Soooooo....I normally grow giant pumpkins in my backyard as a hobby. I have a 1300 square foot garden. I kind of think this supply chain shit is going to get worse before it gets better, but who knows. Do you think I should grow food this year? Obviously I am decent at growing cucurbits....but what other vegetables should I consider growing?
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Three Sisters. Corn gives beans something to grow on, beans provide nitrogen to the soil, squash provides ground cover to prevent other plants from growing as well as keeping the soil moist
https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/how-to-grow-a-three-sisters-garden
Yeah my mom told me about this.....I guess the indians would do this
Grow varieties of edible squash. Zuchinni, yellow, butternut, acorn squash, etc... . Egg plant is another good choice.
I struggle with cooking eggplant haha
Is this you?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwRB0_tU1HM
Haha
Or maybe this is you https://youtu.be/KUlyv0bSDuU&t=20s
Squash bugs are the bane of my existence in the garden.
Yeah cucumber beatles drive me nuts
Garlic is very profitable. If your winters get cold enough. Medicinal plants are also a wise choice. Add some bee hives and your garden will boom and you add a profitable, medicinal super food.
Weed you can trade it for anything
Convert the garden space into a big chicken coup, and rabbit pen. Rabbit's have youngins about as quick as chickens lye eggs.
Marijuana if it is legal in your state, because it is green gold and good for trading. Otherwise, herbs like chamomile, rosemary, lavender, parsley, tansey, marigold. For food, I recommend the trio of beans, pumpkins and corn.
Marijuana if it's not legal
If I had limited space I would choose - green beans, collards, tomatoes and potatoes. Potatoes you can even grow in barrels or feed sacks.
Lot of “bang for your buck” with those four. The rest take up a lot of space and don’t give you near as much yield.
Also, grow cucumbers vertically and you’ll have more space
Also, if you grow a squash, and have space, I really recommend spaghetti squash. It keeps really well in our basement and we eat it all winter long.
Agree. Spaghetti and butternut are a winter staple around here.
Also growing seed crops.
I think kale is a miracle food. Plus you can use it as toilet paper
I doubt that even my backside could stand the taste of kale.
Then you are doing it wrong, lol... i eat a raw shredded bowl full of it daily, with olive oil honey mustard dressing I make. It's amazing
Or raw shredded swiss chard? Red chard?
Boil it with kielbasa and potatoes.....an half a cup of pinhead oats....for about 45 minutes. You will like it.
My recipe for Kale is this. You need to pan fry it with bacon, cook it good so the bacon is crispy. Throw out the kale, gorge yourself on bacon and repent for even putting the two in the pan together in the first place. Works every time
My Rottie has a shirt that says "I hate kale"
We love our kale! We cook it like turnip greens and they are amazing that way!
Big mike likes kale I'll pass
Do you can? Cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes are all easy. Picklebush cakes make great pickles and tomato is a staple; sauce it dice it make spaghetti sauce or salsa. High acid food so it cans in a water bath.
So… I’ve learned an awful lot I. The last six months and have an indoor garden. I’m excited to learn how to can
Feel free to ask me if you have any q's! :)
I don't can yet. I may try pickles and green beans.
You can get into it for around 50 bucks with a water bath canner some jars and tools (jar tongs) and a Ball Blue Book of Canning.
It's great fun and the food absolutely tastes better. The salsa I made one year, while admittedly from bulk-bought tomatoes, tasted like you had just picked everything that day
I am not a canner, never tried it. Due to the upcoming, potential food shortage, I was thinking of canning. I would have to can produce from the grocery store. So could I can let's say red pepers?
Buy in bulk if you can from a farmer, peppers are devilishly expensive at the grocery store like $1/ea.
I'd have to check the Blue Book, I think peppers are not a high acid food so you would need to pressure can them or make something with vinegar or some other acid to water bath can them.
I found 25lb boxes of tomatoes for like $5-8 in season at farm stores.
