RE: OT? Subdivision Living and Vegetable Gardens
simplemom3
We live in a subdivision....built our house 10 years ago with very
different goals and ideas about life than we have now. Now I SO wish
we had a few acres in a rural area, but dh is not in favor of it.
Long story short -- for now, we're just gonna have to "make do" with
the little 1/4 of an acre that we sit on :(
I want to plant enough vegetables this year for me to can. I'm
thinking tomatoes, pole beans, peas, peppers, and sweet corn. Does
anybody here garden on a small lot? I have perused lot of websites
seeking advice and information on how to do it. Many folks seem to
manage quite well using containers, sq. foot gardening, and similar
means even if they live on a tiny urban lot.
In my mind I have a blueprint for a compost bin behind our storage
shed (with a lid)-- and corn, tomatoes, and pole beans planted along
the fence line (6 ft privacy) since they need to climb, with peas and
peppers in our existing garden area (12 X 12). Does this sound
reasonable? Our lot is almost all frontage (200' wide) with very
little back yard (pie shaped). Dh is afraid the compost pile will
stink and has visions of the yard morphing into a corn field, I'm
sure. I assured him that I'll "read-up" on everything first and seek
the advice of seasoned veterans. So....any seasoned veterans out
there? Advice welcome :)
Thanks much.
Sharon
different goals and ideas about life than we have now. Now I SO wish
we had a few acres in a rural area, but dh is not in favor of it.
Long story short -- for now, we're just gonna have to "make do" with
the little 1/4 of an acre that we sit on :(
I want to plant enough vegetables this year for me to can. I'm
thinking tomatoes, pole beans, peas, peppers, and sweet corn. Does
anybody here garden on a small lot? I have perused lot of websites
seeking advice and information on how to do it. Many folks seem to
manage quite well using containers, sq. foot gardening, and similar
means even if they live on a tiny urban lot.
In my mind I have a blueprint for a compost bin behind our storage
shed (with a lid)-- and corn, tomatoes, and pole beans planted along
the fence line (6 ft privacy) since they need to climb, with peas and
peppers in our existing garden area (12 X 12). Does this sound
reasonable? Our lot is almost all frontage (200' wide) with very
little back yard (pie shaped). Dh is afraid the compost pile will
stink and has visions of the yard morphing into a corn field, I'm
sure. I assured him that I'll "read-up" on everything first and seek
the advice of seasoned veterans. So....any seasoned veterans out
there? Advice welcome :)
Thanks much.
Sharon
Danielle Conger
simplemom3 wrote:
way native people have done for hundreds of years--the three sisters.
Google it, you'll find lots. Any kind of interplanting/ succession
planting like that will save tons of space and be beneficial for your
plants as well. Tomatoes and basil make good interplanting, along with a
few marigolds thrown in for color and as a natural pest repellant.
Instead of composting, consider vermiposting--composting with red worms.
They will do the same job in a much smaller space and a much faster time
frame. Again, google it, and you'll find tons of info.
For those interested, we're about to embark on a vermiposting experiment
with our domestic pet poop. We have a rather complex *g* recycling
system set up, but right now we have nothing good to do with our dog and
cat poop, which shouldn't be incorporated in the compost like chicken
poop, etc. I've been reading about vermiposting, and we're going to give
it a shot with the cat/ dog doo. The castings and tea from this can be
used on houseplants and other purely ornamental plants--no edibles!
Hope that helps!
Kelly Lovejoy is another avid gardener who may be along with some good tips.
~~Danielle
Emily (8), Julia (6), Sam (5)
http://www.danielleconger.com/Homeschool/Welcomehome.html
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"With our thoughts, we make the world." ~~Buddha
>A couple suggestions for you to look into. First, consider planting the
> I want to plant enough vegetables this year for me to can. I'm
> thinking tomatoes, pole beans, peas, peppers, and sweet corn. Does
> anybody here garden on a small lot? I have perused lot of websites
> seeking advice and information on how to do it. Many folks seem to
> manage quite well using containers, sq. foot gardening, and similar
> means even if they live on a tiny urban lot.
>
> In my mind I have a blueprint for a compost bin behind our storage
> shed (with a lid)-- and corn, tomatoes, and pole beans planted along
> the fence line (6 ft privacy) since they need to climb, with peas and
> peppers in our existing garden area (12 X 12). Does this sound
> reasonable? Our lot is almost all frontage (200' wide) with very
> little back yard (pie shaped). Dh is afraid the compost pile will
> stink and has visions of the yard morphing into a corn field, I'm
> sure. I assured him that I'll "read-up" on everything first and seek
> the advice of seasoned veterans. So....any seasoned veterans out
> there? Advice welcome :)
way native people have done for hundreds of years--the three sisters.
