If I had plenty of spending money, I wouldn’t need to ask this question. But since I can’t go out and buy lots of equipment, I thought I’d ask.
I do have a flower garden but I have everything from deer to groundhogs and I have only a 6x6 critter protected area, which is full of tomatoes.
Can anyone recommend ways to get lots of bang from that small area? Or maybe you can link me to a source.
And I’m in zone 5. Can anyone recommend ways to accomplish edibles in the house over the winter? Herbs count. Veggies would be a blessing!
Need advice on growing FOOD without a yard!
A friend of mine grows all of her carrots and beets in deep flower pots. You could put them up near the house or on a porch where they'd be safe. I bet they'd grow indoors in a sunny window, after all it is the roots you want.
You can try square foot gardening.
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/index.php/The-Project/how-to-square-foot-garden.html
Have you considered containers? There are two DG forums dedicated to this, Container Gardening, and Self-Contained Box Gardens (i.e. Earthboxes and homemade versions) with lots of information. As to winter veggies, I routinely raise herbs (parsley, chives, basil, lettuce, etc.) in pots in windowsills over winter, and occasionally go for cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets in a south window producing fruit in February.
Yup containers! Square foot gardening also works well.
DON!
Tomatoes? Oh I'm looking forward to THAT! I just learned that annual herbs will grow indoors in Winter. I'd been ridiculed a few years back for wondering out loud....
3 - Good info about the carrots, etc. I have ONE good south window, next to the bed. I'll be sleeping with my food this winter! There is no safe place with groundhogs! I didn't even mention the raccoons....
Victor - I will probably do a square food approach in my 6x6 protected place next year.
http://shop.instagarden.com/category.sc?categoryId=14 was recommended by Joy in the Self-contained Box Gardens forum. It looks good, too, if I can afford to order at least 4 of 'em.
here is another option
http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm
WOW, onewish! That's quite a system there! I'll have to give that a good long read and see if I can get it done. Thanks for the link.
don't use the pvc though... too many toxic things going on with that... we made several they work great
Cool.
here is a pic from last year... I wasn't that lucky to get nice plants like these this year
New questions:
It's not so much about the containers (although you've given me some new scavenging ideas!) as it is about the yield. When I got my 6x6x6 critter proofing "cage", I also got some containers to fill it up. I'm just not getting enough FOOD out of the effort! Which brings me to my new questions:
Square foot gardening.
I've watched all 3 of Mel Bartholomew's video tapes about it, and perused some books. There's lots of time spent doing the math, and I totally get the concept. They never discuss DRAINAGE though. It looks like I can just slap together a shallow 4x4 (or 3x3 to fit better inside my cage) frame and plant it. Even when they show them on decks they are only supported by cinder blocks and things like that. So here are a coupla questions:
Won't I rot my deck?
How can I translate this yield process indoors?
Anybody know?