The acid kills the botulism and other nasties when water bath canning. To can low acid things safely you need pressure canner which allows a higher temp than a water bath
I am on the wast coast and it is cold right now. So I don't think I will find much. Yikes I did not know anything about that other stuff. I saw some guy canning potatoes with just water nothing else.
Yeah DO NOT YouTube it there's a lot of idiots out there who will show you some half-assed methods that might work once in awhile but might also kill you.
Get the Ball Blue Book it's an annual magazine style publication about the size of Ideals magazine that for $12-15 will keep you from killing yourself or loved ones with nasty food borne diseases that thrive in sealed environments and can be odorless and tasteless
You saved me I would have never thought of that. I guess they don't call you glooptygloop for nothing.
There's a lot of science to canning altho it's practical science but I always go by the book and in 20+ years it's never steered me wrong. It's kinda like rifle reloading. You can cut corners and get away with it until you cant
I don't know how to load a rifle either, lol. Not funny really. I think I am gonna give it a whirl. Why the heck not. I have about 6 month of food in case of a crisis but more never hurts.
West coast cold lol
You'll need a pressure canner for the green beans, unless you pickle them (the green beans), then you can use a water bath canner.
You’ll need a pressure canner for green beans
If you decide to get into it hit me up
Will do. Thanks.
Tomatoes! They can great and can be used in anything!
Herbs like mint, etc are medicinal and are very easy!
I live in ohio...so I would need to start tomatoes inside if I was growing them from seeds..correct? What month should I start them?
I’m going to create a post tomorrow of my indoor basement garden!
We live in Kentucky and start them in March! Late March
Thanks
March
Strawberries have been hit and miss for me over the years. Damn chipmunks.
We are growing Boer white pumpkin,white and sweet potatoes,beet root,turnip root etc,all long storage for root cellar.
Im going to write this down. Thanks.
Seed crops for those plants as well as corn,wheat,beans etc.
Banana, jalapeno, or any other type of peppers.
There are shops you can buy starter plants that have already sprouted from seed. You just have to transplant them into your garden.
I meant East Coast and it is cold here, lol.
City slicker here (farmer at heart) ... Try pickles, tomatoes, zucchini and onions. Plant twice the amount of pickles you might think you would need. But only plant 1/2 the amount of zucchini you think you would need. I also have a couple of large planters with chives, basil, mint, dill and cilantro. Some of the herbs will re-seed themselves. Nothing better tasting than snipping some fresh herbs for your dinner. If you have room for some berries, they can be great too. I make homemade wine (20% alcohol) from grapes and cherries too.
Being able to make booze is always a nice pet to have. I have an old still somewhere.....
Have you thought about growing corn on the cob or beans be good to...
Papaya grows fast, is healthy, and the seeds are a powerful medicine for stomach ailments, including parasites...
Potatoes, acorn squash, beets, cherry tomatoes, chives, celantro, popcorn, bush beans, other things you like to eat.
Depends on what you wish to accomplish. If you want to grow things that store well, grow potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beets, onions. Also, beans that you can store dried are great for long term storage: great northern beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, and lots of others. Tomatoes store well if you're willing to stew them and then either can or freeze the stewed tomatoes. Peppers are super easy to freeze--no blanching required. In the spring, I'm planting mostly stuff that stores well and then some watermelons because my family loves the watermelons we grow. Good luck. I have come to really love my garden. Brings me joy even when I don't have much time to be a good steward of it. Nevertheless, it is prolific.
I am convinced having a garden extends your life.
I agree. :)
I want to learn how to make deer/ beef jerky
Dehydrators work. But slow smoking it always tastes better.
So i can't just hang it out on the fence in the sun, right?
Um....yeah I don't think that will work....maybe with a parabolic mirror?
Manituska thunderfuck
People fleeing the cities will take all of it. Even if you are armed and trained, it will be near impossible to deal with millions of stampeding psychopaths.
I have a big dog.
Zombie appocalypse