Our first year of farming is turning out pretty good!

[Atman]

Last edited Thu Aug 1, 2013, 10:57 AM - Edit history (1)

We decided to get a big plot at the community garden this year. 30x30'. An old farmer willed about 130 acres to the town with the proviso that it be used for the community good...so they put up a small open barn for shelter, and fenced in a big area for community farming. Just sign up with the town and pay a very small fee -- $10 for a 10x30' plot, $20 for 20x30' plot, etc. The rest of the land was turned into a network of hiking trails, maintained by local volunteers.

Anyway, despite a few setbacks from the wicked hot weather, torrential rains and a fearless bunny rabbit that keeps eating through the fence, we've done pretty well. Everything is organic (it has to be, one of the requirements). My wife searched high and low for all sorts of organic seeds. Last time we were in Vermont, she had a map of local farms selling organic seeds and we drove all over tarnation buying all sorts of heirloom tomatoes and fancy beans and squash and stuff I've never seen before.

No pesticides...everything is natural. She used the "square foot gardening" method. The garden is divided up into nine 4' square plots, each divided into sixteen 1' squares. One plant in each square. You mix in beneficial flowers that not only look cool, but they keep the bugs away. Mostly. We've dealt with some cutworms and a few slugs, but nothing serious.

We've already gone through tons of lettuce of various types, lots of snow peas, sugar snap peas, all sorts of peas, and a few different varieties of cukes (mmm...homemade pickles!). We just picked a big batch of fava beans...they should go good with a nice Chianti! The tomatoes and tomatillos are just coming in, and omg we have TONS of them. We have Brandywines, Roma, San Marzano, green zebra, beef steak, yellow pear, red current and stipple tomatoes. Lots of canning and salsa in our future. They'll make great sauce for the spaghetti squash growing! We have a few that are getting close to picking. The pumpkins and watermelons are still pretty small. Sadly, the kale and string beans were big favorites of the bunny. And the hot weather made the broccoli bolt, and we didn't get much from it.

It's so nice being able to just grab a basket and pick dinner! We stopped at a house on the way home and picked up some fresh eggs from the chickens running around in the yard. I'm kinda liking this country living...Previously, I've always lived either in or near the city, or in a busy tourist beach town in Florida. It's too bad Obama didn't come through with the ponies, though. We have a big yard now.

[niyad]

1. awwww, congratulations-- and thank you so much for sharing with us. those tomatoes are GORGEOUS

[surrealAmerican]

2. The tomatoes look awesome.

Will you be eating those nasturtiums too? They're nice in salads.

[Atman]

3. Yes, we eat the nasturtiums, too.

They're actually pretty good...and they brighten up your dinner!

[LondonReign2]

4. Very very cool

Congrats Atman. Growing your own stuff just tastes better! Our okra, swiss chard, and red peppers are just starting to come in.

[Atman]

5. Okra! I forgot about the okra! And the peppers.

We have lots of okra...been one of the most successful crops, I guess because it's been such a hot, wet summer. And we also have lots and lots of basil. Sweet basil, Thai basil (mmm...homemade pho and pla rad prik!), types I've basil I've never seen before. I guess we'll be making lots of pesto, too. We also planted green and red peppers, jalapenos, pepperoncini and banana peppers. A big long 15' row of peppers. Yikes.

There's just the two of us...I don't know how we're going to eat all this stuff. I envision that friends and family will be getting gifts of food this holiday season!

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Congrats on the harvest!

I just pulled a 9", 14.7 oz cuke off my vine (tub grown) and a couple weeks ago picked about a quart of blueberries (from 2 bushes). Nothing better than reaping what you sow when it comes to fresh fruits and veggies.

[Marrah_G]

8. Besides salsa, try canning soups

Check around online for good canning recipes.

[Atman]

12. We're looking at every option.

Two big boxes of Weck jars arrived yesterday, all sizes and shapes. And a big dehydrator. But I hadn't thought of soup...although that doesn't mean my wife hasn't. She seems to have thought of everything else.

[Marrah_G]

37. It can be really useful for excess greens

Spinich, Kale, Etc can be added to soups and then in the middle of winter you have home made soup from your garden We always have tons more greens then we need.

Think like sausage or ministrone type soups.

Also you can made and then store vegetable soup stock using the leftover tops and peels from celery and carrots and onions, etc.

[wryter2000]

18. Don't forget your local food bank

Imagine getting some of your delicious tomatoes as a surprise.

[Atman]

21. Thank you! Excellent point!

We'll have plenty to go around. It's a "community" garden...good way to share the bounty.

[Marrah_G]

6. There is something incredibly satisfying about eating what you grow

And heirloom seed give you so many choices of types you can't find at the store.

[snooper2]

9. Looks good, Rabbit is good as well...

trap time

You know it's been eating organic

[Atman]

11. The garden guy told us..."We will not be killing bunnies."

Organic hippie garden. Deal...bunnies are a part of nature.

