Hello

[palewine]

Hi, my name is Peter and I'm in zone 8a. I'm trying to grow as much food as I can in my small-ish suburban backyard. And I have quite a few ideas of projects I'd like to do! Hoping to share them here and get feedback.

 

[oneeye]

Hello friend, and welcome, we love to have food growers share their projects here. Thanks for stopping by and keep us posted.

 

[palewine]

Hello friend, and welcome, we love to have food growers share their projects here. Thanks for stopping by and keep us posted.

You got it!

 

[Sluggy]

Good morning and welcome. Plenty of advice here. What size is smallish? I find it fascinating what some Americans call smallish as I wish my garden was that small!

 

[Meadowlark]

Welcome @palewine One can grow an amazing amount of food in a backyard garden.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

Hi

 

[palewine]

Good morning and welcome. Plenty of advice here. What size is smallish? I find it fascinating what some Americans call smallish as I wish my garden was that small!

Thank you.

My lot is 0.2 acre, and of that only the backyard is usable for food growing, so probably closer to 0.1 acre.

Then, I want to have a bit of grass to run around in with the dog, so that cuts down on that amount even more.

Moreover, I want it to look aesthetically pleasing, like landscaping beds. So that further reduces efficiency because I can't just do straight rows crammed together.

Then balancing things like where trees (and the house) cast shade, and where swales let neighborhood water flow during heavy rains (don't want to plant food there)... so just estimating, I would say a little less than 0.05 acre that I would be working with?

It's like a puzzle to get it right all together!

 

[Sheal]

Welcome to the forums palewine.

 

[Sluggy]

Only problems with dogs on grass is that if they pee they can burn the grass a leave brown spots, speaking from experience, as their urine contains concentrated nitrogen and salt which “burns” the grass. Flush the spot immediately with water or buy a chemical cure.

 

[Meadowlark]

Flush the spot immediately with water or buy a chemical cure.

or just ignore it and let Nature take its course.