I really am obsessed....

Today was the first day in a very long while that I had just to do whatever the heck it was that I wanted to do, without any outside demands.

So, after I watered my garden, put some laundry away, and washed the dishes, I decided I would spend the afternoon lounging in bed, watching Grey's Anatomy re-runs on DVD, and working on my garden layout for next year....

.. and for 2 solid hours, I worked out next years complete garden layout ( 3 4x4s, and 3 4x8s) along with succession planting so the entire garden will be growing all year.

I also worked out a plan for "edible landscaping", and will be expanding my flower beds to included a super dwarfed bing cherry tree, 2-3 lowbush blueberries, cranberry bushes, black berries, raspberries, and in the partial shade areas.. a shade tolerant goose berry, 2 pawpaw trees (which can get huge, but I keep reading can be trimmed back and kept any size, but I need two for polination, but are good in partial shade, are native, and I have fond memories of them with my grandma when I was a child).

Next afternoon like this, I need to figure out dates I need to be starting seedlings inside for the grid I made up, so that I can have plants ready at the proper time.

I also have a rough plan for a decorative composting area consisting of fencing.... I have limited carpentry skills, but think I might be able to pull this off...

The only other project I have not gotten too this year is to make a sun map of my yard.. I have more shade then sun, and I'd love to have one more 4x8 for veggies, and 1 more 4x8 for medicinal herbs and plants.... I just need to figure out for sure what areas will get 8 hours of sunlight.

So, after I accomplish all of the above, the only things left unaccomplished for my wish list for my yard will be a concord grape arbor and a plum tree.

At that point, if I can figure out how to work those in, I will have maxed out my 1/10 acre plot of ground which is mostly part shade.... then I just need to add 3-4 back yard chickens in a portable coup, a beehive, and maybe some rabbits which are a great source of manure for the garden....

If you are gonna dream, you might as well dream big. I have no dreams of riches or glory.... just a mini backyard homestead, and the ability to produce a bit more of what I consume.

Itsablondething:

It all sounds good to me!

I always feel it is fun to think ahead and go big...sometimes it just takes awhile til you get there but what's the rush?

It may be a dream now but it all will become reality.

My dream was to have a rain barrel for mother's day. Instead I received a small box and said I guess it's not my rain barrel. My kids and hubby got me a nook which is wonderful.

But I guess I just have to either make one or just go out and buy one.

Your garden plans look wonderful. Keep obsessing - we all do!

Dunkinjean

Don't forget bunnies are good eating.

shannon1 wrote:Don't forget bunnies are good eating.

Not after you've called them Mabel and Gertrude for a couple years, along with affectionate hugs and nose kisses!



J/K Wild bunnies are good.

boffer wrote:

shannon1 wrote:Don't forget bunnies are good eating.

Not after you've called them Mabel and Gertrude for a couple years, along with affectionate hugs and nose kisses!



J/K Wild bunnies are good.

That's the trouble when it becomes personal. I can understand why kids burst into tears when they are told that this was Mabel or Gertrude.

I have eaten someone else's bunnies raised for meat, but don't think I could eat my own.

I would have to be REALLY hungery to eat a 2yr old rabbit.

LOL. I have eaten rabbit more than once in my lifetime.. but I am not sure I could actually kill and eat one I raised myself.

With our wonderful gardens, who needs to eat meat?

Besides, more and more research shows how detrimental meat is to our bodies and the planet.

Protein sources are easily obtained from a plant-based diet.

While I am completely supportive of people who choose a vegetarian lifestyle, and also believe that research does indeed prove that mass produced modern meat is detrimental to our health, I do not think a vegetarian lifestyle is beneficial for everyone health nor does research bear out that grass fed pastured beef, or other meat animals raised free range and functioning in the way nature/God intended them to be is unhealthy (just like the nutrition in veggies goes up when we grown them the way intended by nature rather than dumping chemicals on them and modifying them.) Ample analysis shows grass fed (beef wasn't actually intended to eat corn) is lower in fat, calories, and has a beneficial fatty acid profile. Just like eggs from chickens allowed a free range lifestyle and diet consisting of insects and plants in addition to feed have a higher nutrition profile and lower cholesterol level (which interestingly enough, there are no studies showing a conclusive link between dietary cholesterol and our cholesterol levels except in diabetic females) than those raised in pens without room to move and only get antibiodic laced feed.

