Size of your garden and your preserving methods.

[Durgan]

Would like to find out what size garden people have. Size of you vegetable garden in square feet preferably. No interest in container growing.

How and what do you preserve for off season use?

My growing season is about 120 days frost free, and have prodigious growth, but must preserve for long term storage of about six months.

My vegetable garden is about 1500 square feet and I produce enough for two. Preserved for most of the off season around 500 liters or quarts of produce. Sufficient potatoes, garlic, and onions. The garden material is augmented by purchasing local fruit when in season. I also use dried grain and nuts as required. I have no domestic animals. http://durgan.org/2011/

At a rough guess, I home process around 80% or more of my food.

 

[Chuck]

Would like to find out what size garden people have. Size of you vegetable garden in square feet preferably. No interest in container growing.

How and what do you preserve for off season use?

My growing season is about 120 days frost free, and have prodigious growth, but must preserve for long term storage of about six months.

My vegetable garden is about 1500 square feet and I produce enough for two. Preserved for most of the off season around 500 liters or quarts of produce. Sufficient potatoes, garlic, and onions. The garden material is augmented by purchasing local fruit when in season. I also use dried grain and nuts as required. I have no domestic animals. http://durgan.org/2011/

At a rough guess, I home process around 80% or more of my food.

My garden right now is about 8500 sq ft. I either eat fresh, can, freeze, juice or donate, dry or dehydrate every last morsel. I can basically garden 365 days a year

 

[CanadianLori]

I don't know why you are not interested in container gardening. My leeks in pots came out much more robust than those in the garden. Same for peppers and many other veggies.

 

[Durgan]

My garden right now is about 8500 sq ft. I either eat fresh, can, freeze, juice or donate every last morsel. I can basically garden 365 days a year

Now let's see pictures. Not all at once, just a few at at time. I want to know how my effort compares.The 8500 square feet can produce a great amount of food.

I live in one of the best growing areas in Canada. The properties in the sub division are quite large usually about 1/3 of an acre, and have good soil and nary a garden. Grass only. Comments are it takes too much work. I am of the opinion that vegetable gardening is Canada is a dying art.

 

[Durgan]

I don't know why you are not interested in container gardening. My leeks in pots came out much more robust than those in the garden. Same for peppers and many other veggies.

My comment was not meant in an derogatory fashion, only that one is limited in useful quantity by container growing. It would be difficult in most circumstances to live off the produce from container gardening.

 

[Chuck]

Now let's see pictures. Not all at once, just a few at at time. I want to know how my effort compares.The 8500 square feet can produce a great amount of food.

I live in one of the best growing areas in Canada. The properties in the sub division are quite large usually about 1/3 of an acre, and have good soil and nary a garden. Grass only. Comments are it takes too much work. I am of the opinion that vegetable gardening is Canada is a dying art.

If you look at the organic forum titled Winterizing For Spring there are a few pics and I also think I posted some others along the way also. I will be posting many other pics as I do things. I will being do a step by step of everything from sowing seeds to harvesting. Right now I am in a semi-dormant stage as I just broke 2 bones in my foot and am not quite as spry as normal. 8500 ft does produce a great amount of food. I would estimate that I donate at least 50% of my produce to the nursing home and senior citizens center where I live. I garden for a hobby and am fortunate enough to have Mother Nature provide a lot the needed materials as I purchase very little of the stuff needed for plant nutrition. Many things I do not plant as I find I can buy them cheaper at the grocery store such as potatoes. The only fruit that I grow are peaches but I can also harvest about 2 acres of wild blackberries (dew berries) that grow rampant all over the place if I feel up to it. Zigs is starting a slide program where pics are taken once a month starting the first of the year, every month with the objective of posting next winter to show folks gardens in a time lapse sequence. I hope many gardeners do this, as I will. Stay tuned

 

[Durgan]

Thank you for the information. I am in a dormant stage now. I do have a greenhouse for starting seeds about the end of February. It is used from February until June. I never work in the garden without my camera and record all that I do in my Garden Journal.
http://durgan.org/2011/

 

[Chuck]

Thank you for the information. I am in a dormant stage now. I do have a greenhouse for starting seeds about the end of February. It is used from February until June. I never work in the garden without my camera and record all that I do in my Garden Journal.
http://durgan.org/2011/

I wished I had a greenhouse. I am stuck using windows in the house. I will start planting pepper seeds Jan 1 and tomates Jan 15 and will set out tomatoes (if the weather permits) about March 20

 

[Durgan]

I had a bought greenhouse and it got damaged by wind, so I made a substantial one on the deck.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HKERY 5 November 2010 Greenhouse on Deck.

