Frugal Village Forums banner

It's time ~ the garden goes from hobby to necessity

32K views 548 replies 57 participants last post by  peanut 
#1 · (Edited)
Just returned home from my Dollar General coupon day (spend $25 - save $5...do it right, spend exactly $25 & it works out to 20% off everything you buy. That's all those $1 items now costing .80 cents)...My DG lets me do as many 'deals' as I want and I calculate them right to the penny of $25.... $25 worth of goodies for $20!!!

But this story is not about DG - so anyway, as I was driving home I noticed that gas has now gone up to $3.79 gal (that's 10 MORE cents since yesterday)....this is not good folks!

The weather is breaking and I have been staring at my garden plot in the backyard for the past few weeks, saying to the DH that I will once again plant a garden for us (Dh laughs hysterically at this comment every time. Where is the moral support here)...

Every year I plant. Some come up, most don't. The ones that make it above the dirt I somehow kill (by lack of water or weed takeover - I admit it...I kill them).

This year must be different. This year I can no longer call the plot my hobby that I can abandon at will when I grow tired of it. This year a garden is going to become a necessity everyone. Prices are going thru the roof and I see no end in sight.

You may say that not everything has gone up but let me tell you. I work in a grocery store. I watch items come in everyday that are now much larger packaging but have reduced contents inside and the prices are still the same. The manufacturers are playing with us consumers and your prices are very much going up on everything!

We need to do every tiny thing we can to keep as many of our dollars in our pockets as possible. A garden is one of the greatest ideas ever invented. It's very little outlay and a boatload of sweat equity. But the rewards can be stupendous!

I have a girlfriend who has a canner & the knowledge to use it so I made a deal with her the other day that if the garden has a bounty this year she comes with her supplies and shares the knowledge and I will share the bounty and we will can, can, can till we can can no more....
 
See less See more
#36 ·
Thanks. I hadn't thought about putting zucchini in a sandwich. Might have to try that.

We tried eggplant one time and all ten of us hated it. The dogs wouldn't even eat it, and it was buried in cheese. I want to try it again since that was about thirty years ago and maybe our tastes have changed. I can't decide how to make it that would be the tastiest. Will have to look into that. Maybe grilling it after soaking in some kind of marinade.
 
#37 ·
Start small - take an eggplant and dice it up in small cubes (you can peel or leave the skin on- I LIKE the skin so I leave it. You guys might want it peeled. Use a potato peeler it's easiest)... heat up some olive oil and toss in the plant. Season with the garlic, chili powders & pepper (you might also like salt but I hate salt so I never use it in anything) and then just saute the plant until it is soft.
 
#41 ·
I LOVE eggplant. Whenever I eat it, it makes my mouth itch. I guess I must be slightly allergic to it, but I still like it.
 
#42 ·
Just came in from spending the past hour weeding the walkways of the garden. (Gosh, am I out of shape- lol)

Looks like the beds will be dry enough to till on Wed if we don't get any rain (or little rain) before then.

I have already informed the dh that he is helping on the tilling this year (he is less than thrilled)
 
#43 ·
Spent an hour tilling after work.

The weather was fabulous today. Got to about 67, sunny & not an ounce of wind to be felt. Here I was on my hands & knees out there in the garden on Feb 28th @ 6pm in nothing but a long sleeve shirt. (Well, I had pants on too- lol, I think you get the point)...haha

We have a chance of heavy rainstorms tonight and although I had not an ounce of energy to give I went out there anyway and got the project started. I am hoping the rain misses us because we are supposed to hit 71 degrees tomorrow and I have the day off so it would be a perfect day to get some real work done.
 
#44 ·
So far we have blackeyed peas, yellow squash, green beans (pole and bush), mustard, collards, scallions and lima beans coming up in our garden and raised beds. We have muscadine grape vines on our fence. We have blackberries on 2 other fences. We just purchased 2 little fig trees and a little banana tree (these will not produce for about 3-4 years, but we have them). I also have 4 big boy heirloom tomato plants and a lot of herbs planted.

We will be planting some more of each soon to have more coming in after the first crop comes in.

We also are going to buy some fishing worms from Walmart and put them in a tub in the backyard and feed them cornmeal and fruit & vegetable scraps. That way we will have some good dirt for the garden and also fishing worms for catching fish.

