Kevin's Watch

Does anybody grow any of their own food?

I've got a small garden, in which I inherited some boring shrub/bush type plants, and I want to get rid of them and plant something that I can eat! At the moment I'm thinking of gooseberry bushes (just love those gooseberries!) and maybe a plum tree. I'd love to try and grow a cherry tree but I don't think my garden's big enough.

Anyone have any suggestions or tips?

I pretty much have a black thumb. Anything I've tried to grow has failed, except for one stalk of corn once and a season's worth of turnip greens and the resultant turnips. It could be because I tried to go organic in Florida, which is possible to do, but I have been told our pests are quite different from what is usually discussed on organic gardening forums. I have yet to find a Florida-specific organic gardening site.

So, I will say if I can grow turnips, pretty much anyone can grow turnips.

I grow a garden every year. It did not fare very well this year due to a historic drought. This year I planted tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra, watermelons, cantaloupe, pumpkins, green beans, and cabbage.

Sunbaneglasses wrote:I grow a garden every year. It did not fare very well this year due to a historic drought. This year I planted tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra, watermelons, cantaloupe, pumpkins, green beans, and cabbage.

Now THAT's impressive!

The only real preoblem Ive found with growing our own food, is thatyou grow too much.

Like what the hell are we going to do with thiry cuccumbers, or ten pumpkins?

Now if we could find another family who grown different food, and a couple who raise different animals...and a fisherman...then we could do some bartering..almost the ways things SHOULD be.

drew wrote:The only real preoblem Ive found with growing our own food, is thatyou grow too much.

Like what the hell are we going to do with thiry cuccumbers, or ten pumpkins?

Can them in some way?

drew wrote:Now if we could find another family who grown different food, and a couple who raise different animals...and a fisherman...then we could do some bartering..almost the ways things SHOULD be.

When I first came to Gator Town years ago, back in the late 1970s, we had a cooperative health food store. You got membership various ways:

1. Paid membership
2. Volunteer hours in the store
3. Donate food items (organic only) you grew yourself

It was wonderful.

But when I left for 15 years, it was long gone when I returned.

Menolly wrote:

drew wrote:The only real preoblem Ive found with growing our own food, is thatyou grow too much.

Like what the hell are we going to do with thiry cuccumbers, or ten pumpkins?

Can them in some way?

drew wrote:Now if we could find another family who grown different food, and a couple who raise different animals...and a fisherman...then we could do some bartering..almost the ways things SHOULD be.

When I first came to Gator Town years ago, back in the late 1970s, we had a cooperative health food store. You got membership various ways:

1. Paid membership
2. Volunteer hours in the store
3. Donate food items (organic only) you grew yourself

It was wonderful.

But when I left for 15 years, it was long gone when I returned.

Sounds great!

I didn't know organic had been invented back then!

Stonemaybe wrote:I didn't know organic had been invented back then!

Oh!!!

I grow tomatoes, radishes, carrots, herbs, strawberries, passionfruit, limes and im thinking of putting in rhubarb also. I would like to get a few more citrus trees and a mango tree, but my garden isnt big enough for one (maybe they can grow in large kegs and I can semi-bonsai one)