I personally have tried a vegetarian diet, making sure ALL my protein needs were "met' and felt sluggish and horrible on it. My mother followed.. strictly.. Dr. Dean Ornish's vegetarian diet for over a year and felt so horrid and listless she had to go off of it, and adding just about 4 oz. of meat to her diet made a HUGE difference. She doesn't eat much meat. But it makes a world of difference. I struggle with my weight, and as soon as I start relying on beans, whole grains, soy products (which dont' agree with me) as a protein source, I swell up, gain weight, and can barely get out of bed in the morning. If I focus on meats, veggies, and fruits, my weight drops like a rock, and I have tons of energy.

There are definately also cultures that have traditionally lived on nothing but flesh and fat (think Eskimos) and had extremely low rates of disease. And many snow bound cultures lived on meats and leafy greens, because the carb sources that also provide proteins were not available to them.. and they had lower disease rates.

I am a proponent of animals having a decent lifestyle, and to live the way intended, which is why I source locally and can walk or drive to any of the farms I purchase my grass fed beef, pastured pork, and free range chickens, all fed organically and without hormones or pesticides, and live in sunshine and ample space. Granted, this took an entire revamp of my budget to allow for this, because this is not cheap!

But I can absolutely not be a proponent of everyone being a vegetarian... there is too much evidence it isn't good for everyone.. That being said, I fully support anyone who wants to , and ask that my extremely thought out and researched choices be respected as well.

Phew... and after saying all that, mijejo.. I am very happy a vegetarian lifestyle works for you. I don't want it to seem like I took your comments negatively.. I appreciate your post... and there certainly many ways a vegetarian diet contributes to our health, and the health of the plant. I just have an alternate view point, and:lol!: tend to be windy!

itsablondthing, I appreciate your planning. I am trying to do the same thing. I have gone back and forth about the chickens. My husband says that they will tie us down too much. On the other hand, we never go anywhere, so I can't see any reason not to have them. I would also like to raise goats for their milk. Just the thought of goat milk, goat cheese, goat soap! I know I couldn't eat the goats or the chickens, but the manure would be nice. Also, the goats could help keep the weeds down.

I would also like to start raising bees. We aren't that big on honey, but to have my own pollinators in my yard, what an idea!

I did plant 3 varieties of grapes this year. I also bought 4 blueberry bushes on sale for 1/2 price. We can't grow them in the ground here (the soil is too alkaline), but they do great in pots. So, if you don't have a place for them in your yard, you can always pot them up and put them along your driveway like I did. I have a really shady yard too, so I have to use the sun where I can find it.

Itsablondthing, Thank you for your an informative post. You have done a fair amount of homework on the topic. Let me provide you with more information:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6361872964130308142#

To the carnivores/omnivores, I am not attacking your choices. However, when there is opportunity to shine light on the benefits of eating less flesh, I feel compelled.

This is my first year with my SQF garden. I am so happy to provide healthy organic nutrients to my family and friends. No creature has to endure a horrible lifestyle, and regardless of the living conditions of organic grown meat, I cannot imagine their exists a humane method of slaughter. Perhaps I am wrong.

I attempted going vegetarian ( I am still not sure I have "earned" that title) a number of times. Like you, I had issues which found me returning to my previous diet. However, this time I am committed. It just keeps getting easier. Chain grocery stores are now stocking many meat alternative meals. (I love the Morning Star Farms Vege "chicken" sandwiches cooked in a little olive oil.) My favortite restaurants will provide vegemeat or will eliminate meat from their popular selections. Furthermore, I have effortlessly lost weight, and my food costs have diminshed! I feel great and I have more energy.

Regardless, this forum is about our SFGs. I say by growing more and better veggies, all of us will consume less animals and will live healthier lifestyles.