Man, I wished I had about 5 acres of land. If I did, I would have some goats, chickens, a cow and a pig too. But we only have our yard here in the city, so need to make the most of it. From now on, if anything gets planted, it better produce something to eat. No more yard plants.

Oh, we also just added a rainbarrel for collecting water to use during our DRY months around here.
 
#45 ·
From now on, if anything gets planted, it better produce something to eat. No more yard plants.

Oh, we also just added a rainbarrel for collecting water to use during our DRY months around here.
Wow- you guys are doing great so far.

That's my new motto - If we can't eat it, I am not planting it and caring for it all summer long - everything is going to have to start earning it's keep around here (hubby- where are you- lol???)

I really should do some rain barrels myself. I am so afraid we are going to have some crazy hot dry summer this year. The weather has been so unpredictable anymore. Last year we lost all the crops to too much rain... this year we will probably scorch them. Or the bugs will eat them coz of the warm winter we had and no freezes to kill them off. The vets around here are already saying that our fleas are going to be really bad for the animals. UGH!

Which reminds me that I need to order flea meds tomorrow- thanks!...See how this all works out...people, helping people...haha
 
#46 ·
Our vets told us they're seeing a lot of tick-borne illnesses this WINTER. That was the first thing they tested for when we took our sick dog in last week.

Keep in mind we are in northern Minnesota.

We've already started Frontlining our dogs and cat.
 
#47 ·
The mention of ticks makes me nervous. My DH was infected twice last gardening season and he has not looked good since. He's aged from it, I swear, you can see it all over him. :(

So I pulled up a Q & A page from our favorite garden supply place. I thought it might be of some interest to some here on this thread.

<b>Let’s Tackle Ticks!</b>
 
#48 ·
I have a much bigger garden this year. It's been tilled, weeded, and planted. So far I've put in mustard greens, two kinds of turnips, onion, potatoes, and sugar snap peas, but I have more to plant later. I'll be adding tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, cowpeas, peppers (various kinds), cukes, brussel sprouts,yellow squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, and possibly watermelon. I have plans for three seasons of plantings til the fall. We still have a chance of frost so I can't plant anything else til April.

By the way, you can plant potatoes in used tires. My Dad has done that several times. I have mine planted in a raised bed.
 
#49 ·
I went out and took some pics of our "Green Acres" just to watch the progression.

Picture 1 shows our ground crop: Blackeyes (cowpeas) and squash then our raised beds.

Picture 2 shows the raised beds with a little fig tree in the front.

Picture 3 shows our little banana tree. The ground around it marked by the water hose will be tilled up today to be able to transplant the herbs to when they get big enough.

Picture 4 shows our rain barrel. Not sure if it is good enough but it looks ok. We put screening on the top so I am not sure if that is ok or not.

Also, note the clothes hanging out on the line. Yeah!
 
#50 ·
Love the table gardens. I want to make some more of those myself.

Check into whether or not it's safe to use your roof run-off water to water veggies. You may prefer to use that water only for flowers. There is a lot of info online.
 
#51 ·
Thanks SD. I thought about the roof runoff when we were installing it, but have not thought about it any more. I do need to go into the websites and read up on rain barrels further. Thanks for reminding me. I hope all the hard work installing guttering, etc was not in vain. Hmmmmmm.
 
#52 ·
Thanks again SD.
According to an article (that I can't get to attach on this thread) DO NOT use roof runoff on fruits and vegetables.


Trees and flowers, OK. Vegetables and fruit, NOT OK.
 
#54 ·
It rained like crazy last night and the ground was a soggy mess this morning. No tilling for sure.

Later this afternoon I went out and spread peat moss on the tilled & un-tilled beds. I used up what I had from last year and need more. But I put on my thinking cap on how to not have to buy anything. I went in and called the local rabbit rescue and asked them if I could have some POOP and they said "sure, take ALL the POOP you want" - woohoo! (Actually I started looking for horse manure but the rabbit rescue is in more dire need to get rid of THEIR poop so I am taking theirs)... (and YES, I researched rabbit poop for the garden and decomposed (not fresh) is excellent. And they have plenty of decomposed they said.

