Who has a garden?

English Mike · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:22 pm Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

3,000 square feet is enough ground to supply 90% of the fruit & vegetables for a family of four if you plan it right. Add some chickens & your need for bought food will fall even further.
I spent several years growing veg by the "no dig" raised bed method & will testify to the increased yield for a significant fall in effort.
I only ever used pesticides when other methods of control proved inadequate.

BigBlue · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:02 am Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

Chickens can be a pain in the butt to manage, however the rewards are worth the effort. Good layers, I have white leghorns, produce an egg every 25 hours or so. Want a dozen eggs a day, get 15 birds. That's a lot of protein for your diet. If they are left to free range the feed cost is minimal. If you have a surplus of eggs you can always trade for other items you might need.

Bushmaster · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:51 am Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

Free range chickens can sure raise the devil on a garden.

BigBlue · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:01 am Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

Bushmaster wrote:

Free range chickens can sure raise the devil on a garden.

You been talking to my Wife? Her favorite Summer past time is chasing chickens from the gardens. They ain't got nothing on the antics guinea hens can get up to.

Bushmaster · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:03 am Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

And a lovely lady she is...

English Mike · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 10:17 am Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

Bushmaster wrote:

Free range chickens can sure raise the devil on a garden.

Excellent in an orchard though.

PaulS · Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 10:34 pm Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

We will be putting in my wife's garden this summer. It will be too late to plant much but I have to finish my garage and shop first. She plans on fruit, veggies and herbs with clusters of flowers to keep it looking nice. I plan on raised beds wide enough for two rows and eight feet long in nice straight rows. I am going to build her a rolling trolley seat so she can stay off her knees (in the garden at least) and the seat will be light enough that she can pick it up and take it to the next raised bed. Our front yard will support twenty beds wide and three deep. It should provide us with some great food to go along with what I bring in from the "hills".

English Mike · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:55 am Post subject: Re: Who has a garden?

If you want to go "no dig" then keep the beds no more than 4' wide so you never have to tread on them.

DallanC · Site Admin Joined: Jan 18, 2005 Posts: 3572 Location: Utah

Bushmaster wrote:

Free range chickens can sure raise the devil on a garden.

Yep, we had to fence around our small garden. They lived in the wild grapes we have though... they would vine climb like monkeys to get at grapes near the top and were quite put out when a doe deer stuck a couple twin fawns in there one day.

I have a .25 acre lot, so not a lot of room but we still get in a 15x30 garden which makes for about 4 billion tomatoes and more zucchini than you can imagine. We always put in corn in half of it but local corn is so cheap we might forgo it this next spring for more variety in other plants.

-DallanC