Keep on growin'!

mijejo, you might want to keep an eye on your health when relying on soy as a protein source. My sister had tremendous reproductive health issues, most of which improved as soon as she removed soy from her diet. http://www.westonaprice.org/faq/786-faq-soy

Itsablonde....
I like your planning. It will produce lots of crops for you and yours and they will be healthy ones. Planning both a spring and fall crop is a great way to utilize your space.

I'm getting into more fall crops this year myself with the help of a covered a-frame and a coldframe. With a bit of insulation, I hope to be having salads into winter. With sowing overwintering broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and so forth, I'll be able to get those harvested before the heat of spring can destroy them, like it did this year. I also want to try Lola tomato seed, one that can be grown in the house during the winter. There's always ways to extend our harvests if we look and try hard enough.

Getting a plan made this far ahead is a game for me. I plan, then change it several times during the winter, but I don't mind. It gives me something to do that I love.

I won't go into the veggie/meat debate. That's a personal issue best left to ourselves.

Good luck and enjoy your harvests.

quiltbea wrote:
I won't go into the veggie/meat debate. That's a personal issue best left to ourselves.

Thanks QB for keeping things on track....

LOL. I think mijejo and I did pretty good at exchanging thoughts without going beserk on each other! LOL. That is healthy communication.. it is really what America is all about. Different people different view points, peacefully coexisting.

And.. the important thing on this board.. we all agree more veggies and well grown veggies are better for us and the planet!

The planning for succession planning has been a great deal of fun, and something I missed out on most of this year, since I moved all 3 of my 4x8 beds right at peak planting season.

stripesmom...I've considered the fact that I do tend to vacation quite a bit.. but for me, the good news is I have several friends who keep chickens... so we could do a chicken care swap off for traveling... and if I have a portable coup, they can just go on a vacation themselves!

quiltbea...Sounds like you have a great plan with the coldframe. It is one of those things I want to get around to eventually... after I can successfully get all of my normal season crops growing and productive. I have a mental plan for creating a box that just sits on top of one of my 4x4s that is in the perfect location to catch the winter sunshine.

Terri

itsablondething wrote:LOL. I think mijejo and I did pretty good at exchanging thoughts without going beserk on each other! LOL. That is healthy communication.. it is really what America is all about. Different people different view points, peacefully coexisting.

And.. the important thing on this board.. we all agree more veggies and well grown veggies are better for us and the planet!

The fact of the matter is that even if two members can debate civilly this isn't a debate forum. And usually when two very civil posters have healthy communication soon 3 and 4 and 5 members are chiming in and it very quickly becomes uncivil and snarky at best.

As the admin it is my job to try and nip things in the bud that may become a problem before they do. Sometimes someone beats me to it... Thank you Quiltbea.

With very close to 6300 members you would be amazed at all the different strokes you will find here. While a lot of us do believe more veggies are better for us and the planet there are many that could give a rip...they just wanna grow some veggies.

Jennie
Forum Admin

I'm sorry I said bunnies were yummy. I really was not trying to offend anyone. I'll stick to pointing out edible insects from now on. I love itsaboldthing's plan and wish I could do it where I live but I fear my landlord would object.

[quote="mijejo"]Regardless, this forum is about our SFGs. I say by growing more and better veggies, all of us will consume less animals and will live healthier lifestyles.

quote]

This is where I was trying to self-regulate and "nip it in the bud."

I do not consider this a debate, but an exchange of information, of which will be bettered served elsewhere. For those interested, I am happy to discuss this further offline or via another forum.

Like I said before, "Keep on growin'"

itsablonde/Terri.....
Having a coldframe over a raised bed would be ideal if you can spare the space, but
I know one that size would be too difficult for me to get around easily.
Mine is 2.5 by 3 feet and I find the width just about right because I can reach from either side. Stretching further than that would be too much.

You could always put a frame over half of it making it 2 by 4 feet.

itsablondthing- congratulations on the fine job of planning ahead. Obviously from your composition you think and write quite clearly someone with those qualities can easily manage more obsession in stride than we who are lesser gifted that way could ever consider managing. No you didn’t obsess and yes that was a beautiful obsession. With that said is there a certain place in the forum designated for just recipes because I have a great family heirloom recipe for either rabbit or squirrel stew to share with shannon1 and all interested others.