I decided to build a large greenhouse on the deck, which doesn’t get much use. The enclosure will be a sun room if appropriate, instead of the light structure that use to be there. I have a small 10,000 BTU heater that connects to the barbecue natural gas outlet, so will have some warmth, and will get some use during the Winter months. It took nine days to build by myself, about 72 hours of labor, from 28 of October to 5 November, and cost $1798.63.

Description of the construction. Six, 6 by 6 pillars support the structure. The auxiliary supports are all 2 by 6 spruce planks. Two doors were installed plus a window to ensure reasonably good ventilation. I got the doors free of charge. The slope of the roof is from 8 feet to 7 feet, with a pitch of 1 in 12. Sun is available for about two third of the structure all day. Wood was used to cover the walls where no Sun penetrates. Corrugated SUNTUF UV protected panels was used. It is relatively low cost compared to other coverings, and is almost indestructible. Pictures depict highlights of the method used. Plans were in my head.

 

[Durgan]

I am doing nothing in the garden at this time a year so am picking previous information that is informative.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?JAPXB 18 July 2014 Paul Robeson Heritage Tomato
There are four plants in the garden and this tomato is the first to produce in quantity this year. It is a fine shaped fruit, a good size,dark colored, and has a good texture.

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?YSYAR 28 May 2014 Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
Two Pawpaw trees are producing flowers. This is the second time flowers have been produced. Last year the flowers all fell off. In about seven years since planting no fruit has been produced. Excitement is running high, hoping for some fruit this year.The leaves have not fully expanded yet due to a cool Spring.

 

[CanadianLori]

I envy those with large yards. Unfortunately the price of a big lot in my area is not in the cards fo me and I am not willing to leave my town . My family live nearby. Properties here are only 40x110 and the house takes up most of that.

Luckily I can tolerate store bought produce so my vegetable needs from the garden are only a "nice to have but not necessary " and this is only a hobby to me. I do get a lot of specialty produce out of my little space though, er at least in mho.

Anyone else here with small lots and big excitement over what we get?

 

[LilAnn]

Would like to find out what size garden people have. Size of you vegetable garden in square feet preferably. No interest in container growing.

How and what do you preserve for off season use?

My growing season is about 120 days frost free, and have prodigious growth, but must preserve for long term storage of about six months.

My vegetable garden is about 1500 square feet and I produce enough for two. Preserved for most of the off season around 500 liters or quarts of produce. Sufficient potatoes, garlic, and onions. The garden material is augmented by purchasing local fruit when in season. I also use dried grain and nuts as required. I have no domestic animals. http://durgan.org/2011/

At a rough guess, I home process around 80% or more of my food.

15'x20'. I use a dehydrated, canning,and freezing.

 

[Beth_B]

I have four city lots in a row about the size @CanadianLori describes. Not counting containers (which are quite productive) I'd say about 1000 square feet are dedicated to vegetables. This is only my third year of growing a veggie garden at this house I bought it almost five years ago but the first two were spent on the house itself and broader landscaping. The vegetable part is slowly increasing but this year I have to get yet a whole bunch more tree and branch removal done - its very wooded and shady here.

I haven't canned in years but I do freeze a lot, mostly tomatoes, peppers and herbs. I dry some herbs too.

 

[KimmyMarkks]

My garden isn’t that big. It is maybe 20ft by 10ft. However, I find at the end of the summer I have a ton of tomatoes and cucumbers left over. I don’t know of a good way of preserving cucumbers so I usually make a lot of cucumber salads. However, I love to make sauce out of my tomatoes and pickle the green ones. I freeze the sauce and use it all winter long.

Does anyone have recommendations for how to preserve zucchini or cucumbers?