Growing your own food: Who Does it, how, and organic or conventional methods?

[tuffcity]

In the Yukon and I don't heat and usually plant the green house end of May or early June depending on what kind of spring we're having. This past year we had frost until the beginning of June and the first one at the end of August. The greenhouse keeps the frost off the plants - except for the beds beside the plastic- for quite awhile. As of today (Sept 18) it's still frost free for most plants. and the peppers are doing well.

My g'house is about 30'X 40" with a dual liner that is kept separated by a couple of air blowers.

This unit has motorized sides as it gets stinking hot in there some days (like 100F+)

This year we grew peppers (bell and jalapenos) carrots, parsnips, beans, peas, beets, tomatoes, zuccini, herbs, onions, pumpkins. A few years ago I successfully grew cantaloupe as well.

The picture is from about a month ago.

 

[Button]

I mostly grow cacti and veggies. I’m about to till a new patch of ground and just built a raised bed. For potato’s I like growing them in 25 gallon cattle feed tubs. I find it easier to harvest them vs in ground. I might make raises bed for potatoes that I can remove the sides.

 

[doc holiday13]

To further expound on my previous post. I'm working a 1/2 acre. My house and detached garage are on this. I can't say my garden hasn't had issues this year. My home garden consist of a 30x50, 3-4x8 raised beds, a 5x60 stretch along the fence line, and misc fruit trees. o In the past 5 years, I've dropped about 10 tons of manure and 15 tons of chipped trees into the garden. I've reached a point of needing to drop probably 1/2 ton of lime.
My wife is the primary planner of flowers, vegetables, etc. I'm mostly "consulted" and put in the heavy lifting work. We can, pickle, ferment, and dry on top of eating the fresh. Why? Its a variety of reasons. Health and food quality are our primary goals. Vegetables from the store severely lack in flavor and nutritional values when compared to quality grown vegetables. Some stuff we grow for experiments "because it would be fun". I've been growing massive hops for the last couple years. I'm also propogating fig trees so that I can produce enough for dry storage. Our food storage is a max 2 years out dealio. The 2 year items are condiment type things like jellies jams and dried items like tomatoes and peppers.

We definitely eat beyond what our income allows because we grow so much and I kill enough wild game

 

[Tradchef]

I’m in 4B in montana. We do all natural and organic gardening for veggies and herbs. I raise egg layers on non gmo, no soy or corn, all free range and sell eggs, I raise broilers on the same and sell those as well. Lots of ferments with our veggies and foraged edibles, kombuchas and lots of canning with veg, Jams and meats. Just did this batch of broilers yesterday. Had a long restaurant week and took Sunday to butcher so I could get a day or two to hunt.

 

[Button]

To further expound on my previous post. I'm working a 1/2 acre. My house and detached garage are on this. I can't say my garden hasn't had issues this year. My home garden consist of a 30x50, 3-4x8 raised beds, a 5x60 stretch along the fence line, and misc fruit trees. o In the past 5 years, I've dropped about 10 tons of manure and 15 tons of chipped trees into the garden. I've reached a point of needing to drop probably 1/2 ton of lime.
My wife is the primary planner of flowers, vegetables, etc. I'm mostly "consulted" and put in the heavy lifting work. We can, pickle, ferment, and dry on top of eating the fresh. Why? Its a variety of reasons. Health and food quality are our primary goals. Vegetables from the store severely lack in flavor and nutritional values when compared to quality grown vegetables. Some stuff we grow for experiments "because it would be fun". I've been growing massive hops for the last couple years. I'm also propogating fig trees so that I can produce enough for dry storage. Our food storage is a max 2 years out dealio. The 2 year items are condiment type things like jellies jams and dried items like tomatoes and peppers.

We definitely eat beyond what our income allows because we grow so much and I kill enough wild game

That’s awesome. I was just looking into growing hops. I don’t drink beer but I’d like to make some for fun. I’m planning on have a new garden in spring.

 

[doc holiday13]

That’s awesome. I was just looking into growing hops. I don’t drink beer but I’d like to make some for fun. I’m planning on have a new garden in spring.

I'd call or email a hop distributor. I don't know how well they'd grow in TX. Not saying its not possible but they love cooler temperatures. There might be a variety that'll grow down your way

You'll definitely want to start a hop bind/root in a large flower pot before moving to planting in the ground.

 

[Stache Attack]

I think this thread should keep going as we are getting near spring in zone 4 and pry started for others! Wife has worked in the hydroponic industry and I am an agronomist primarily with conventional AG in a no till small grains and pulse crop area. We do use some synthetic fertilizer and I spray for mustards around the garden early spring. Besides that use mechanically and pulling for weed management. Thinking we will build a green house on our new place along with containers, raised beds, and straight in the dirt. Have 14 chickens too that love scraps! I’ll have to check out some of those greenhouse books above! Our starts downstairs are getting bigger than we’d want but after 76 Tuesday it’s snowing yesterday and today

 

[FLATHEAD]

Planted tomatoes, peppers and pole beans last weekend.
Still getting a spot ready for okra and Mexican summer
squash that will be on a trellis. All heirloom stuff.
15 peeps in the brooder. They will provide the fertilizer soon.
Also have a 55 gallon swamp tea barrel out at the pole barn.
The only water that goes in it is rain.
Compost pile with grass clippings, veggie scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds.
Pesticide comes in the form of Neem Oil, mechanical removal and an air rifle.

 

[twofer]

My wife keeps chickens. We get all the "free" eggs we want. Just walk out into the back yard for fresh eggs everyday.

 

[yfarm]

Zone 9 in Texas, plant the first week of February, usually to tomatoes to pick within 8 weeks, continue through September when planted in the ground which is dredged soil-sand and clay. Pot grown the plants die by mid July regardless of water, suspect the soil temperature gets too high compared with in ground. Expanded this year to green beans, squash and zucchini. Tomato growth rate with the same soil and water conditions is 10x the other plants, apparently thrives in the sand- clay mixture adjacent to but 3 ft elevated from salt water. Tomato plants are currently 4-5 ft tall.