Do you have your own vegetable garden?

[RawHeaven]

One of my dreams is to have my own gigantic vegetable garden. Especially in light of the food epidemics as of late. Not that east this stuff anymore, but the latest General Mills tainted frozen pizza recall is scary. People will have permanent kidney damage possibly. http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pb.../1011/BUSINESS

Do you have a home vegetable garden? I was just curious what have been your experiences with it as my dream is to have a beautiful garden to grow delectable vegetables and herbs. We have a lemon tree now which is nice, but I'd like to expand this.

What do you love about your garden? Has it helped you remain true to your raw lifestyle?

[ladypeace82]

I'd like to know too. I had a dream that my husband and I had a garden....

which is weird b/c we don't have a house yet...

:)

[Joyeuse]

I'd love to have a huge vegetable garden and plant fruit trees, berry bushes and grape vines. I have everything planned out, as well as cold storage (we'l make a cold cellar) and freezing (for things like the berries), as well as lacto-fermenting (ie sauerkraut). For now, though, I can order in bulk when in season and store what I can. Also, I'm learning about indoor gardening. I happen to have a very nice, big window perfect for this facing south, so I just started an indoor garden. I'm starting out with wheatgrass, lettuce, mini tomatoes, sunflower sprouts and strawberries. There's plenty of information online, you can google it. Also, you can always do sprouts and a pot of herbs indoors.

[juliebove]

Yes. I have a garden but a small one. When we bought this house there were 2 apple, 2 pear, 1 cherry tree and a strawberry patch. I've since planted additional strawberries and bought 4 Earthboxes. What I grow each year varies. But generally some sort of greens, assorted onions, peppers and tomatoes. I also grow herbs.

[Lady Green Jeans]

Almost high desert here, but having been raised in Ohio I adore playing in the dirt and all the wonderfulness of a garden from weeding, thinning, bug picking and the wonderful, lucious harvest. Will be working to do at least a couple raised bed gardens this coming year. Have already gotten a couple volunteers to help me put the frame together.

The old Victory Gardens should be seeing a great resurgance. Wonder if they will name them something different now--the 'Independence Gardens' or 'Long Life Garden.' Guess they won't be using 'Refuse to Buy Into the Chemical Laden and GMO Produce Any Longer Garden.' Too much truth in advertising.

[Lavendula]

I have gardened in Alaska, the high desert, and here. Gardening on my own since 1979, but grew up with big gardens, rows and rows. Started doing boxed raised beds in 1986, and wouldn't do it any other way. You can do succession planting, companion planting, roots and verticals in the same box intensive gardening, cold frames, etc., the possibilities are endless. You don't need much space to have a garden. I am still working on extending the season for my green and leafy veggies, now that I am raw, they are more important to me than ever. I'm so sad.

[LearningDaily]

We've had a garden most years for the past 10 or so years. We currently have a small 10x10 raised garden where we are figuring out the differences between gardening in Florida as opposed to Missouri. We also have an orange tree and a banana plant.

[trinity082482]

Yep! I only grew tomato's this year because my friend had a sad looking tomato plant out on her front step and I said to her my that plant looks like it needs some love lol.. she said here take it! lol.... so I did.. and I fed it milk and water and plenty sun upon my kitchen window ledge and it grew sooo big that I had no choice to put it outside.. which I didn't really want to do at first because it was late in the season and I didn't think it would bare fruit. It was spilling out from the planter it was in so instead of using it as an indoor plant which I wish I had done.. I planted it outside and it took up the entire garden! But no tomato's grew. It just made love with my Hops vine lol (cause it starts to twine together at some parts). I think I will be a better gardener next year.. I have no idea what I am doing.

[subbacultcha]

I don't have one, but when I move somewhere with a garden it will be full of lovely veggies :)

[Allison]

We are growing a variety of odd, cold-hardy greens right now, and they are doing really well. We'll see how they fair after this hard freeze, but so far, so good.

Allison

[pete]

we are prepping a garden bed this fall.
probably 10ftX20ft, going to grow mostly greens and herbs.

[crystalmoon]

Hi i grew all my own herbs this year in tubs & planters on my patio outside the back door...i dont have garden I can dig veggie beds into but have been toying with the idea of growing alot of veg next year that can be grown in containers. Just got some books from Amazon all about it so heres hoping for alot of home grown produce next year :)

[northernstars]

As soon as I got home from the hospital in early June I planted several cool weather foods, but the moose came and ate most of them right away! I am going to try again next year and fence things in better. In the past the moose waited until the veggies were really ripe before they decided to eat them.

Sadly, Fruit trees don't produce here in Alaska. I do have a couple crab apple trees but they have done nothing but look pretty, however, the strawberries and other berries do well here!

Hopefully I will have recuperated much more and will be able to be more active with gardening next year. I am a master gardener and have taken extensive classes about gardening in Alaska and learned all the special tricks to have a very productive garden.

I miss not being in the garden, expecially now when I am finally going 100% raw!

[baltochef]

I have gardened in Alaska, the high desert, and here. Gardening on my own since 1979, but grew up with big gardens, rows and rows. Started doing boxed raised beds in 1986, and wouldn't do it any other way. You can do succession planting, companion planting, roots and verticals in the same box intensive gardening, cold frames, etc., the possibilities are endless. You don't need much space to have a garden. I am still working on extending the season for my green and leafy veggies, now that I am raw, they are more important to me than ever. I'm so sad.

Lavendula

Check out the books, Four Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables From Your Garden All Year Long & The New Organic Grower, both by Elliot Coleman..

There is a WEALTH of really useful practical information in both books for extending the seasons..

One of the best resources for the organic gardener & grower is the Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply Catalog & it's accompanying website www.GrowOrganic.com

Before I had to give my garden up I had a 9' wide x 29' long x 23" deep raised bed garden; sectioned into 4' x 4' blocks by the struts that kept the sides from bowing, a la Square Foot Gardening..

I put a 1' wide walkway down the center of the long sides using two sets of 2 x 6's..

In the 14 individual 4' x 4' squares I was able to feed myself & 6-10 other SAD eaters from June thru October out of this space using intensive raised bed techniques..

Keep the soil fertile with compost & leaf mold, and you can really crowd the plants together without harm..

Bruce

[RawHeaven]

Thanks all for sharing, now I really want to have a garden. After reading your experiences it seems more in reach now. :) In San Francisco, I grew herbs on my deck but that's about it. Now we have a big backyard and I want to take advantage of it. I will do some more research on having a container garden in the meantime, the possibilities seem endless.