Google it, you'll find lots. Any kind of interplanting/ succession
planting like that will save tons of space and be beneficial for your
plants as well. Tomatoes and basil make good interplanting, along with a
few marigolds thrown in for color and as a natural pest repellant.
Instead of composting, consider vermiposting--composting with red worms.
They will do the same job in a much smaller space and a much faster time
frame. Again, google it, and you'll find tons of info.
For those interested, we're about to embark on a vermiposting experiment
with our domestic pet poop. We have a rather complex *g* recycling
system set up, but right now we have nothing good to do with our dog and
cat poop, which shouldn't be incorporated in the compost like chicken
poop, etc. I've been reading about vermiposting, and we're going to give
it a shot with the cat/ dog doo. The castings and tea from this can be
used on houseplants and other purely ornamental plants--no edibles!
Hope that helps!
Kelly Lovejoy is another avid gardener who may be along with some good tips.
~~Danielle
Emily (8), Julia (6), Sam (5)
http://www.danielleconger.com/Homeschool/Welcomehome.html
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"With our thoughts, we make the world." ~~Buddha
[email protected]
Sharon - I think you need to find some gardeners in your area. I am in Alabama and have centipede grass in the lawn area of my yard. If I planted vegies in my yard and then decided one year was enough, or that I wated to put the vegies somewhere else, I would just smooth out the ground and the centipede would move back in--especially if I left rows of grass between rows of vegies. But I don't know what grass does in your area. Another suggestion is to make a raised bed and edge it with something to make the area more formal looking. Instead of tilling up my back yard for vegies, I created a more formal area that mimics a Williamsburg kitchen garden. I wanted to just plow up a part of my backyard, but DH thought that would be too messy looking. The garden is edged in brick, and it has been difficult to maintain, but it does look nice when i can maintain the edgeing. I have started buring that heavy plastic edging stuff along the outside edge of the bricks to keep the grass from growing between the bricks.
And check out Square Foot Gardening and Weedless Gardening. Those books have been helpful to me.
Deirdre
And check out Square Foot Gardening and Weedless Gardening. Those books have been helpful to me.
Deirdre
> Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2005 02:36:58 -0000
> From: "simplemom3" <sja3k@...>
> Subject: RE: OT? Subdivision Living and Vegetable Gardens
>
> We live in a subdivision....built our house 10 years ago with very
> different goals and ideas about life than we have now. Now I SO wish
> we had a few acres in a rural area, but dh is not in favor of it.
> Long story short -- for now, we're just gonna have to "make do" with
> the little 1/4 of an acre that we sit on :(
>
> I want to plant enough vegetables this year for me to can. I'm
> thinking tomatoes, pole beans, peas, peppers, and sweet corn. Does
> anybody here garden on a small lot? I have perused lot of websites
> seeking advice and information on how to do it. Many folks seem to
> manage quite well using containers, sq. foot gardening, and similar
> means even if they live on a tiny urban lot.
>
> In my mind I have a blueprint for a compost bin behind our storage
> shed (with a lid)-- and corn, tomatoes, and pole beans planted along
> the fence line (6 ft privacy) since they need to climb, with peas and
> peppers in our existing garden area (12 X 12). Does this sound
> reasonable? Our lot is almost all frontage (200' wide) with very
> little back yard (pie shaped). Dh is afraid the compost pile will
> stink and has visions of the yard morphing into a corn field, I'm
> sure. I assured him that I'll "read-up" on everything first and seek
> the advice of seasoned veterans. So....any seasoned veterans out
> there? Advice welcome :)
>
> Thanks much.
>
> Sharon
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> ________________________________________________________________________
>
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simplemom3
--- In [email protected], Danielle Conger
<danielle.conger@g...> wrote:
learning from those who did it generations before us :) Recently we
watched a video on Native Americans (I don't know much about NA
customs) and I was SOOO awed by their respect for and unity with
nature.
Thanks again.
Sharon
<danielle.conger@g...> wrote:
>the
> A couple suggestions for you to look into. First, consider planting
> way native people have done for hundreds of years--the three sisters.Danielle - thanks for this. I have never heard of it, but I'm all for
> Google it, you'll find lots.
learning from those who did it generations before us :) Recently we
watched a video on Native Americans (I don't know much about NA
customs) and I was SOOO awed by their respect for and unity with
nature.
Thanks again.
