When a ranch kid lives in town.

[doublel]

I feel that simply posting pictures of my garden isn't really bringing home the point I want to make. I think its important for those of us that live on a small piece of land to really consider what we plant in our gardens and what are goals are. I try to plan my garden out thinking about survival and sufficiency. In order to do this I plant very few things that can't be canned or that don't store well without refrigeration. About 1/4 of my garden is made up of potatoes. Potatoes grow very well here and have 400 calories per pound. Another 1/4 is made of tomatoes which I can into all sorts of wonderful things. Then there are beans, which I can, and peppers which we dehydrate or can. Another thing we plant to store is sugar pumpkins and storage was the reason I tried the new long storing variety of beet. There is no room in my survival garden for lettuce or other short storing crops.

From my rather small garden I will be going into winter with 50 pounds of potatoes plus the 100 pounds from the potato dig. 12 sugar pumpkins. many jars of tomato product. 20ish pounds of beets. 10 pints of green beans. A few jars of crushed hot peppers. And I am sure a few things I am forgetting, but I won't just have food from my garden June-September. My garden helps us be self sufficient throughout the year.

[W.Lynn]

Some foods aren't as much about storage, as about being able to eat them very soon. Salad greens are edible from the moment the seeds sprout, so when you thin the row, you add those sprouts to your sandwiches. They mostly bolt up and make seeds pretty quickly when conditions are right for that. Storing your future greens in the form of seeds takes less space too.

[doublel]

I agree on certain climates greens are great, but with our rather short season and their low caloric count I can't justify it in my space, with my goals. I have a small asparagus patch for my early calories and am trying hard to convince morels to grow in our yard. I keep some spinach and lettuce seed on hand in a just in case scenario.

I am rather jealous that you are planting again...i would love to be able to garden all year, but I will also never leave wyoming so I guess I need a greenhouse.

[Dode]

I feel that simply posting pictures of my garden isn't really bringing home the point I want to make. I think its important for those of us that live on a small piece of land to really consider what we plant in our gardens and what are goals are. I try to plan my garden out thinking about survival and sufficiency. In order to do this I plant very few things that can't be canned or that don't store well without refrigeration. About 1/4 of my garden is made up of potatoes. Potatoes grow very well here and have 400 calories per pound. Another 1/4 is made of tomatoes which I can into all sorts of wonderful things. Then there are beans, which I can, and peppers which we dehydrate or can. Another thing we plant to store is sugar pumpkins and storage was the reason I tried the new long storing variety of beet. There is no room in my survival garden for lettuce or other short storing crops.

From my rather small garden I will be going into winter with 50 pounds of potatoes plus the 100 pounds from the potato dig. 12 sugar pumpkins. many jars of tomato product. 20ish pounds of beets. 10 pints of green beans. A few jars of crushed hot peppers. And I am sure a few things I am forgetting, but I won't just have food from my garden June-September. My garden helps us be self sufficient throughout the year.

That is exactly how my grandmother gardened and she had 100 acres for various things. 40 acres for the cattle, 40 acres for hay, 3 acres for the home and gardens, 17 acres in timber. She only grew what could be stored or canned. Gardening is a lot of labor for something that won't feed you year round.

I've been playing with the idea of raising romaine lettuce indoors, in my empty 30 gallon fish tank. Lettuce will shoot up under a fluorescent light in no time and I wouldn't have to worry about it bolting in summer heat. Maybe, put the tank in the basement where it is 65 year round. Or, I could do it with a 2'x3'x1' campsite tub for hauling firewood... I have one sitting in the garage. At any rate, it would be an easy way to have lettuces year round and no bending over...

[redman2006]

Doublel,
Have you seen the rain gutter gardens? You simply make brackets to hang guttering on the south or southwest side if the house. Hang salvaged gutter on the side and fill with topsoil. In spring and fall, use clear plastic sheeting to cover them for a greenhouse. The heat from the house and the sun will do wonders for quite a while. Radishes and other cool/cold weather crops do well this way. You would be surprised what several 10 foot sections of gutter hung there can do.

[doublel]

I may give that a try Red. I am on board with the theory....I just need to decide which wall is the best, my south wall is a no go. And my west isn't very good either.

[W.Lynn]

redman, I've seen something like that done indoors, but it takes planning so the drainage will go where you want.

[doublel]

Earlier this month I spent time turning over soil and adding aged sheep manure to a flower bed in my yard. Today is sprinked the top with some of that time release pellet fertilizer and planted garlic. I planted a half pound each of 3 different varieties, Basque, Chesnok Red, and Inchelieum Red. We use a lot of garlic in this house. I have never attempted to grow garlic before. I plan to mulch over the top with leaves later today.

It's been such a strange year for wyoming weather it has been a warm fall, while I was planting the garlic I noticed between the warm fall, me turning over the soil and watering that the crocus bulbs that were in this flower bed have come up....strange.

and it would be fantastic if I knew how to get my pics to be right side up......

[AD]

Love garlic

[george7100]

Earlier this month I spent time turning over soil and adding aged sheep manure to a flower bed in my yard. Today is sprinked the top with some of that time release pellet fertilizer and planted garlic. I planted a half pound each of 3 different varieties, Basque, Chesnok Red, and Inchelieum Red. We use a lot of garlic in this house. I have never attempted to grow garlic before. I plan to mulch over the top with leaves later today.

It's been such a strange year for wyoming weather it has been a warm fall, while I was planting the garlic I noticed between the warm fall, me turning over the soil and watering that the crocus bulbs that were in this flower bed have come up....strange.

and it would be fantastic if I knew how to get my pics to be right side up......

next time try andstand on your head and take pictures,

[doublel]

Lol. I will so that next time George!

[Gwynmael]

Make sure you get a really good DEEP layer of mulch DL.

[doublel]

Thanks for the tip Gwyn! I read 6" is good, thoughts?

[Gwynmael]

You can start with that depth, but check on how that's breaking down through the winter. Don't disturb snow pack to do so (as that's an insulator). Garlic needs the cold to propagate, but you don't want the bulbs to freeze.

It would be a good idea if someone (cuz I'm assuming you can't yourself) could store a dry hay bale for you, in case you need to add some. More depth won't hurt it as long as it doesn't get hard packed, which it might if you're just using leaves.

[reddawnspokane]

Laura. Thanks for the thread. I spent this weekend with my uncle and we talked a lot about things like the potato get together and community building events and how there needs to be more stuff like that these days.