My wife discovered I was staking out some new ground to expand my garden on Sunday. I have 4 ea. 4X4's and there is only two of us. But , as I explained to her, I have nowhere to grow an effective crop of corn and I really need a new area for my tomatoes as the tree has grown a lot in the last 3 years and it is casting shadows that weren't there before. That was met with a little skeptical look as she was walking away - muttering mind you. But it is true, I am planning for next year already as I want to expand the gardens. Just have to figure out how to water them easier as the weather has certainly been a hnderance this year.
Seems we have no Spring and summers are sorchers here in the Mid-Atlantic. I know Mel advocates watering by hand but when the temps are consistently in the mid to upper 90's, that's a lot of effort. So, I found soaker hoses really cheap at Big Lots and will go with that. At least this way, I won't have to worry about being carried away by all the darn mosquitos. LOL!

I'm looking into drip irrigation or at least soaker hoses, with a timer. I'm in NE TX and watering twice a day!!!

FarmerValerie wrote:I'm looking into drip irrigation or at least soaker hoses, with a timer. I'm in NE TX and watering twice a day!!!

Not sure if you want to give or receive information but this is my experience to date. I collect in so far seven 55 gal barrels hooked into a bottom side 2” PVC manifold that includes hose spigots at each end and a 2” clean out bung in a T near the middle. There is an overflow cut near the top of one barrel with a 2” outlet discharging to the ground thru a piece of 3” black plastic tile. One barrel has a 4” inlet cut in the top for the 4” plastic tile line coming down from the eve spout there is a piece of screen cupped into the top barrel connection to stop junk from getting into the system. Just pop it out and clean regularly and all is well. This part of my watering system works very well and I can add more collection barrels if needed. Next I have four 55 gal barrels on a platform garden side to actually water from. But I have to pump water from collection to there. I bought a 12vDC farm sprayer pump by Delevan for about $75. A hose from collection to the pump and another to the garden barrels does fine for now and I can move 200 gal in about an hour this way. I use my riding mower for its 12v battery and have yet to run it down. Hoping to set up a solar cell to charge a 12v battery in my tool shed that sits about midpoint then I won,t have to mess with the tractor any longer. Having to continually run the hoses I may solve by burying 3/4 or 1” PEX lines. My actual irrigation system is made from 1/2 inch pvc pipes with 1/16” holes drilled in pairs every 4” the holes are each drilled about 1/4 inch out from each side of the bottom of the pipe. My SFG beds are 12’ long and each has 4 pipes running the length and connected in a manifold arrangement at each end. Each bed has its own hose feed from the tanks but all run thru one common timer valve. Leveling the pipes for even water distribution is a tedious process but needs to be done. This setup for the actual watering is just ok but not impressive in performance. I run the system for 3 minutes morning and evening and that is fairly satisfactory at supplying the MM with water. Automatic timer valves, If you look in the usual stores what you find there will only in spite of vague wording otherwise work if you are on a city or well high pressure supply. Been there tried that not good. I found a really nice quality dependable no pressure valve here. http://www.rainbarrelman.com/low-pressure-timer.htm This guy didn’t take plastic so found one from Indiana for about $62 delivered. Another one is shown here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4LkDPAGXbs The key word in timer valves is that low pressure means down to 25 psi. For rain barrels you need no pressure valves. At some point the monetary aspect of supplying garden rain water will turn in my favor it is questionable that labor involvement ever will until I figure out a measuring and switching configuration to monitor everything and have the in between hoses also buried. Then it will be down to just disconnecting and rerouting the eve input back like it used to be, draining and cleaning barrels and lines, waterproofing them for the winter and blowing the buried pex lines clear of moisture then sealing them up. I wished I knew if using drip irrigation on no pressure would improve the water distribution but darn all this fiddling and spending needs to end sometime. Gee wonder if this has become an obsession too.