normally the safe-date for planting stuff in my region is the first week of may, but the long-range forecast shows no freeze, so I transplanted and planted lots of stuff!:
Tomatoes:
Ponderosa
Peron
Royal HillBilly
Roma
German Strawberry
Mexican Giants
Bush Cherry
also
dark zucchini
golden zucchini
yellow squash
Egg Plant
pickling cukes
english cukes
danvers carrots
red potatoes
fingerling potatoes
Green onions
white onions
red onions
Peppers:
Jalapenos
Serranos
Cayennes
Anaheims
Peter Pepe
Cajun Bells
Green Bells
Beans:
Bush beans
String Beans
Pinto Beans
Black Beans
Melons:
Watermelons
Cantalope
Honey Dew
Already out for the season we had lettuce, brussel sprouts, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting... (and a full herb garden)
--- We have all this crammed into about 2000sq ft on the SW side of my property. - Fed with three 275 gallon rain barrels and chicken poop.
This is nowhere near enough to be self-sufficient but it does take a load off the grocery bill... during the summer we pretty much only buy junk-food and meat/dairy. (and some of the chicken/eggs we trade veggies for).... and I have hot sauce and tomato sauce year-round.
I'm thinking about putting in a berry patch this year, but would have to take out a tree if I want to keep it near the rest of the garden... or would have to set up another rain barrel at a different downspout to water it.
Any other big time gardeners here? I've seen some posts from real-deal farmers... any more hobby gardeners in the mix here?
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[–] Warnos44 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Thanks for the insight on the rain barrels. I've actually always wondered about that, figured it was a necessity to use a bleach or chlorine tablet. I knew about needing to block out the sun. Guess if I ever get a barrel I'll be making sure I can easily clean it out!
I am planting a lot! More than I ever have before. We just moved into a foreclosure so it's been a lot of work in every direction as we're trying to do a lot all at once. But I have no experience gardening, so I consider myself a wannabe gardener right now. If I have any success this year I'll consider myself entry level gardener 😂.
So far in my humble garden I have seven varieties of tomato, garlic, chives, green beans, cow peas, Lima beans, corn, yellow neck squash, zucchini, red squash, three kinds of watermelon, two cantaloupe, two carrot, three cucumber, lettuce, spinach, kale, newly planted asparagus (not expecting anything for a couple years), okra, jalapeno, Asian hot peppers, red and green seedless grapes along the fences, borage, wormwood, comfrey, cilantro, parsley, sunflowers, millet for the birds, sage, mint, oregano, thyme, Rosemary, nasturtium, goldenseal, bird house gourd, peanuts, etc. Pumpkins, I need to figure out when to start them for Halloween!
[–] nosejobsforequality [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
you sound like you're pretty into it for entry level! how much space are you using for all of this? are you doing it in beds? or like the backyard food-forest concept?
[–] Warnos44 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I'm trying the no dig method. We have clay that feels like concrete when it's dry. So when we moved here I spent a few days shoveling up the leaf mould alongside our road where the trees so sweetly deposited their leaves over the decades, and transferred it to my beds. Then covered with much. I have nine rows of 3'*16', plus a perimeter. The initial intention was to cover the entire thing with mulch, but I haven't had time to make it back to the place to get more. There is already 7.5 cubic yards of Cypress here. Next year will be much easier. Along the perimeter will be flowers. I have cosmos 2" tall waiting to be transplanted. I have our two bee hives behind and to the left of the garden.
https://files.catbox.moe/ypoedg.jpg
Excuse the mess. Life is currently a perpetual state of, "I don't have time to do X today," so if it's not necessary, it's not getting done any time soon lol. The joys of moving, renovating, gardening, and trying to learn to do livestock all at once. Hopefully I don't fall on my face!