Greetings, All.
I wrote about my garden spaces under the April Prep Everyday Forum. We have 24 3’ x 17’ established and fenced-in beds and are working on adding more this summer.
There are several things that are established. Under the cherry tree, I planted mint and lemon balm. The creeping thyme died out, and I think the lemon balm is on its last legs, too, but the mint is going strong. It is too shady under the tree for much else.
There was asparagus here when we moved in. I want to create a new bed and add some more asparagus behind fencing so the critters don’t eat it. Nothing touches the rhubarb, but it is in the lawn; wrong place for it.
How much? I read with interest what John Park and the other posted about how much food we actually need to plant. I chuckled at some of the articles I found on the WWW. One person says 2 broccoli plants per person. That would hold me for two weeks. This year I plan to plant 3 beds of broccoli just for us. Plus, I cook the broccoli leaves and the stalks, so I don’t need a special planting of other greens.
Companion Planting: I don’t do square foot gardening, but I do more bio-intensive. For the bed with peas on a trellis, I also plant carrots around the base of the trellis and leafy herbs. Around the tomatoes, I plant onions and borage. I love having dill in with the broccoli and cabbage. Companion planting is a large subject on the internet and it is easy to find information on how to combine crops.
As our garden expands this year, one bed is definitely going to be a three, no Four Sisters bed: Squash, dry beans, corn, and sunflowers. I am tempted to try some root crops in there, too, but the greens would be smothered by the squash leaves. Perhaps, parsnips; they have large leaves.
A farmer nearby has great, delicious corn, but I would bet it is treated “very well.” Just a few ears from our garden will be a treat until we can find more space.
I used to plant two beds of green beans. That is way too many to get us through the winter. I still have green beans I canned three years ago. Now I plant more dry beans. The dried ones just do not produce enough to get through a year.
I just checked some seeds that I am testing. The brown lentils, from a grocery store package, sprouted. The red lentils did not; that may be because they dried out. There was a hint, so perhaps another day or two. I have not found packages of lentil seeds in the stores, so I am using the grocery store.
Little Sister: 50’ x 75’ is a good sized garden. Fresh food tastes so much better.
John Park: that is what we did. A few more beds each year. And eventually, you are supplying enough food for the year.
There is a county compost/recycling center near us. It collects the waste from restaurants, and will accept yard waste, too. We can get a load in our truck, one bucket full ~ 9 cubic yards/one ton, for $21. That gets put onto our gardens when we dig them, either in Spring or Fall. The tilth of the soil keeps getting better. Perhaps there is someone you know that has a truck and you know of a location where you can get a load.
Pollinators: Plant flowers if you do not have the bees. Alyssum, marigold, nasturtium, etc. The bees will come to pollinate and stay for the veggies. Mason bee boxes are easy to make.
You can find seed packages for cover crops. No need to really till them under, just plant through the dead leaves from last year if they were annual plants.
Namlus: I like that idea of straw covering the potato beds. I’ll need to find someone who has a couple bales.
Hieronyma Textor: I tried to find something about a vegan gardener, but all I found was how to avoid blood meal, etc. Not what or how much to plant.
There is so much to share. We have several days of cold and drizzle. Time to check out more links that you all mentioned. Thank you everyone!