Who grows their own food?

Does anyone have any experience with bees or chickens (layers, not broilers)?

I love gardening (I love food!) and I think this is the next step for me.

G
 
gcgcgc said:
Does anyone have any experience with bees or chickens (layers, not broilers)?

I love gardening (I love food!) and I think this is the next step for me.

G
Click to expand...

I would suggest Mother Earth News, There is a wealth of information on that website from gardening to solar power, bees, chickens ect, ect................. too many topics to list.
 
I'm moving into a new place soon and my first order of business for the spring is to clear an area for a nice big garden. It will be my first time attempting to grow food.
I hope to have tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers, and spices like mint, basil, oregano.

I'll keep you guys posted.
 
Putting in our first garden this year.

Gonna get some laying hens as well. Just gotta get the coop built.
 
Hey man I live in Indiana and by gosh stuff grows good here. Best tomatoes on earth grow right here in Indiana...nobody can touch us. Soil, weather, etc. I do here that Tennessee has good tomatoes too.

So yes, I grow tomatoes like crazy. Kale too.
 
HoosierQ said:
Hey man I live in Indiana and by gosh stuff grows good here. Best tomatoes on earth grow right here in Indiana...nobody can touch us. Soil, weather, etc. I do here that Tennessee has good tomatoes too.

So yes, I grow tomatoes like crazy. Kale too.
Click to expand...

Everyone that grows tomatoes thinks they grow the best :D

The secret is getting the right soil PH for that taste and that can be done in a lot of places.
 
gcgcgc said:
Does anyone have any experience with bees or chickens (layers, not broilers)?

I love gardening (I love food!) and I think this is the next step for me.

G
Click to expand...


I don't know about bees. One of my friends has a buut load of hives and sells honey.

What are you needing to know about chickens? I have had a few in my days.


mlrs
 
I have a house in the city so there isn't much room, but between my little plot and a number of pots, I manage to get a decent harvest in. This year, I'm looking at some tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, kale, some hot peppers and a variety of herbs.
 
So, who's got pictures?

SharingtheHarvestaugust2010001.jpg
 
man i wish i could, but i dont have any place for a good crop garden. i remember my grandpas though, he spoiled me on his vegetables. to this day i wont eat a store bought tomato because is think they are such a disappointment compared to a fresh one
 
In years past I've grown sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, onions, various squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins. My parents planted a garden every year for some years because feeding two teenage boys without it would have been expensive. It also taught us a lot about where food comes from, and what goes into it. It was great experience.

I haven't had a garden for a few years, but I still have a bit of land and the equipment to do it if I wanted to. I've been buying my veggies from local farmers (I live in a farm town) the last two or three years, and freezing corn and green beans for the winter (the wife actually blanches and bags the stuff).

I would agree with the assertions that it would be a lot more practical to expect to feed oneself, in a time of shortage, from a garden rather than by hunting alone. In a SHTF situation, every Elmer Fudd wannabe would be storming the state forests in search of supper. After seeing some of the foolishness that I have in firearm deer season, I would have no part in that.

SP
 
I think to growing survival groceries is also not letting anyone know how big of an operation you have going.
 
gcgcgc said:
Does anyone have any experience with bees or chickens (layers, not broilers)?
Click to expand...

When we bought our house last year, I was tempted to herd some bees since the former owners did a great job with their gardening - ensuring one type of flower in blossom constantly from early spring through fall. Unfortunately one of those gorgeous flowering plants is some mountain laurel, and we like the flowers so much, we didn't want to part with 'em to prevent mad honey.

I'm just ramping up my little garden, going to double it in size this year. For tomatoes I'm going to grow garden box romas (great for early-mid season and no concern of blossom end rot) and some sort of beefsteak-type hybrid. Hungarian hot wax peppers are a must. Zucchini - looking for a more compact, bushy hybrid, if anyone knows of any. Tons of basil for pesto. Probably green beans (not sure if I want pole or bush). Unfortunately the wife's not a big fan of cold winter veggies or I'd go mad with kale and greens.
 
R.A.T. said:
I think to growing survival groceries is also not letting anyone know how big of an operation you have going.
Click to expand...

I agree. Preventing notice/Protecting your crops would be an integral part of survival farming. My parents own quite a plot of land (in NE sizes) which gives us family a lot opportunities we wouldn't have otherwise, including the tools and know-how to shelter it from others.
 
Forgot to mention I have a peach tree and I planted some fig clippings last fall - hopefully they take - or I will be the most pathetic excuse for a wannabe farmer ever.
 
I usually always plant a garden every year. Where I live in the SJ Valley the soil and weather are so good most any idiot can grow a nice garden. I usually have, tomatoes, bell peppers, different spicy peppers, squash, zuchinni, and what ever seems good at the time of planting. Corn is sooo plentiful and cheap to buy from any farmer here it's easier to drive 5 minutes and get it from their driveway.
 
Used to raise and keep layer chickens years ago growing up. When they quit laying eggs, their status went to "in the freezer.";) Had leghorns, dominiques, and raised Sears "Super Chicks" that would come in a box of 25 -- only one always turned out to be a rooster.

Gardening each year now. Tomatoes, different kinds of peppers, okra, pole beans, potatoes, yellow and zucchini squash, cucumbers, egg plant, purple hull peas.

There are so many deer here I have used a white mason string approx. 18 inches above the ground tied to stakes around the border of the garden, and attached plastic grocery bags. The deer blindly run into the string and it spooks them off... or the wind blows the bags and the noise that it makes keeps them away. It has worked for a couple years in a row now.

I've kept rabbits and deer out in the past with a spray I used to be able to buy. Later I just mixed up 4 eggs to a quart of water and sprayed it on the border of a garden after each rain and it worked. There are so many raccoons that attack any corn planted that it has just become a waste of time to deal with, plus the local Amish have great corn to buy.

Now the recently arrived armadillos are rootin up the yard at night for grubs, etc.! Might be some dead varmits in the yard real soon. :D
 
sharpandsafe said:
I do!!!

I live in coastal California where we have a "year-round" growing season. I have been enjoying winter greens (mustard and kale) lately, and I can't wait to experiment with some new varieties of heirloom tomato this summer.

I do it 'cause I am a hippy at heart and it relaxes me, gives me a chance to be outside, it's a project that I can see quick results from (over a few months), and provides food that is much higher quality than available at grocery stores.

What about you?
Click to expand...

I am an anti-hippy at heart, yet grow a bunch a veggies on my 29 acres, and plan on having lamb and goat within the year for my family and a few others. cheers!:thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top