Hi,
Last year, our harvest was somewhat meager....with nothing to share with friends and neighbors. This year is different.
So far we're eating Red Romaine, Romain, Black Simpson lettuce, spinach, green onions, and radishes. We've been eating a lot over the past 2 weeks from our garden. It's amazing how many veggies can be produced in just a few raised beds. Can't believe we didn't start 20 years ago.
We've been sharing with our neighbors. Had a cookout tonight. Garden salad was a big success.
This tasty bit is the strawberry patch. It's so nice to eat them as we pick them. Can't believe how nice they taste. We can buy nicer and bigger strawberries at the store...but they really lack the incredible taste.
Succession planning!! We have a second crop of lettuce that should be ready in 4 weeks. Got to plan well so we can have fresh produce throughout the year.
It's so nice to see our investment of time and capital paying off.
Regards,
Chuck
Fruits of our labor
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chuck_n_grace
- Barbara Good
- Posts: 182
- Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 7:30 am
- Location: South Carolina
Re: Fruits of our labor
You can't beat it can you Chuck ?
We have been totally self sufficient in vegetables and almost self sufficient in fruit *, for many years now.
It started off as a bit of a challenge but soon became our normal way of life, and when I go shopping and see all those high priced wilted vegetables for sale, some flown in from many thousands of miles away, it reinforces my commitment.
* I would be self sufficient in fruit too, if my dear OH didn't insist on liking oranges.
We have been totally self sufficient in vegetables and almost self sufficient in fruit *, for many years now.
It started off as a bit of a challenge but soon became our normal way of life, and when I go shopping and see all those high priced wilted vegetables for sale, some flown in from many thousands of miles away, it reinforces my commitment.
* I would be self sufficient in fruit too, if my dear OH didn't insist on liking oranges.
Tony
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
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chuck_n_grace
- Barbara Good
- Posts: 182
- Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 7:30 am
- Location: South Carolina
Re: Fruits of our labor
Odsox,
We hope to be more self-sufficient like you one day. We've a large tree in the front yard that casts a large shadow during the day on a sizeable portion of our lawn. We're seriously thinking about taking it down to make room for several small fruit trees.
Prices at the store are insane. With what veggies and fruit we are producing, we are saving a whole lot of money. We're doing some succession planting now, starting more seeds for plants that can endure our hot summers.
Regards,
Chuck
We hope to be more self-sufficient like you one day. We've a large tree in the front yard that casts a large shadow during the day on a sizeable portion of our lawn. We're seriously thinking about taking it down to make room for several small fruit trees.
Prices at the store are insane. With what veggies and fruit we are producing, we are saving a whole lot of money. We're doing some succession planting now, starting more seeds for plants that can endure our hot summers.
Regards,
Chuck
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clare.donovan
- margo - newbie
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:29 pm
Re: Fruits of our labor
Hi Chuck,
It is great to be eating your own produce and enjoying it with friends! My OH and I are just starting out with growing our own veggies this year. Our main problem is that my job moves round very frequently (I move locations once a year at the end of August/early September) which makes growing your own really difficult. We have a couple of blueberry bushes in pots that have moved house with us, but again the more containers we have that need to move with us the more expensive and difficult moving house becomes! Also, with rented properties there is only so much you can alter the garden. We have always tried to improve every garden that we have had, for example by planting herbs so that the next people can enjoy using them too. Also, our last house had amazing raspberry bushes in the middle of the lawn that we took cuttings from and gave to my OH's parents to put in their extensive veggie garden. We are fortunate though in that we go over to my OH's parents quite frequently and help them out with their garden in exchange for some of their veggies. This year there are areas of our current garden that have clearly not been cared for at all, and so we have dug over an area for veggies. I have managed to fit in red and white onions, garlic, pak choi, spinach, peas, beetroot and french beans. I have also put some lettuce seeds in trays on the patio. The lettuce is amazing, but the size of the patch in the garden meant I could only fit a short row of each of the planted seeds in, and to be honest the soil isn't brilliant and not all of the seeds have sprouted (we will have 4 spinach plants if we are lucky!). But its a start and we had fun creating it, which is part of the enjoyment for us! We had the first of the lettuce leaves in a salad at the weekend with our BBQ, and it tasted lovely! I would love one day to be self sufficient with all our veg and fruit, but it will be a while before that becomes a reality.
Best wishes,
Clare
It is great to be eating your own produce and enjoying it with friends! My OH and I are just starting out with growing our own veggies this year. Our main problem is that my job moves round very frequently (I move locations once a year at the end of August/early September) which makes growing your own really difficult. We have a couple of blueberry bushes in pots that have moved house with us, but again the more containers we have that need to move with us the more expensive and difficult moving house becomes! Also, with rented properties there is only so much you can alter the garden. We have always tried to improve every garden that we have had, for example by planting herbs so that the next people can enjoy using them too. Also, our last house had amazing raspberry bushes in the middle of the lawn that we took cuttings from and gave to my OH's parents to put in their extensive veggie garden. We are fortunate though in that we go over to my OH's parents quite frequently and help them out with their garden in exchange for some of their veggies. This year there are areas of our current garden that have clearly not been cared for at all, and so we have dug over an area for veggies. I have managed to fit in red and white onions, garlic, pak choi, spinach, peas, beetroot and french beans. I have also put some lettuce seeds in trays on the patio. The lettuce is amazing, but the size of the patch in the garden meant I could only fit a short row of each of the planted seeds in, and to be honest the soil isn't brilliant and not all of the seeds have sprouted (we will have 4 spinach plants if we are lucky!). But its a start and we had fun creating it, which is part of the enjoyment for us! We had the first of the lettuce leaves in a salad at the weekend with our BBQ, and it tasted lovely! I would love one day to be self sufficient with all our veg and fruit, but it will be a while before that becomes a reality.
Best wishes,
Clare