Sharon
Ann
Sharon,
Last year dh and I built an elevated garden that runs along the inside perimeter of our fence. It is about four feet wide and three feet high. We filled it in with soil, compost etc. So now we have our elevated garden that runs basically just inside boundary of our property and that still leaves you plenty of room for the 12x12 square. If you can visulaize a planter box going around the outside of you backyard, that's what we did. We are only on two sides so far. We had enough fresh veggies for our family, the neighbors on both sides, and my grown daughter and husband.
Ann
simplemom3 <sja3k@...> wrote:
We live in a subdivision....built our house 10 years ago with very
different goals and ideas about life than we have now. Now I SO wish
we had a few acres in a rural area, but dh is not in favor of it.
Long story short -- for now, we're just gonna have to "make do" with
the little 1/4 of an acre that we sit on :(
I want to plant enough vegetables this year for me to can. I'm
thinking tomatoes, pole beans, peas, peppers, and sweet corn. Does
anybody here garden on a small lot? I have perused lot of websites
seeking advice and information on how to do it. Many folks seem to
manage quite well using containers, sq. foot gardening, and similar
means even if they live on a tiny urban lot.
In my mind I have a blueprint for a compost bin behind our storage
shed (with a lid)-- and corn, tomatoes, and pole beans planted along
the fence line (6 ft privacy) since they need to climb, with peas and
peppers in our existing garden area (12 X 12). Does this sound
reasonable? Our lot is almost all frontage (200' wide) with very
little back yard (pie shaped). Dh is afraid the compost pile will
stink and has visions of the yard morphing into a corn field, I'm
sure. I assured him that I'll "read-up" on everything first and seek
the advice of seasoned veterans. So....any seasoned veterans out
there? Advice welcome :)
Thanks much.
Sharon
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Last year dh and I built an elevated garden that runs along the inside perimeter of our fence. It is about four feet wide and three feet high. We filled it in with soil, compost etc. So now we have our elevated garden that runs basically just inside boundary of our property and that still leaves you plenty of room for the 12x12 square. If you can visulaize a planter box going around the outside of you backyard, that's what we did. We are only on two sides so far. We had enough fresh veggies for our family, the neighbors on both sides, and my grown daughter and husband.
Ann
simplemom3 <sja3k@...> wrote:
We live in a subdivision....built our house 10 years ago with very
different goals and ideas about life than we have now. Now I SO wish
we had a few acres in a rural area, but dh is not in favor of it.
Long story short -- for now, we're just gonna have to "make do" with
the little 1/4 of an acre that we sit on :(
I want to plant enough vegetables this year for me to can. I'm
thinking tomatoes, pole beans, peas, peppers, and sweet corn. Does
anybody here garden on a small lot? I have perused lot of websites
seeking advice and information on how to do it. Many folks seem to
manage quite well using containers, sq. foot gardening, and similar
means even if they live on a tiny urban lot.
In my mind I have a blueprint for a compost bin behind our storage
shed (with a lid)-- and corn, tomatoes, and pole beans planted along
the fence line (6 ft privacy) since they need to climb, with peas and
peppers in our existing garden area (12 X 12). Does this sound
reasonable? Our lot is almost all frontage (200' wide) with very
little back yard (pie shaped). Dh is afraid the compost pile will
stink and has visions of the yard morphing into a corn field, I'm
sure. I assured him that I'll "read-up" on everything first and seek
the advice of seasoned veterans. So....any seasoned veterans out
there? Advice welcome :)
Thanks much.
Sharon
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simplemom3
If you can visulaize a planter box going around the outside of you
backyard, that's what we did. We are only on two sides so far. We had
enough fresh veggies for our family, the neighbors on both sides, and
my grown daughter and husband.
Ann,
This will SO appeal to dh! He loves things that are tidy and neat. As
I mentioned in my original post.....I'm certain that, deep down, he has
visions of his crazy wife turning the lawn into an enormous compost
pit -- peppered with a bevy of vegetables growing helter-skelter
through it (LOL) :)
I will tell him what you and your dh did with the raised beds while
utilizing the existing fence. Good idea.
Thank you for sharing.
backyard, that's what we did. We are only on two sides so far. We had
enough fresh veggies for our family, the neighbors on both sides, and
my grown daughter and husband.
>******************
> Ann
Ann,
This will SO appeal to dh! He loves things that are tidy and neat. As
I mentioned in my original post.....I'm certain that, deep down, he has
visions of his crazy wife turning the lawn into an enormous compost
pit -- peppered with a bevy of vegetables growing helter-skelter
through it (LOL) :)
I will tell him what you and your dh did with the raised beds while
utilizing the existing fence. Good idea.
Thank you for sharing.