Food and gardens

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  • Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    I live out in the country so, if all went to hell, I'd be part of the neighborhood coop. I am trying to see what foods you all would save and garden that you can gather and replant yourselfs.

    I got room left in the garden and looking for things to try planting.

    I put in several rows beets, Detroit reds, and plant to raise and harvest and maybe try a second planting. Going to pickle and save some. Having chickens, so pickling and saving red bet eggs with them.

    What sustainable stuff are you guys doing? I am looking for other ideas
     

    budman93

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 1, 2013
    5,267
    Frederick County
    garlic. I dont have a place for a garden yet so I haven't tried it but I have seen people leave the bulbs on the stalks, dry them out, and then braid them together to hang. They are supposed to keep quite a while that way.
     

    Joseph

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 13, 2009
    2,759
    Clinton MD
    If you don’t have it already establish a nice asparagus patch. They are perennial so locate them in a nice permanent area.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Beans, tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries, lettuce, spinach, beats, asparagus, Swiss chard, peas, potatoes, grapes (new), rhubarb, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, peppers, bell peppers and string beans. Oh and a couple peanuts. Goose berries that are new and tiny. Lemon-lime tree and dig tree on the back deck. Put in apples, almonds, peaches, plumcot, cherries and plum trees a few weeks ago. So those will be 1-2 years before getting anything out of them.

    Oh and blue berries. The blue berries finally took off this year. Moved them from the last house.

    We can sufficient jam for my 3 kids and us that we haven’t bought jam from a store in about 3 years. Might be okay this year but only move in a year ago. So the raspberries and blackberries aren’t well established yet. We sold the old house right after harvesting for the season.

    Also sufficient tomatoes for about 7-8 gallons of spaghetti sauce, about a gallon of tomato soup and about a gallon of tomato sauce. Haven’t bought spaghetti sauce in...dunno. 6 years?

    Can hunt deer on the property and could squirrels and rabbits.
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    When I had a garden I would always try at least one odd ball a year just to see what I could grow and/or see what they looked like.
    Some interesting ones were:
    Peanuts
    Cotton
    Broom corn
    Popcorn

    Others were some of the odd ones you see in the seed catalogs Like six shooter corn or the real long beans as well as some of the decorative gourds and Indian corn.

    I always wanted to try patches of cereal grains like oats, wheat, buckwheat, etc but never had the room. Flax would be a good one for making linen and linseed oil.
     

    Jimbob2.0

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 20, 2008
    16,600
    If you have the space

    - Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, learn how to winterize strawberries and get a good stock with several varieties going
    - Fruit trees, I probably could get 75 to 100 pounds of pears off one tree if I really protected it from the deer and crows
    - I have been getting non GMO heirloom stuff from www.dollarseed.com love these guys cheap and effective, small biz. Who needs Burpees.
    - Potatoes, grow, keep a few for seeds the next year, grow again
    - Join a seed sharing club.
    - Remember the three sisters corn, squash, beans.
    - Learn how to can and dry food.

    More importantly spend your time cultivating a solid patch of soil, do the composting, do the rotations, use soybeans to fix nitrogen. I am envious, I have a couple raised beds that I do ok with but would love to go to town on a half acre.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    I have had success planting, growing, eating, saving the seeds, and the re-planting the following year with most heirloom varieties of beans, corn, cucumbers, and squashes. I have not had luck with tomatoes (probably my handling is the issue) and carrots. Potatoes I've been successful with as well, though that's not really "seeds" so much as just keeping potatoes over in a cold, dark, dry place where they won't dry out and die or mold.

    I specifically plant Mountaineer White half-runner beans, nantes carrots, waltham butternut squash, pickling cucumbers, and silver queen corn.
     

    newmuzzleloader

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 14, 2009
    4,765
    joppa
    Plant some of the running squash species if you have the room. Ones like Butternut, Acorn, and Spaghetti squash can all be stored over winter in an unheated part of your basement. I have kept Butternut squash and spaghetti squash that way and brought them upstairs to use when we wanted them. I put mine on pallets. Garlic stores well that way also.
     

    rgramjet

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 25, 2009
    2,962
    Howard County
    Subscribed.

    I have a fenced in sunny patch that is currently grass. What's the best way to transform it into a garden. Seems that area has a lot of clay and rocks.

