Garden 2022

[tactical_2012]

Already starting to think of my Garden this year. Has anyone ever planted mustard to harvest for mustard seed? Seems like it would be a good shtf crop as greens are edible and you can harvest the seed. Doing a bit of research seems like it is a fast growing plant. Just curious about harvesting for seed.

[DFBrews]

Yes accidentally. 2 seasons ago I made a bunch of German and French mustard and in process spilled a mason jar full of raw seeds on the kitchen floor one day.

I swept and tossed it in the back yard it?s a weed I still have more mustard plants than I can Deal with. They are delicious I harvest dry then winnow the seeds with a box fan and pillow case

[TheGrey]

I'm going to chime in and continue this thread of the 2022 gardens.

My yard is not really conducive to a traditional garden- it's in a suburb, and the back yard has a slope that seems to get worse with every passing year. The backyard is crisscrossed with electrical wires, gas, cable, and who knows what else. There's no HOA, so this year I'm going to be planting in everything from 5-gallon buckets to grow bags. Considering the likelihood of this drought continuing, everything will be self-wicking. I've been researching and watching a ton of Youtube videos on various techniques, and I've picked up fertilizers, coconut coir, grow lights and so on. I've got seeds for all sorts of plants, and I've got sweet potatoes and russets growing slips. To say I'm going balls to the wall this year is a bit of an understatement.

Who else has ramped up their gardening plans this year?

[tactical_2012]

Glad to hear your expanding and trying new things. The last 2 years I have used a woven fabric like they use in commercial greenhouses which really help the ground retain moisture. I have gotten 2 years out of the material and planned to use it for a 3rd year. Last year i ran soak hoses under it along each row and hooked them up to hose bib timer. I didn't have to do anything but tie up the tomatoes and pick the several hundred pounds of vegetables we harvested. The garden is roughly 24ft x 40ft and I planned on doubling it and adding a Strawberry patch. But to due a major injury to my leg in the fall which I'm still recovering from I don't think I will even be able to do a garden

[hollohas]

My yard is not really conducive to a traditional garden- it's in a suburb,

I'm glad you're not letting that stop you. You can get a TON of food in the suburbs with above ground beds and containers. I have a tiny yard and grow hundreds of pounds of food each year. I've spent the time over the years to identify the varieties that thrive in the microclimate of my yard, the type of gardening I can do in my yard and the growing season we have here. I even grow CORN in whiskey barrels! And not tiny suburban corn you see in a typical backyard. Look at how tall the corn is!

Here are some pictures taken of the last many years. Pictures you see of piles of veggies are typical harvests every few days or so during the height of the season. Like the picture of the cucumbers is what I picked DAILY last year, for weeks. That was without a trellis. I ended up with around 130lbs of cucumbers last year.

I move things around each year like a mini crop rotation but grow where I have good sun.

Right seeds, good sun, right water, right nutrients, you can grow anywhere.

[hollohas]

Here's an example of tomatoes in a 4x6 raised bed. With the proper varieties, this small area produces enough tomatoes to eat everyday, can dozens and dozens of jars of tomatoes and salsa AND give away grocery bags full to neighbors and friends. These plants are about 6ft tall.

[DFBrews]

Here's an example of tomatoes in a 4x6 raised bed. With the proper varieties, this small area produces enough tomatoes to eat everyday, can dozens and dozens of jars of tomatoes and salsa AND give away grocery bags full to neighbors and friends. These plants are about 6ft tall.

Well done. How many hours a week on average do you spend in the garden during peak time?

[hollohas]

Well done. How many hours a week on average do you spend in the garden during peak time?

Once established, 30mins/day. Maybe a couple hours on the weekend to get some pruning done. That's with automatic watering via soaker hose for the beds and micro sprayers in the buckets.

Doesn't even take that much more before it's established. Just have to spend a few weekend days getting soil turned, hoses down, hoops setup and it all planted. Then wait.

One of the most important things I do is keep it all covered with clear plastic. I open the plastic when the late afternoons start to get hot, but cover again at night until the plants physically can't fit anymore. Early summers can be cool which slows growth and the hail can ruin an entire growing season. Keep everything covered, keep it safe and warm and you'll boost growth.

PS - I don't particularly enjoy gardening, I just enjoy homegrown food. So anything I can do to reduce work, I do. Like last year I didn't even trellis my cucumbers, just let them go wild all over the ground. They loved it and less work for me.

Here's a leaf from last year's ground cuke's. Healthy beasts.

[TheGrey]

tactical_2012: Do you think that worked better for you than mulch? I was initially planning on just mulching the daylights out of the beds with chopped up leaves, so they would break down slowly. I'm sorry that you might not get to garden this year! What if you were to just stick with a few containers that wouldn't force you to bend or strain your leg? I've got strawberries coming the middle of the month. I'm also planting a distraction garden/bunny garden so I actually have a chance against Mother Nature this year.

Hollohas: Those photos are positively inspiring. How many tomato plants did you end up growing? I tried growing tomatoes in Walmart bags, set in a kiddie pool that I kept about two inches of water. I learned a lot that year- namely yellow jackets are attracted to still water and I needed to add much more nutrients to the soil than I did. I need to grow cukes and squash, but well away from each other or I'll get all sorts of weird fruits.

I desperately want to plant some fruit trees and bushes: Northstar Cherry, plum, and a pear tree (all dwarf size), but until I can actually pay attention to the lighting and successful placement of the rest of the garden so I can plot out the ideal place for them, I'll have to wait until next year.

What are your thoughts on compost tea? Does anyone have a worm bin? We've got a compost bin started (the word 'bin' meaning a fenced-in area of ground) and a leaf mold area started, but that's going to take a while to break down. I have many varieties of carrots that I'm anxious to try, and a zillion varieties of beans. I am polishing my canners. And I keep checking on my potatoes. My stupid Russets rotted and the slips turned pale and keeled over, so I'm left with sweet potatoes under the grow lights.

[hollohas]

I typically grow 6-8 tomato plants.

One of my absolute favorites for canning is called Amish Paste. WAY better than standard Roma. Bigger, more productive, thicker flesh. If you want to can tomatoes, that's one you want to try. It's not uncommon to get Amish Paste tomatoes that are 12+ oz each, and tons of them. Only need a half dozen of them or so to make an entire batch of salsa. (My batches are 6-7 pints). That's how big they run, basically one tomato makes a pint jar of salsa.