Gardening newbie

[Eugene]

Hello everyone. I was not not very fond of gardening (or any kind of yard work), but I hope this mentality can change. I want to love gardening a being able to grow my own food. That is my future goal. I am currently living in duplex, with not too big of a yard. And I was thinking of perhaps starting my own vertical garden. Is this a good idea for a beginner? I realized how pathetic I am with plants when I tried to pluck a red mini pepper off a vine and couldn't do it at first but then it came off. Where would be a good place to start for a beginning gardener? I want to be able to grow ALL my food in the future, and that would include growing wheat to make bread, having a vegetable garden, an orchard for fruit. For now I guess I could gain experience for what I want to do in the future. But what would be the best way to prepare myself for a future I described above? Does anyone here live in such a manner? I would like to hear the opinion of all. How much time would doing something like growing ALL your food take, once all is set up? How long does gardening or part time gardening (if that exists) take? I would really like to get my hands dirty and start, but am curious how much time this takes and if anyone here has any experience or advice to share. Thank you.

 

[Chuck]

Hello everyone. I was not not very fond of gardening (or any kind of yard work), but I hope this mentality can change. I want to love gardening a being able to grow my own food. That is my future goal. I am currently living in duplex, with not too big of a yard. And I was thinking of perhaps starting my own vertical garden. Is this a good idea for a beginner? I realized how pathetic I am with plants when I tried to pluck a red mini pepper off a vine and couldn't do it at first but then it came off. Where would be a good place to start for a beginning gardener? I want to be able to grow ALL my food in the future, and that would include growing wheat to make bread, having a vegetable garden, an orchard for fruit. For now I guess I could gain experience for what I want to do in the future. But what would be the best way to prepare myself for a future I described above? Does anyone here live in such a manner? I would like to hear the opinion of all. How much time would doing something like growing ALL your food take, once all is set up? How long does gardening or part time gardening (if that exists) take? I would really like to get my hands dirty and start, but am curious how much time this takes and if anyone here has any experience or advice to share. Thank you.

In a limited space vertical gardening is an ideal solution. The main thing to consider is your soil. Fertile soil is the key. Do not make the mistake of feeding your plants with chemicals. Let the soil feed your plants. Having said that where do you live and what would you like to grow. There are many examples of containers and methods of vertical or balcony gardening on this forum. Just ask

 

[Carolyn]

Vertical gardening methods also require a different way to think about how you are going to provide water. Sometimes the systems have small containers and need watering frequently. Agreeing with Chuck here, it is important for us to know in general where you live, and for you to realize that when you grow food you should probably only grow things you like to eat. For example if you don't like peas don't waste your time growing them...at least not at first. Conquer the foods that will be useful to you. You don't always need a big garden to provide lots of food. 100 square feet can supplement a small family if it is gets a good amount of sunlight and is managed correctly. That is only 10 by 10.

 

[zigs]

Welcome to Gardening Forums

You'll need a lot of acres to grow all your food, plus you'd have to learn about crop spraying, you wouldn't want to eat any grain infected with Ergot.Then there's all the pests and diseases to cope with, what to do if you get a crop failure, blight can wipe out your potato and tomato harvest in a few days.

Not trying to put you off, but it's a full time job being self sufficient.

 

[Trellum]

Welcome to the forum, Eugene! I just wanted to offer you a warm welcome to this forum, I truly hope you enjoy your stay here and find the forum t be really useful and entertaining.

 

[Jewell]

Start small with something that will give you lots of success. Once you catch the gardening bug you won't notice the negatives or will find ways to work around them.

Runner beans are a great starter plant. Five gallon pot with a 6 foot trellis and good quality potting mix and daily watering will provide you with lots of green beans. I'd suggest Scarlet Runner or Sunset so you get pretty flowers too. Cherry tomatoes are great too and usually need trellising. You could create your own little enclosed patio area with veggies if you have enough sunlight.

This is a photo of painted lady runner beans and peas in pots with bamboo trellis I put together. There is kale plants in each pot also for winter harvest.

There are several varieties of blueberries and raspberries bred just for pot gardens. Don't forget zucchini, and summer squash. This summer I grew edible pod peas, kale, and chard in pots because I was redoing a large part of my garden

Because of living in a duplex just use lots of 5 gallon food grade containers with multiple holes drill along the bottom edge for veggies. Your winter project could be spray painting and decorating the outsides of the buckets. I was lucky and got a bunch of free 5 gallon plant container from the recycle place.

Hope this gives you some ideas for giving it a try. Gardening can be fun. You won't believe how much better the food tastes when truly fresh.

 

[Eugene]

In a limited space vertical gardening is an ideal solution. The main thing to consider is your soil. Fertile soil is the key. Do not make the mistake of feeding your plants with chemicals. Let the soil feed your plants. Having said that where do you live and what would you like to grow. There are many examples of containers and methods of vertical or balcony gardening on this forum. Just ask

Would soil from the backyard work? Or should the soil somehow be "processed" in order to be good for the plants, and perhaps there is a natural way of doing it? Are there any books you could recommend? Thank you.