A couple of people were upset that bunnies were getting in through the fence. I just take it in stride...they're bunnies! There is a giant plot of freshies for them, just sitting there beyond the fence! What do you expect them to do?

But it did kind of piss me off when we were at the garden one day and the damned bunny just hopped right out and sat there looking at us. It was as if he'd read the memo -- "Bossman says no bunny-killing. Whatcha gonna do about it?" He posed for a picture, even, then hopped away into the tall grass.

We've had a meeting (as much as you can organize hippie organic gardeners), and we're going to ask the town for a few bucks for some better rabbit-proof fencing for next year. If they say no, we've agreed to just buy it ourselves.

[TeeYiYi]

25. Eh, what's up doc?...

TYY

[4_TN_TITANS]

10. It's been a killer year for the garden in Tennessee...

Wettest summer we have had in awhile. The wife has the tallest corn I've ever seen and everything else is starting to pour in (we were late getting it planted).

By the way, only heirloom seeds, absolutely no pesticides, all organic. We're about to get bombed with veggies! And just in time for the county fair this weekend. My girls always ribbon whenever they enter vegetables at the fair.

*edited to add - this is a great post! It's harvest time, folks!

[KurtNYC]

13. Congrats!

My first year too. Has been too hot for any greens but the tomatoes and peppers are loving it. I have learned a lot and want to do better next year. Got a decent crop of potatoes and tons of snow peas. Carrots (nantes) failed the first time so I went with Danvers and they are doing okay. My first rows of onions rotted during a wet week in June so I replanted and put the new ones on a mound.

Grew garbanzo beans for the heck of it and got only 5 or 6 pods per plant. My edamame seems really small, the peas themselves, but produced pretty well. Wish I had planted more hericot vert -- it was tasty when braised in chicken fat.

Can't believe the season is winding down now. Most of the tomatoes are still on the vines ripening and I have butternut squash, new england pie pumpkins and spaghetti squash still going. I am going to try some spinach, arugula and mizuna when the heat stops, hopefully late August.

[Atman]

14. Next year will be much better!

We learned a lot this year. In terms of what to do and what NOT to do.

Our carrots and radishes didn't do so well, but we got some good yellow and green onions. The community garden is only a mile or so from our house, so it's easy access. We also planted a small "emergency back-up garden" in the front yard. Tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cukes, serrano peppers, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, more peppers (we're going to have a lot of peppers), lettuce (boy, that was handy when it was in season...just walk out the front door and pick a salad!), beans, peas, squash. It's funny...the community garden is barely two miles away, but some of the "crops" did better in our front yard than they did in the garden. I think that's because of the weather...the house and surrounding vegetation provided some shade, while the community garden was wide out in the open and took the brutal 100 sun all day long. Oh, and the bunny. He'd have a hard time getting by Frank The Dog and our cats.

[MsPithy]

20. You can extend growing season with cold tolerant stuff.

Brussel sprouts are better after the first frost. Kale and mache keep going.

Here is a trick from my Grandma in Wisconsin. If you have a surprise frost, go out before the sun light hits the plants in the morning and rinse the frost off the leaves with water. You can save most of your garden.

[KurtNYC]

27. I bought an Aerogarden back in January, about $45 on eBay

and it was so easy and quick to grow greens in that thing (about 16 days) that I have hard time thinking about growing greens in-ground. Indoors, year-round, no bugs and fast growth is hard to beat. I think my long term strategy will be to grow all the greens, some strawberries and some tomatoes hydroponically and do the big stuff, potatoes, onions, squash and the big tomatoes like Oxhearts and Brandywines, out in the field.

Next year I may try outdoor hydroponics for tomatoes and strawberries.

Saw a documentary on an organic greenhouse in Wisconsin that uses compost mounded around the sides to provide the heat for a hoop house all winter long. Makes sense since compost can hit 150F.

[Jenoch]

39. Back in the day,

my father had a large garden in Minnesota. When frost was predicted, he turned on the sprinklers.

[NJCher]

41. now

Kurt, are you growing in NYC?

You said "I am going to try some spinach, arugula and mizuna when the heat stops, hopefully late August." Are you saying you're hoping the heat stops in late August or you're starting the plants in late August?

'Cuz you need to start the plants now because they need the daylight provided by the longer days. There won't be enought daylight in late August.

One who tried it and knows,


Cher

[KurtNYC]

42. Thanks Cher

I'm in the Hudson Valley these days. I only need about 35 days or so for the greens (I think). I sprout in plug trays then transplant to the field.

I've got seeds and dirt; can't hurt to try. I am going to do some hydroponically also, at home, using artificial light to lengthen the natural (because I love salad greens).

[ananda]

15. Wow. Not only healthy but saving buckets on groceries.

Win win

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

16. For great seeds, check out this place

http://sustainableseedco.com/

Certified organic and heirloom. Nice thing is the seeds you get from this years crop are great for next year. I have been using them for three seasons now. Very reasonable prices. Great selection. Awesome customer service.

