Our Veggie Gardens!

[COorganics]

Indoors or out? Indoors one huge bed with multiple plants and blumats sounds like a wonderful idea. Outdoors I wanna do nothing but hugelkultur beds, which shouldn't require the waterings anyhow.

The idea of blumats is very sound I think. I like hand watering though. Keeps me in tune with the garden, and is quality chill time.

 

[COorganics]

I'm leaning towards not doing an indoor hugelkultur bed, because of the lack of watering needed. I would have a hard time just leaving everything alone. And maybe over water since I like to soak my soil with various teas at different times.

Definitely about to build one or two outside for some veggies, will put some pics up here soon. Snowy today though, winter is not over yet.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Biggest rototiller I could rent arrives in 2 hours. Garden shall be laid out today and fenced up tomorrow I shall share pics.

 

[Dutty Panty]

I'm leaning towards not doing an indoor hugelkultur bed, because of the lack of watering needed. I would have a hard time just leaving everything alone. And maybe over water since I like to soak my soil with various teas at different times.

Definitely about to build one or two outside for some veggies, will put some pics up here soon. Snowy today though, winter is not over yet.

I've been over to your thread and seen 36Gr0w's bed. I'm going to do two I believe

 

[36Gr0w]

I bet you can get some good wood near the slough.

 

[Dutty Panty]

I bet you can get some good wood near the slough.

You know every year the farmers are digging up trees full trees that have been buried under these fields since the island wasn't a island when it was a delta for the river before they diked it. So wonder how good that stuff would be??

Yeah there's s ton down there. I'll be taking a look today

 

[36Gr0w]

Ya those buried decomposing logs are perfect. Mix some in at other stages of decomposition and it will be awesome.

 

[SweetSue]

You know every year the farmers are digging up trees full trees that have been buried under these fields since the island wasn't a island when it was a delta for the river before they diked it. So wonder how good that stuff would be??

Yeah there's s ton down there. I'll be taking a look today

Wow, Dutty. They would be an awesome addition to a bed. Wow!

 

[COorganics]

Ya those buried decomposing logs are perfect. Mix some in at other stages of decomposition and it will be awesome.

Yup. Good advice.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Before

And after

There's still fencing and much much more to do. On that south end by the big big field will be a deep hole for my pumpkin mix.

So trelesis have been ordered well material to make them. And fencing stuff is getting picked up early tomorrow morning. F u rabbits. Oh and slugs ducks shall be there soon

 

[Dutty Panty]

So I did the math and theres really close to 200 cu ft of fox farm ocean forest that has been dumped after 1 cycle.

 

[Dutty Panty]

1820sq ft perimeter. Tilled beds over 700sq ft

 

[SweetSue]

Get ready for a serious canning season. The joys of putting food by.

 

[Dutty Panty]

I talked to helping hands food bank a few weeks back and a big chunk over 50% is going there. 36Gr0w and I intend to compete at county fairs together (2) rest to family and friends. I still need to learn to can but I'm a pretty quick study.

 

[MassMedMan]

Very nice my friend, very nice. I'm really hoping to get there in September to check it out firsthand.

 

[36Gr0w]

Hope you can make it!

 

[COorganics]

I was gonna learn to can, but isn't root cellaring the veggies better for preserving their nutritional value and flavor? At my house we're just gonna try and root cellar everything or blanch/vacuum seal and freeze others. Fresh(ish) veggies in March would be great!

I really enjoyed this read on root cellaring. It's thorough yet very easy to read.

Root Cellars - Hobby Farms

Edit: And according to this: Nutritional value of canned versus fresh: Is there a susbstantial difference in vitamins and mineral values of canned foods, compared to fresh?
Canning your veggies at home isn't hurting their nutritional value, or flavor, if we do it right. Sorry, I was about to perpetuate a myth that I had been sold on, apparently.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Good read there. I'm still gonna try and learn to can.

Already plan on blanching my corn then vacumn seal it and freeze.

 

[MassMedMan]

One thing I've learned over the years about canning is it's better to use a pressure cooker opposed to hot water bathing. By better I mean you retain more of the nutrients and flavor. Plus, it's faster, burn less fossil fuels doing it, and did I say it was faster! And typically, when I'm canning it's August when the house is hot enough, and I'm not fond of running AC to cool my house because I've been running boiling water on the stove all day.

Last year I canned forty pints of salsa, and then eight quarts. Plus, another sixteen quarts of processed tomatoes, and with my pressure canner I was able to do that in less than half the time it took the year prior doing much less. Oh, and I did some pickles.

For a quart of processed tomatoes in a hot water bath (oh, and I have to fill the pot way more with this method, longer to heat and it takes more energy) it takes 45 minutes of boiling. In a pressure cooker, one tenth of the water to heat, and a quart of tomatoes takes fifteen minutes. And, you can taste the difference, and see a more colorful finished product. Higher brix that's a shout out to Doc!

But, I'll read up on that method you dropped COorganics, because I love learning new methods for my tool box!

 

[Dutty Panty]

Got me a pressure canner/cooker my late father in law even had a canning area in that big barn in the old walk in cooler room.