Then I weeded & tidied up some beds that used to house shrubs and flowers that are going to become edible beds this year. Every bed is going to work this year.

Tomorrow after work I am going to get my POOP! (Never thought I would be so excited about POOP)...But now I don't have to buy any peat....weeee.....
 
#55 ·
I just learned a new planting trick and I am so excited about it!

I have a really hard time when the new seedlings are coming up telling which is the plant and what are weeds. So I am sure when I am weeding that I am pulling half the seedlings back up (ok, ok - I told you I was a challenged gardener)...

Here's what I am going to do:

I posted about the home made seed tapes. They will give me my straight lines when I plant. Then the rest of the bed will be covered in a thin layer of newspaper (except for the seed lines) and then covered with a thin layer of topsoil. Then the weeks cannot come up and the paper will eventually decompose and all I am left with is little baby seedlings.

How easy is that....
 
#56 ·
I posted about the home made seed tapes. They will give me my straight lines when I plant. Then the rest of the bed will be covered in a thin layer of newspaper (except for the seed lines) and then covered with a thin layer of topsoil. Then the weeks cannot come up and the paper will eventually decompose and all I am left with is little baby seedlings.
Use several layers of newspaper. Then cover the newspaper with straw or grass clippings. If you put a thin layer of topsoil on top of the newspaper, then it is possible to get weeds on top of your newspaper layer. I been picking the brains of two people I know who have wonderful productive gardens locally.
 
#57 ·
I plan on starting my garden in about three weeks, and I am going to get lot's of horse poop, because here in Northern Ohio there is lot's of clay. The clay gives everything a wonderful flavor, but it doesn't drain well and some plants does not grow well in it without compost and other nutrients.
We really enjoy our garden. The girls use it as an excuse to get a tan because they wear their swimsuits to pick beans, tomatoes, squash, and whatever else I plant. I do the weeding while they do the picking, and I enjoy the scenery!
 
#59 ·
I think the not using the rain water that you collected on your plants is all gonna depend on what kind of roof material you have. We have metal roofing so no reason not to use it. In fact that is all i have used so far to get my seeds started this year.

Also for the pp that had the raised garden tables what do you have for bottoms in them??? TIA
 
#60 ·
Roofing material is one part of the concern with using roof run-off. There are other factors such as pollution. Anything that lands on the roof is going to go into the water, and then into the plants and into the food.

We used old doors for the bottom of our table gardens. Doubt they'll last as long as good sturdy 2x lumber. Don't use anything pressure treated.
 
#63 ·
Roofing material is one part of the concern with using roof run-off. There are other factors such as pollution. Anything that lands on the roof is going to go into the water, and then into the plants and into the food.
If one thinks this through... about pollution.....then any water falling from the sky lands on our plants and then into the food. It doesn't stay on the roof very long. Just over thinking here....don't mind me :)

( We promise not to kill the messenger )
 
#61 ·
I dont see any difference of having in a garden and all airborne things getting on your plants. There are people that drink rain water collection so i figure if they use it for drinking i can use it to water..lol but of course i have a metal roof. I put poop on my garden so what about poop that you mix into your garden?? do you know what that animal ate? was it packed full of hormones?? yes making compost gets hot but not hot enough to kill everything~
 
#70 ·
It's the abestos in the old roofing shingles that was causing all the problems with catching rainwater off the roof. Not dirt & pollution from the air or roof itself.
 
#62 ·
Don't kill the messenger! I only mentioned it in the interest of awareness so people can make an informed choice by researching it for themselves. I know it's something I didn't think of when we were thinking about a catchment system.

I don't always go by what others do. Lots of people do lots of really stupid things. I don't have anyone in mind with that observation, just sayin'.
 
#65 ·
Well i was really just trying to figure out the thinking in the pollen, dust things like that that lands on a roof would land on plants too...lol. I just think the stuff we plant our food in may not be that great either...lol I really wasnt trying to be pissy about it i was really truely just wondering..lol
 
#67 ·
Well......getting off the rain from the roof discussion.

The garden beds that are shown in my pictures have 2x4's for the frame with plywood as the base. We have holes drilled in the plywood for drainage. Then we have the black weed barrier on the bottom of the garden soil.

There are also black hoses in the dirt with misters on the side of each table for irrigation.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top