Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

[tortoise]

I don't have greenhouse shelves yet, but I have as many trays planted as I can fit on the floor. There are lettuces, kales, teeeny-tiny creeping thyme and white clover popping up.

My sunburn is healing. A couple days ago it peeled - all at once in big patches. We're talking square inches of.... parchment? I've never seen DH so grossed out - it was awesome.

I'm entertaining thoughts of giving up on my big garden. I can't keep up and truth is probably never will. I bought cover crop seed and need to have DH rototill and me plant something to keep the worse weeds at bay. I have difficulty getting to and from my garden. Not to mention the reactions to direct sunlight, heat and new photo-sensitivity. I just can't get out there safely enough time each day. I could still use it for the big crops - peas, beans, curcubits, and tomatoes. But everything else needs to be grown in succession. I'm thinking incorporating the rest into my landscaping around the house and growing a patio-pot garden would work well, especially with this greenhouse to protect seedlings and give them a great start.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm entertaining thoughts of giving up on my big garden.

I have gotten the most production from my big tubs this year. The big garden is, once again, struggling with too much water. It's much easier to control that in a big raised tub. I do find that during hot, dry times I need to water every day but that's a small price to pay. Hope things work out for the green house and all your started plants!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I think you are wise to re-think your big garden plans. A lot of produce can be grown in a very small area. I don't know what you have for a patio. But... you might consider putting a hay bale garden along one side. Important issue is ready access to water. Those hay bale gardens get thirsty. If you go that route as your main garden area, I'd consider building some hay bale sized planters. Is your DH handy with tools?

I just planted some Waltham Butternut squash in my front flower bed. I'm not going big on flowers this year, so figure that a bit of squash will provide some visual enjoyment, as well as a bit of food. Will also tuck some Bright Lights chard into that bed. Might need some dill, and colored lettuce for more visual pop.

 

[Mini Horses]

I've never seen DH so grossed out - it was awesome.

As a vet, almost everything he sees would be worse!!

Maybe because it was you, a human. I can watch animals get shots & give them but, humans, queasy and have pass out.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I've never seen DH so grossed out - it was awesome.

That's funny!

 

[baymule]

Is there a good vegetable stand that you could buy from? I don't plant okra any more because I can buy a bushel, get it all put up in one day and be done. I watch the sales for corn at Walmart, we try to catch the fleeting mark down 10 for $1 when they just got a new shipment and still have corn. Maybe if you could outsource some of the labor and use beds and pots close to the house, it might work better for you.

 

[Britesea]

We do the same. I can't grow all the tomatoes we use, so I have a few plants for fresh eating and get the rest at the farmers' market when they are cheap to freeze dry or can. We don't eat sweet corn often enough to make it worth giving garden space too either; I'd rather just buy a few for one or two good feeds when they are at their peak.

 

[tortoise]

Is there a good vegetable stand that you could buy from? I don't plant okra any more because I can buy a bushel, get it all put up in one day and be done. I watch the sales for corn at Walmart, we try to catch the fleeting mark down 10 for $1 when they just got a new shipment and still have corn. Maybe if you could outsource some of the labor and use beds and pots close to the house, it might work better for you.

We do the same. I can't grow all the tomatoes we use, so I have a few plants for fresh eating and get the rest at the farmers' market when they are cheap to freeze dry or can. We don't eat sweet corn often enough to make it worth giving garden space too either; I'd rather just buy a few for one or two good feeds when they are at their peak.

There's a good sweet corn stand, it's right by DH's work so he can get it fresh the morning it's picked. And strawberries. Not much else. The farmer's market rarely has produce. The next one is 20 miles away and maybe has 3 vendors - not worth the drive IMO :/

But canning tomatoes are hard to find around here

 

[baymule]

At our old house, I crammed plants into beds. My tomato bed was 4' wide and maybe 12' long. I planted 20 plus tomato plants in that bed which grew into a wild tangle, but I got a lot of tomatoes. I prepared the soil, then laid paper feed sacks over it, cut a hole and inserted the tomato plant into the ground.

Here is a picture of a newly planted bed.

The same bed with marigolds and a few pepper plants for good measure. The PVC frame got wrapped in plastic in the winter, an extension cord ran to it from the garage and a small electric heater for cold weather. it looked like crap, but I picked tomatoes in December from it.

My husband bitterly complained about the eyesore, but got with the program after eating fresh tomatoes from the "eyesore" LOL

Here is a view from the curb. That's potatoes down front. I planted root crops along the street because a glowing red tomato at the curb would be too much of a temptation. LOL

I got a surprisingly good harvest from my little garden.

After digging the new potatoes, I planted sweet potato slips in that spot.

So you see, you can still grow a lot of food, even in a small space. I grew mustard and turnip greens, cauliflower, broccoli, several different kinds of squash, tomatoes, corn, green beans, lima beans, and more. Don't be discouraged because you can't keep up a big garden. I fed us well from my little garden. I spent several weekends digging, adding chicken and horse manures, covering with paper sacks to keep weeds down and planting. I did that in the spring and fall. The rest of the time was spent watering, pulling the few weeds that found a way to circumvent the paper barrier and picking produce. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to take a walk down the memory sidewalk, LOL LOL.

 

[tortoise]

Wow Baymule! That's an amazing amount of food in such an accessible space! Thank you for sharing!