As I've mentioned over on Facebook, my plan this year is to try several different methods for food production. here is what I'm thinking
1) I've got the big veggie plot over at my friends house. It did pretty well last year, but it is still a hassle to get over there except on weekends. That can make for some heavy duty weeding when we do get over there. Water is also an issue. Last year we were very fortunate in that we did get pretty consistant rain. But if not, without the homeowners constant attention, which is not very fair to them, we could have some problems dispite the rain barrel setup. We'll likely use a few rows, but not sure how much. This needs to be worked out with the home owner.
2) There is the back yard that is mainly given over to perennials. There was a very small garden (4x7) that last year provided some tomatoes, a ton of basil, and some entertainment as I constructed a hoop house in the spring and fall.
Yesterday, I took about an hour to dig out all the soil, and cut the boxes in half. Now I have two 4x7 beds to use. I'm planning to take out the stairs so I may orient the boxes in a better manner. That's a project for another day
and 3) I'm planning on doing some SIPs (Sub irrigated planters) also known as earthboxes, or utility bucket SIPs. This should be a fun way to check out this method. Today I purchased a large number of 5 gallon buckets that I'll convert for this purpose (they were on sale)- Watch this space.
Until next time, Keep Digging & Eat Well!
The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
1) I've got the big veggie plot over at my friends house. It did pretty well last year, but it is still a hassle to get over there except on weekends. That can make for some heavy duty weeding when we do get over there. Water is also an issue. Last year we were very fortunate in that we did get pretty consistant rain. But if not, without the homeowners constant attention, which is not very fair to them, we could have some problems dispite the rain barrel setup. We'll likely use a few rows, but not sure how much. This needs to be worked out with the home owner.
2) There is the back yard that is mainly given over to perennials. There was a very small garden (4x7) that last year provided some tomatoes, a ton of basil, and some entertainment as I constructed a hoop house in the spring and fall.
Yesterday, I took about an hour to dig out all the soil, and cut the boxes in half. Now I have two 4x7 beds to use. I'm planning to take out the stairs so I may orient the boxes in a better manner. That's a project for another day
and 3) I'm planning on doing some SIPs (Sub irrigated planters) also known as earthboxes, or utility bucket SIPs. This should be a fun way to check out this method. Today I purchased a large number of 5 gallon buckets that I'll convert for this purpose (they were on sale)- Watch this space.
Until next time, Keep Digging & Eat Well!
The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener
I'm intrigued by the SIPs... In the subject I teach (IT Service Management), an SIP is a Service Improvement Plan!
ReplyDeleteIn construction they are Structural insulated panels! Seems a common acronym!
ReplyDeleteThe SIPs will be a fun project, I'm looking forward to it.