 

[Eugene]

Vertical gardening methods also require a different way to think about how you are going to provide water. Sometimes the systems have small containers and need watering frequently. Agreeing with Chuck here, it is important for us to know in general where you live, and for you to realize that when you grow food you should probably only grow things you like to eat. For example if you don't like peas don't waste your time growing them...at least not at first. Conquer the foods that will be useful to you. You don't always need a big garden to provide lots of food. 100 square feet can supplement a small family if it is gets a good amount of sunlight and is managed correctly. That is only 10 by 10.

Hmm... I reside in the Whatcom County area of Washington, its pretty humid and cold here most of the time. Are you a vertical gardener? Is there a certain system you would recommend or one that you like most? Perhaps a certain system would be best suited for my environment... Any books you could recommend? Thanks for the input!

 

[Eugene]

Welcome to Gardening Forums

You'll need a lot of acres to grow all your food, plus you'd have to learn about crop spraying, you wouldn't want to eat any grain infected with Ergot.Then there's all the pests and diseases to cope with, what to do if you get a crop failure, blight can wipe out your potato and tomato harvest in a few days.

Not trying to put you off, but it's a full time job being self sufficient.

Yeah, I didn't think about the pests What do you spray your crops with? Any natural ways of doing it? Is it absolutely necessary? (Could I let the strong one survive one year and let their seeds grow next year for a full harvest? Or does it not work that way?) Thanks.

 

[Eugene]

Welcome to the forum, Eugene! I just wanted to offer you a warm welcome to this forum, I truly hope you enjoy your stay here and find the forum t be really useful and entertaining.

Thank you! I am already learning and hoping I can benefit everyone on here as well.

 

[Eugene]

Start small with something that will give you lots of success. Once you catch the gardening bug you won't notice the negatives or will find ways to work around them.

Runner beans are a great starter plant. Five gallon pot with a 6 foot trellis and good quality potting mix and daily watering will provide you with lots of green beans. I'd suggest Scarlet Runner or Sunset so you get pretty flowers too. Cherry tomatoes are great too and usually need trellising. You could create your own little enclosed patio area with veggies if you have enough sunlight.View attachment 3489
This is a photo of painted lady runner beans and peas in pots with bamboo trellis I put together. There is kale plants in each pot also for winter harvest.

There are several varieties of blueberries and raspberries bred just for pot gardens. Don't forget zucchini, and summer squash. This summer I grew edible pod peas, kale, and chard in pots because I was redoing a large part of my garden

Because of living in a duplex just use lots of 5 gallon food grade containers with multiple holes drill along the bottom edge for veggies. Your winter project could be spray painting and decorating the outsides of the buckets. I was lucky and got a bunch of free 5 gallon plant container from the recycle place.

Hope this gives you some ideas for giving it a try. Gardening can be fun. You won't believe how much better the food tastes when truly fresh.

Wow. Thank you for sharing your garden. Do you put the containers in the ground after "preparing" them? Or do you let them sit on top or the surface? Thanks!

 

[Eugene]

Thank you everyone for chipping in on this thread. I have said this before but if there are any books anyone recommends that would be great! And also if I was to grow all of my food would it still be considered garden? Or would it be a farm?
Thanks for all the input!

 

[Chuck]

Would soil from the backyard work? Or should the soil somehow be "processed" in order to be good for the plants, and perhaps there is a natural way of doing it? Are there any books you could recommend? Thank you.

The soil from your back yard will work fine. Just add all of the organic matter you can to it, such as dead leaves, dead grass clippings, kitchen scraps etc. Also add nutrients like blood meal and seaweed. Add a manure based compost if you can, the more the better. You posted earlier that you would like to be self sufficient. It can be done but it will take a lot of space and tons of work. Start out slow with a small garden and learn--learn your climate and what grows well in your area. What grows here may or may not grow there. A big garden takes a lot of time, effort and knowledge to be sucessful. Learn how to do the basics before tackling a major project like self sufficiency. I grew up on basically a self sufficient farm. It would have been a lot easier then than it would be now

 

[Eugene]

The soil from your back yard will work fine. Just add all of the organic matter you can to it, such as dead leaves, dead grass clippings, kitchen scraps etc. Also add nutrients like blood meal and seaweed. Add a manure based compost if you can, the more the better. You posted earlier that you would like to be self sufficient. It can be done but it will take a lot of space and tons of work. Start out slow with a small garden and learn--learn your climate and what grows well in your area. What grows here may or may not grow there. A big garden takes a lot of time, effort and knowledge to be sucessful. Learn how to do the basics before tackling a major project like self sufficiency. I grew up on basically a self sufficient farm. It would have been a lot easier then than it would be now

So like a compost heap, right? But I heard that they smell really bad. Any tips?

 

[Chuck]

So like a compost heap, right? But I heard that they smell really bad. Any tips?

Compost piles do not smell bad at all if they do not go anerobic. Go to the Organic Gardening forum on this site and you will find out just about all you need to know about composting. If you need to know more or you do not understand something just ask. Composting is simple, easy and very important in a garden. There are no stupid questions so don't be afraid to ask