Lazy Gardener's Little Town Farm

[Lazy Gardener]

I'm also fond of wood chips. My garden is not as weedy this year, but those weeds are starting to creep in here and there. Once the veggies are sprawling everywhere, I find that it is best to leave the weeds alone. Otherwise, I'm apt to ruin many veggies while attempting to kill the weeds. Next season, I plan to employ even more strategies to civilize my garden. Garden is 32' x 48'. The entire South side (16' x 48') will be turned into raised beds, with 4' wide wood chip mulched path ways.

It's a constant strife for me: need to cut back on number and variety of plants versus desire to grow more and more. How much is enough? How much is too much?

 

[Britesea]

And that's why the good preppers say that you should practice gardening BEFORE an emergency; it takes time to learn how to get the results you want... time to get your soil amended to optimum, time to learn how much you need to plant, time to learn your microclimate and time to find the best varieties for it.

 

[baymule]

Don't worry about an over abundance, can and dehydrate it. Next year may be a bust and you will still have veggies!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Limited energy here!!!! I find that I often have a hard time keeping up with harvest and processing. But, yes... you are right. Process the excess... or give it away. I still have beans aplenty from last year, apple sauce from 2 years ago, and found a stash of tomatoes.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

The garden is finally into a good swing with production. Picked first cukes today. Now getting enough zucchini/yellow squash that it's time to start preserving some. Beans are in peak production. Sugar snaps that were planted during the week of July 14 are now blooming. One bin in fridge full of new potatoes with plenty more to harvest. Onions are looking awesome! Chickens are getting buckets full of weeds every day. I can't imagine how many tons of weeds they'd get if I did not rely on LOTS of mulch!

Squash bugs! I did a soapy bath for a bunch of the nasties today. Will need to keep that up on a regular basis until I have them under control.

Most meals now feature garden produce as the star of the meal. (at least for me!)

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Transplanted some more beet seedlings into the flower bed. Planted a short row of lettuce and radish. Harvested a nice bowl full of lettuce from an older planting. Have an other row coming on. Pleased to be able to have lettuce throughout the entire summer! Should have sugar snaps for the table in an other week or so. those will carry me through first or second hard frost!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

4 happy goldfish in the rain barrel. (started with 6). I am hoping to bring them in at the end of Sept. to participate in an aquaponics set up.

 

[Britesea]

What happened to the other two? Where are you going to set up your aquaponics?

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I'm actually surprised that the survival rate has been this high. They were feeder fish. The temp in the rain barrel has fluctuated wildly, as has the water pH going between all extremes with hot weather followed by heavy rains. I may set it up down in the basement. Or upstairs in the office where I have my grow lights set up. My preference is to set it up downstairs, at least while I experiment with it. I would hate to have a water line get plugged and have a water flood on the carpet!!! Temp will affect plant growth, as well as oxygen holding capacity of the water. So... it will require some fine tuning.

 

[Britesea]

I was interested in the aquaponics, but we don't have anywhere to set one up that wouldn't be in danger of freezing in the winter. I had thought of using catfish, since they thrive in our temps and they are good eating.