Gardening in 2016

Just a bit,don't much space to use>planning make a couple raised beds using old skids,find some plastic barrels

If you can with the smaller space, really use your season extenders and replant, replant as much as possible, put those big space eaters into their own five gallon buckets and keep the roots, and climbers that you can make vertical feet in the smaller beds and they will produce like a house of fire.

I plan to, don't have space in the back yard.But plan to make some raised beds,using Wicking beds idea and making bed out of used skids because their free around here.The hardest part will be sanding the skids,because we just rent here so have to make them really nice so the landlord does not freak.
? one bed I'm planning so for potatoes.it's in Mid shade area 2 ft X 20 ft would that be good for one row,but not I'm make Wick Bed for them,just raised so I don't drown them.

I am in zone 5 and its time!!

Time to start those long season leeks and onion seeds..

What are you starting this week?

Do you have indoor lighting set up? if so.. what does it look like? How big?

Do you winter sow? if so are you preparing you tubs or containers? Lets see some and what you use to do it?

Are you in one of those areas that you are starting pea's?

My small winter light set up.. It has a top that can grow things, the first shelf is the starting for shorter plants or young seedlings, the bottom shelve has up to 3 times more grow room once the chain is adjusted..

I'm in Barrie which 5B zone
Gonning hold off on seedlings this year,I want to get the skids to build and buckets
Last year and the year before the city had to change the compost days

I have a small garden.I plant for first time some tomatoes,peppers and cucumbers.I will see soon the result but i am really excited 🙂

Our 2016 garden did not bad-were in the foothills and had some impressive hail this year but it has survived through it.
I'm happy with the results thus far! We keep the bee's in the back of the garden which makes a huge difference!!!

That's some good gardening...love the surrounding forest

Thanks peppercorn! We love the woods too! The root veggies are fairly easy to grow in this region but the longer season veggies are a challenge. Not impossible...but a challenge!

Great looking garden, thanks so much for the photo.. Liking the hoop houses to be.. extending the season's is a great way to go for sure.

farmgal: Great website! http://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/ Wonderful recipes. Beautiful Pictures! Intelligent Blogging. How do you do it?
That must take some serious time and thought and effort. Wow! Kudos. And now a question. My crops cringed in this drought. How about yours?
I read that the water table is very low too. Then what? The only bumper crop was my Chinese bitter melon. Oh joy. Is this drought long term, like Cali?
I am fretting at rethinking my entire crop plan for next year. Out with Beefsteak, In with miniature tomatoes. What do you think/predict farmgal??

hi reddawn

First thanks, glad you like my website, I do my best to blog regular but there are times that I do need to put down the blog for a day or week and getter done, but most of the time I try an do a daily post, the camera comes with me as I go and I tend to blog at my 9ish coffee break or at least start it then, after morning chores are done etc

as my writer hubby (one of his many jobs) says, I write enough words yearly on the blog to be a full length novel 🙂

thought this season you will have seen be talk about the drought, we added in a 2000 gallon tub and had it filled a number of times 4 so far this summer, our pasture was done by first of aug an they had to go to hay early, coming into a month of harvest posts, you see me talking about a) harvest losses, on the sunflower post, should have had 120 head approx. an I got eight small ones, talking about those that did well, its a grape year, locally the grapes have been extra fine, talking about so many things being so far ahead due to the drough, four to six weeks ahead (wild harvest-forage plants) or so far behind- domestic crops in garden that did not really start growing for weeks late and now will not finish in time for fall..

water table is down but weather patterns are all over the place.. last drought year was 2012 an not as bad, I think right now it will run in a cycle, and what I think an prodict is a) get a small greenhouse or hoop house so you can grow even a small amount in controlled way, b) plan at least a part of your garden for drought, my hugelbeds with their wood bases have rocked both drought and been my heaviest producers on dry years c) raised beds are kicking on normal an wet years but on dry years in ground planting with swells to catch and hold any water you get is needed.. d) use the honey pot inground method or the keystone method above ground with a watering tube it make a huge difference

e) plan a two year garden pantry at a min and most important, be willing to go without the wants for the needs, no one local could grow carrots for love nor money, even our turnips bolted and most of us lost our sweet corns but beans, beets and potatos.. we all got them.. normally I do a min of 500 plus in squash, I planted this year for 500 to 1000 pounds I am going to get 100 if lucky but I have at least 50 jars left from last year and at least a hundred pound dried and jarred up.. not happy about it but will make due

last tip, I have collected thousands of the hardy wild seeds for fresh green this year, normally raddish an mustard seeds from the garden make up the bulk of my greens in winter for seeds but this year, wild forage seed is replacing because that's what I have got..

"I planted this year for 500 to 1000 pounds I am going to get 100 if lucky" WoW! At least you have some. Most of my tomatoes were a bust.
Yes, a greenhouse seems to be a Must. It also helps guard against pests and animals. Much better yield in a greenhouse, and variety of veggies.
Chinese bitter melon, Peppers, Tomatoes, etc, love the heat and humidity of a greenhouse. Thanks for the very informative reply!:)
I wrote Topic BPA just now. When you get a chance, let me know what you think.
Portal » Board index ‹ Survival, Prepardness, and Sustainable Living topics ‹ Food and Water ‹ Food Storage - BPA

So.. I experimented this year with different growing mediums. The great wooden potatoe towers and tire towers were a complete bust. Barely a colander full of very small spuddies..bah! Every raised bed ( with the exception of the tomatoes and rainbow chard) was also dire. Too hot, too fast.
Right now Im laying down a "back to Eden" set up and letting the chickens roam all over it before it gets to wet and cold.
On a brighter note - in doing some land clearing yesterday we found a mature Italian plum with some beautiful fruit that is almost ready ( only been here 3 years and never seen it before). And it's right next to a very mature Hazelnut tree that we didn't know we had either. This is the first year we've had any pears on the tree too so,not a total disaster.

Hey Dolly, Its been a killer year in the gardens that's for sure, So many things would not start and many more are underproducing in a big way.. Aug thankfully has been a better month so the length of the fall will tell the tale on what the final outcome is.. will let you know.

Congrats on the fruit trees, very good.. hmm plum and great find on the hazelnut.. so grand.. and fresh ripen pears are a delight for sure.. Where did you get the wood chips from? and where you able to do so a free or a reasonable price? I hope so.. I have heard good things about it.