A garden seems like an essential part of a farm/ranch, especially if you are trying to be self-sufficient.
Since we had so much on our to-do list already, I decided to just start with what was there. There was an existing garden patch delimited by railroad ties. After weeding it, I added a few bags of gardening soil and compost, a soaker hose, and then transplanted some of the tomato plants from the greenhouse.
The boys wanted cantaloupes, so we added one plant and a couple of zucchini plants.
Plants grew quickly out of control. For a novice, I thought I did pretty well.
During the winter months, I decided to do some studying. I got a few books and started planning. I love books, especially the ones with pictures and diagrams.
My go-to book is The Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook by the old farmer’s almanac.
It is simple and easy to follow. Their website is great and full of great tools and it is Free!!!
One morning I grabbed cardboard boxes from the recycle pile and went out to lay the plan for a garden. I decided to go for raised beds.
There was a bunch of leftover sheet metal pieces from the hangar built. I drew my plans, calculated material, and went off to Home Depot to get supplies…
In a matter of days, I built 7 (8’x4’) planters.
At the bottom, I placed flattened cardboard boxes, then sticks and leaves, manure, peat moss, and topsoil. I then ran a drip line through all the beds and hooked it up to a watering timer.
And then I planted: strawberries, tomatoes, pickles, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, hot peppers, cantaloupe, and watermelon…and left to go to visit family in France.
Guess what, Things grew, and grew and grew…and since I had no “gardener” to tend to the plants, it turned into another jungle.
We gave away tomatoes, zucchini and cantaloupes. My sister made tomato sauce that she canned and we used it throughout the rest of the year.
We had tones of jalapeños and discovered Jalapeños Jelly, a new family favorite.
One evening, I replaced the orange sauce for the orange chicken with the jelly…well, Orange Chicken is now Jalapeño Jelly Chicken.
Fall came around, I cleaned the beds and planted shallots, broccoli, cabbages, and Brussels sprouts. Turns out you need more than 2 plants of each to feed a family of 4.
Before the first frost, at night, I started covering my strawberry plants and uncovering them on sunny days.
We are now entering year 2.
The strawberries are doing well this year.
In preparation for the coming summer, I planted 10 tomato plants, bell peppers, hot peppers, green beans, and peas. Soon I will add cantaloupes, watermelon as well as zucchini and squash.
That of course, doesn’t include what is in the greenhouse.
There are 4 young peach trees on the property. They didn’t produce the first spring. So in the fall, I added chicken manure and hay around each tree.
Last Spring, the trees were covered in juicy fruits, so I repeated the experiment this winter.
As long as the storms don’t destroy them, we are right on track for a good harvest.
The boys and I added 3 more fruit trees: 2 apples (Honeycrisp and Delicious Molly)and 1 Plumcot (plum-apricot hybrid). It will be fun to try a new fruit.
I am definitely not an expert. I research, study, and learn as I go. There is a lot of trial and error but picking the fruits and vegetables off the plants you planted is so gratifying. My grandmother (mom’s side) and my grandfather (dad’s side) had a friendly competition and used to go admire each other gardens. My grandmother grew many flowers and provided the bouquets for the village church. I wish I had paid a little more attention.
Gardening is an art.
