nitrogen.
Green beans are tasty but they do not fixate much nitrogen.
Fenugreek, Vetch, and Fava are my favorites.

Beets and leeks are high on the list of productivity per acre.

Good luck.