Replies to post #3412 on ~SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR CHALLENGING TIMES

[excel]

Very healthy looking spuds!

[anejames]

Great pictures DA, I love looking at garden photos. The straw works well for mulching. Do you feed any veggies off to your chickens?

[sumisu]

>You have a most amazing garden. I thought I had already commented.

I recently made the following comment to a Dutch farmer, who I know on facebook: "Bram, your garden is my dream. I'm at least five years behind you."

His response was: "Everything sustainable takes time Eddie ;-)"

Derrick, I'm at least five years away from a garden like yours, but the progress that I made this year put me over the psychological hump of partial sustainability.

You had been talking to me about your chickens for a number of years and I can see why you have pride in them. I loved the pictures. The setup is well planned.

I love these words of yours: "I'm also getting better at organizing the crops and space. Not only for crop rotation, but also for seasonal rotation. I start planting and working the soil as soon as weather permits in the spring and keep it alive with vegetables until winter freezes it over. When the early crops finish out, such as lettuce/radishes/turnips, that space is then used for green beans, sweet corn, melons, and other warm weather crops."


The above paragraph indicates that you actively manage your garden and it motivated me to do likewise. For example, I'm on my second planting of zucchini and summer squash. I will over winter leeks under a bed of straw; I did this last year with success. I won't be eating my asparagus for two years, but the crowns have been planted this year; well, you get the point.

They pictures of your cabbage and potatoes indicates to me that you have done much to enhance your soil quality. Excellent job. This year I ordered five cubic yards of loam/humus, a quality blend, and I see that I will have to do the same for the next two seasons, at least. New England soil is rich in rocks and roots!

Yes, I like the Dutch farmer's words: "Everything sustainable takes time..." We are all in the process of creating our personal sustainability kingdoms, but it is an on-going process requiring constant attention. Your pictures indicated to me that you are well along your way.

Eddie

PS: While I slept last night, my water barrels filled up with a nice rain; harvesting water in my sleep!

[**D*A**]

Garden picture updates 7/30 - please link back to the post I'm replying to for a sense of progress.



egg plant and tomatoes, in the lower left, there are two cucumber plants that enjoy climbing on the tomato cages. I've caged them in too, that helps to keep them growing up and off the ground, which in turn eases harvesting.



some of the sweet corn, all but a few potatoes have burned up in the straw. The empty space is where I dug up all the onions. I dried them for a few days and put them in an old orange sack for storage. For better corn, heavy nitrogen is the key. The pigmy corn in this picture didn't get enough.




Zuchinni is doing very well, my lovely wife has been busy preparing different egg plant and zuchinni recipes. My favorite is to brown bacon in a skillet with onions or scallions, when the bacon is nearly done, add diced zuchinni with the peel on and I like a touch of garlic. Cook until the zuchinni is soft and then pig out. Very simple and very delicious. The plant above that is a "lemon" cucumber. My daughter thought it sounded cool, so we tried it out. The fruit is on the small side, but very abundant and has a good flavor. My wife thinks the seeds are too big, I don't. lol





I do have two different pumpkins and two different types of squash planted somewhere in this picture behind the weeds. The pumpkins are a smaller species and the other an heirloom variety. I'm hoping to save these over winter and use them to supplement the chicken feed.



The ever so intimidating guard dog. I would leave him out to scare off those cute little bunnies and raccoons, but we like the little guy. We keep him inside where it's safe. :-) He's positive that he can whip them, were not so sure.