    I also have a pear tree that had been surrounded and overtaken by mulberry trees. The pear tree looks sad but has limbs full of developing pears. My son and I spent hours carefully pruning the mulberries. Wondering if I should cut them down or if they provide a bit of symbiotic structure and protection for the frail pear. We get some big winds here at times.

    Good thread OP!
     

    on_the_rox

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 16, 2009
    1,695
    Whiteford, MD
    First off is to probably kill the grass. Chemicals, solarization, tilling, etc. Next in my list would be to bring in organic matter. Compost, manure, peat moss, etc. You could either mix things with the existing soil or build the garden beds on top. I personally like raised beds. Get started now and next year you'll have an awesome garden.

    As for the pear tree. I would nix the mulberry trees as they aren't helping it. More than likely they are going to harm it. You can always move one mulberry someplace else.

    Just my thoughts.
     

    FrankOceanXray

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 29, 2008
    12,028
    First off is to probably kill the grass. Chemicals, solarization, tilling, etc. Next in my list would be to bring in organic matter. Compost, manure, peat moss, etc. You could either mix things with the existing soil or build the garden beds on top. I personally like raised beds. Get started now and next year you'll have an awesome garden.

    As for the pear tree. I would nix the mulberry trees as they aren't helping it. More than likely they are going to harm it. You can always move one mulberry someplace else.

    Just my thoughts.

    Don't kill the grass. Waste of time and will be accomplished when you have several loads of arborist chips. Spread. Plant.


    Garden of Eden style. Look up Paul Gautschi. Back to Eden.
     

    adit

    ReMember
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 20, 2013
    19,502
    DE
    Don't kill the grass. Waste of time and will be accomplished when you have several loads of arborist chips. Spread. Plant.


    Garden of Eden style. Look up Paul Gautschi. Back to Eden.

    And then Back to Weeds.

    If you want to block weeds/grass get landscape fabric. Not the Preen stuff.

    If you want to kill the seed bank you'll need silage tarps, hot weather, and time. 30 days of hot summer weather beating down on black plastic will cook the seeds below.

    You can also use old billboard wraps (usually black on the backside). Some sign companies sell them, some will give them away free.
     

    FrankOceanXray

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 29, 2008
    12,028
    And then Back to Weeds.

    If you want to block weeds/grass get landscape fabric. Not the Preen stuff.

    If you want to kill the seed bank you'll need silage tarps, hot weather, and time. 30 days of hot summer weather beating down on black plastic will cook the seeds below.

    You can also use old billboard wraps (usually black on the backside). Some sign companies sell them, some will give them away free.

    From experience you speak or conjecture?
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    Don't kill the grass. Waste of time and will be accomplished when you have several loads of arborist chips. Spread. Plant.


    Garden of Eden style. Look up Paul Gautschi. Back to Eden.

    I covered my garden with chips and having trouble with stuff dying and not growing. Planted from seed and they are coming up. Bought from the garden center and wilting. Still tying to see if beets will come up in the V rows I dragged in the mulch.
     

    adit

    ReMember
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 20, 2013
    19,502
    DE
    From experience you speak or conjecture?

    Experience. Wood chips turn into soil. Seeds blow in, take root, and grow.

    If you are walking it everyday, picking the weeds isn't bad. Let it go for a few weeks and you have a lawn growing.
     

    adit

    ReMember
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 20, 2013
    19,502
    DE
    I covered my garden with chips and having trouble with stuff dying and not growing. Planted from seed and they are coming up. Bought from the garden center and wilting. Still tying to see if beets will come up in the V rows I dragged in the mulch.

    The wood chips will consume the Nitrogen in the soil to break the chips down. You may need to supplement.

    Garden center plants may have been outside during the late frosts, and compromised before you bought them.
     

    FrankOceanXray

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 29, 2008
    12,028
    I covered my garden with chips and having trouble with stuff dying and not growing. Planted from seed and they are coming up. Bought from the garden center and wilting. Still tying to see if beets will come up in the V rows I dragged in the mulch.

    Back to Eden garden is j total is Kay jg down cardboard routinely.. manure and then wood chips. Seems maybe your seeds are germinating (heat and contact) but not able to bit into much nutrition.. the wood chips are at that time sponges for water and eventually will become soil.

    Cardboard or newspaper . Manure. Chips.
     

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