Edited to add.

Get some organic blood meal to keep bunnies away! It is rich in nitrogen and iron so it does double duty. Rabbits cannot stand the smell of blood. No smell until it get a little wet, after that bunnies just look for another place to forage. Best way I have found to keep some critters out of the garden. Works for kitty's also, a problem I had in our garden.

[wryter2000]

17. Many, many congratulations

There's nothing more delicious in the world than homegrown vegetables...especially tomatoes. Enjoy!

[KittyWampus]

19. Congratulations. May I suggest tucking in some radishes wherever there is a small space?

They are so easy and fast… and they add zip to salads or work as a good before-dinner snack. They help digestion.

[Atman]

24. We had quite a few radishes early in the season.

They're long gone. We did pick some white radishes recently. I love 'em...eat them as snack! But they seem to prefer the raised beds in the front yard over the open space at the community garden.

[MsPithy]

22. To bad about the ponies, they are wonderful

organic fertilizer factories.

[LWolf]

23. Don't I know it.

I spend more time cleaning up after my girls than riding them.

[Atman]

32. I had a Shetland pony when I was a kid. The best thing about it...

...was that I had an older brother, and the folks made him shovel out the stall! All I had to do was help hunt around the neighborhood when he escaped from his paddock and went grazing in the neighbor's gardens.

[joanbarnes]

26. Well Done! Lots of healthy eating in your future.

[shenmue]

28. Those look delicious

Good job.

[AndyA]

29. That's great--and your tomato harvest looks pretty robust!

Homemade salsa is incredible! I'm sure you, your family, and friends will enjoy!

[laundry_queen]

30. Square foot gardening is the best!

It's amazing how much you can get out of a small amount of dirt.

This was my first year too...I finally have my own home, but my yard had to be landscaped (as per the town specs) before I could start putting in garden beds, and they still aren't finished...soooo...I have a deck garden. I have container tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, cucumbers, green onions, radishes, lettuce, strawberries and basil. Not much, but we've had more than a few meals that were more than half garden veggies. I'm jealous of your warm weather and being able to grow so many different fruits and veggies. I'd never be able to get watermelons to do well here - zone 3b with cool, wet summers. Even though I bought tomato plants already flowering, my tomatoes are puny. We sure get good lettuce and root crops though!

I've thought about looking into a community plot - I know they have them in our town but they are much more expensive and require a minimum of 1 hour/week volunteer work (in addition to tending your garden) and I'm not sure I can commit. I'm looking forward to putting in my raised beds for next year and setting up my square foot gardens.

Someday I'll have a large enough yard for a big garden. Someday

Happy Canning and Harvesting!

[NM_Birder]

31. How cool is THAT ! question from a non-gardner

Aren't all seeds organic ?

[Atman]

34. Ask Monsanto.

[southernyankeebelle]

33. Am so jealous. We have 12 acres and my husband and I just can't garden any longer.

I would love to grow tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and more. When we first moved here my mother-in-law taught me how to grow veggies. I was so proud of us. We had tomatoes coming out of the ying yang. We had so much we couldn't even give it away. Now I can't find anyone who has extra to give away. Because of our health issues neither one of us can do it any longer. Your veggies are lovely.

[Atman]

35. We didn't bother with corn.

It is so plentiful up here. Corn farms around every corner...it's easier to just pull into a roadside stand an buy a few fresh ears when you want 'em.

[southernyankeebelle]

36. Yes it is the same here. But if I grow them I can store enough for a year and don't have

to pay more for it. It's about $2.00 for 6 ears here. Gosh I could remember when you paid $1.00 for a dz. My family love corn.

[Blue_In_AK]

38. My garden is doing excellently this summer, too,

thanks to our uncommonly warm weather. Gardening is so rewarding, and everything tastes so good.

[ConcernedCanuk]

40. On tomatoes

.
.
.

One year had way more than I could eat or store, so the local food bank got many.

Also I froze a whole bunch of them - come out mushy when thawed, so not so great for sandwiches or salad -

But a great addition to my home-made spaghetti sauces!

Congrats on your success



CC

[bvar22]

43. Congratulations!

I've found few things in life to be as validating or rewarding Walking Through your OWN Garden and harvesting a solid meal.

Here in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas (west/central) we have also had a great year so far. We moved here from Minneapolis in 2006, and this is our 7th season.
We are starting to get pretty good at this as we learn more every year.

Because of our proximity to the National Forest, we are forced to fence in everything we don't want to Share with Nature.

We use 6' tall 2"X4" welded wire (about $1/ft) around our Veggies, fruit trees, and domestic berries & grapes to keep the deer out,
but a small bunny can squeeze through that 2" X 4" hole,
so for the bunny sensitive Veggie Garden we have had to add an 18" high collar of chicken wire around the bottom edge.
This has worked well.

[libodem]

44. Beauteous bounty

[GiaGiovanni]

45. Your wife is amazing

I wish I had her tenacity.