Anyone else grown their own food....?

Carl01

Plowing the garden last year...





Plus I have a freezer full of venison to go with the frozen tomato sauce and peppers.

cekeys

Probably a dumb question, but can I grow vegetables in pots or is it better to do so in the soil? I'm thinking those larger orange pots you see at every store.

you can grow veggies in any kind of container that has holes in bottom and ample room. i once saw a person use 10 empty paint cans (they lined them with plastic and poked holes in bottom).........and they grew all sorts of things on their balcony ledge. They had no yard.

I've also seen people buy a bag of dirt, cut holes in it, and sprinkle seeds in it. they just left the bag of dirt lay on the ground!!! IT'S SOOO EASY, YOU MUST TRY! (cucumbers and lettuces are no fail)

Why do you need holes in the container?

MoooveOverFluffy

Plowing the garden last year...





Plus I have a freezer full of venison to go with the frozen tomato sauce and peppers.

NICE!!!

ShmoozyQ

That's how my garden gets worked up too, Carl!



I forgot to even think about growing your own protein too. Yep, we run a cattle ranch. Fresh beef aplenty. And eggs. We do a pig every year. Hunting and fishing add to the freezer supply too.

ShmoozyQ

Probably a dumb question, but can I grow vegetables in pots or is it better to do so in the soil? I'm thinking those larger orange pots you see at every store.

you can grow veggies in any kind of container that has holes in bottom and ample room. i once saw a person use 10 empty paint cans (they lined them with plastic and poked holes in bottom).........and they grew all sorts of things on their balcony ledge. They had no yard.

I've also seen people buy a bag of dirt, cut holes in it, and sprinkle seeds in it. they just left the bag of dirt lay on the ground!!! IT'S SOOO EASY, YOU MUST TRY! (cucumbers and lettuces are no fail)

Why do you need holes in the container?

Holes for drainage, roots don't like to sit in water.

ScottyNoHotty

Plowing the garden last year...





Plus I have a freezer full of venison to go with the frozen tomato sauce and peppers.

I see Nebraskans aren't the only ones who let their outbuildings rot away.

MoooveOverFluffy

Probably a dumb question, but can I grow vegetables in pots or is it better to do so in the soil? I'm thinking those larger orange pots you see at every store.

you can grow veggies in any kind of container that has holes in bottom and ample room. i once saw a person use 10 empty paint cans (they lined them with plastic and poked holes in bottom).........and they grew all sorts of things on their balcony ledge. They had no yard.

I've also seen people buy a bag of dirt, cut holes in it, and sprinkle seeds in it. they just left the bag of dirt lay on the ground!!! IT'S SOOO EASY, YOU MUST TRY! (cucumbers and lettuces are no fail)

Why do you need holes in the container?

for drainage.... helps prevent root rot i think....

MoooveOverFluffy

going to try to post a pic...i've never done it before though. This is a pic of my garden from my kitchen window (May 2011)... and dudes above with the tractor, we dug 2 plots by hand!! Sure wish we had your big boy tools for that job!!

rllewell

I had large gardens when I lived in Alaska and Nebraska. My HOA here in North Carolina doesn't allow gardens so I decided to by a Tower Garden. Basically it is a vertical aeroponic growing system. It’s perfect for rooftops, patios, balconies, terraces, any relatively sunny place outside. For us it will be our patio. Check out their website below.

http://www.towergarden.com/

COOL! So, what are you going to grow in your tower garden?

It comes with tomato, cucumber, lettuce, and basil seeds but you can grow anything but root veggies. I plan to also do strawberries, spinach, squash, beans. I will love NOT having to weed, till, hoe, and water. You fill it up with water and nutrients and a timer pumps water over the roots of the plants every 15 minutes. They grow 2-3 times faster than in soil.

Fred77

i've got quite a big garden, and last year grew potatoes, onions, broccoli spring onions and some herbs. I also have strawberry and raspberry plants a pear tree and some hazelnut bushes. I would like to get some chickens for fresh eggs, but we have urban foxes where i live and it might all end in tears

plumnbagel

Yep, three or four per stalk seems about right. My mistake last year was planting a long row of them that blocked the sunlight for the stuff growing close by. I'll have to keep that in mind when I'm planning this year.

I've grown carrots (which didn't really seem that much tastier than the organic ones in the store, but were fun and easy to grow), radishes (ditto), peppers, and lettuce, but the most satisfying and delicious things I've grown are sweet corn and tomatoes. I love watching the corn stalks grow taller than me, even though they don't yield as much as I wish they did.
And comparing a garden tomato to a store tomato is like comparing a Ferrari to a Yugo - I suppose they're the same thing, but they are in no way alike.
Ooh, man, now I can't wait for fresh tomatoes!
PS The one regret I had was the year I planted fresh herbs too close to the garden. They just shot through everything else and it ended up more work than pulling weeds.

AMEN ON THE GARDEN TOMATOES!!! So, please tell me.........how many ears of corn per stalk? 3 or 4??? This year will be my first go round with corn...

MoooveOverFluffy

Thanks Plumnbagel.... i think i'll keep the corn completely separate from my main garden area because i don't want to sacrifice all the space. With only a few ears per stalk, i will need quite a bit to get the yields i want (assuming we are successful).

**EDIT: i remember reading somewhere that i should grown corn in a square (many short rows) instead of long single rows. Something about better pollination????? Can't remember the details now, but will research soon when it's getting closer to planting time!