This is it, I'm finished, I've had it!!!!!!!!!!!!

For inspiration, go to youtube and check out the Dervaes family videos and their Urban Homestead "Path to Freedom" videos. They grow 6000 pounds of organic food on a city house lot, using just their front yard, backyard and driveway. And the lot is beautiful. Here is one of the videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q .

That is my ideal! I would so love to do that. Baby steps...

I've seen some of those videos - amazing!

LiseP....great video! Inspiring, indeed. Just wish it would load faster. Thanks!

I was amazed by my Swiss chard this past summer; I had only grown it once years ago and didn't like it because I was expecting it to taste like spinach, but I tried Bright Lights and it's a wonderful green. It's a cut-and-come-again plant that gives you garden produce after lettuce and other more tender greens are no longer producing; I was picking it well into the fall and early winter.

Tomatoes are very productive, and so are green beans, especially the pole variety although there are some bush beans that keep on going too. Peas are good, too, but not quite so productive because you have to shell them and so there's less left when you're done. Anyway, lettuces, chard, tomatoes and beans would be great to start off with,I would think.

I think the key is to keep the plants watered, fertilized and picked ~ you will have continuing crops on many of the vegetables.

And lettuce will reseed and pretty much keep you with a lifetime supply from your original seeds. (Of course, I plant others, as well, for variety, but if I just let them go, I'd have full gardens of them.)

big smiles at that video. 6,000 pounds on 4,300 square feet! people who charge that locally grown organic foods are elitist should pick up a shovel.

I like this one, too, LiseP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyVNAgrbQz4&NR=1&feature=fvwp

This message was edited Feb 28, 2010 10:10 AM

missingrosie, you should check the latest video of garden girl, where whe plants in what she calls garden socks, you can practically have an instant garden in 30 minutes or less.

Lise, I love the Dervaes, I have been reading all their blogs at their website as well, I wish I could place raise beds everywhere just like them. I have tried to buy seeds from them in teh past trying to support their website but for some reason it took forever to download all their seeds and things that they are selling so I did not buy anything from them.
There is another guy in the web that has done the same his youtube name is growingyourgreens, I also love to watch his videos.

Plant a row of flowers that attract beneficial insects along the side(s) visible to the public. That is what the neighbors and I did when we lived in military housing and all vegies had to be in the community garden. Nobody ever looked behind that front row of flowers - I think they suspected, but didn't want to know.

Thanks, carminator1, for the "growingyourgreens" tip. I've watched several of his things. I'm impressed with the diversity he has - so many things I'd never seen or heard of!

Being on Dave's Garden is such a horizon-expanding place. I learn things every day. Just love it!

Lise, yes I know, the first time I heard about malabar spinach was in one of his you tube, now I am trying some seeds that I got on a trade, I also got some strawberry spinach because it looks like an interesting thing to grow according to his videos, just planted some tinny seeds we will see if anything comes out. He travels quite abit and just gets seeds or cuttings from different parts of the world, he is also a raw vegan so you will see that he just does not cook anything, prety interesting but I don't know if I can go that far.

My potato garden.

Linda it looks great! Are you seeing anything yet? I think I spotted one little tinny bud comming out of one of my bins.

We plant potatoes in a couple of weeks here, I use a tall hoop of chicken wire, plant the potatoes at the bottom and add leaves as the plants grow. Super easy to harvest, just open the hoop and brush away the leaves. So much better than the store bought taters.

I tried that with the wire last year but mine didn't do anything. I think not having a sunny location was the problem.

Cathy, how big do you make your hoops? You use leaves, not straw?

I use leaves, they have been sucked up with a leaf bagger so they are partly torn, not shredded. I don't use straw, it makes a mess and my space isn't that big to store it while I wait for the potatoes to grow. I save the leaves from fall to summer in just a big brown paper bag. I keep 2 bags, one for each hoop. I'm guessing the hoops are about 3 feet in diameter, maybe 4 feet tall? I like to stick my hands in and pick some when they are still small so we are eating off the plants for quite awhile. If you do stick your hands in, bang on the cage a few times first to make sure no critter is in there snoozing.

L-rd I can see sticking my hand in to grap a potatoe and yanking out a skunk instead! Save me from my demented mind please

That's what I was thinking about too. LOL!

I figured hay or straw would be more doable for me. Especially since I didn't collect fall leaves. I can always use the hay or straw in the garden later. I just bought 50# of seed potatoes yesterday and I have another 10# here. I don't know if that will even be enough.

I thought I'd use a few different methods. Hoops like Cathy uses, on the ground in straw in the new garden (mice may eat some of them), in laundry baskets and in growbags. I've been saving the large dogfood bags, thinking I could turn them inside out and punch some drainage holes. Need growing methods to make harvesting easy for me.

msrobin, I was told not to use hay because it can rot the potatoes, not sure if it is true but I decided just in case not to use it, you can definetely use straw though.

Ok, I'm sold on growing potaoes this season. I know I'm late but I'm gonna do it anyways and let the chips fall where they may. It'll be a learning experience if nothing else. I'll plant this weekend. I think it will be fun for my kids, plus I don't ever want to have to buy any of those $2 high-roller potatoes Yehudith likes.

Hey Gymgirl, you around?? Where do you buy straw in Houston?

Go for it! Kids can find out where french fries come from.

Potatoes in oak leaves for the 3rd year here. They haven't rotted yet. If anything, the leaves don't allow enough moisture to get to the ground level. I use a rake to rummage thru the leaves here as I worry about snakes taking up residence. They have been planted for 10 days so far. http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/viewentry/288006/

JohnCrichton75 ~ you are not too late and you can use pine straw or hay or most anything. Just be sure to let your tater cuttings dry first or they will rot.

podster is right - you have a little time still. I just planted my spuds last weekend...

Carminator1 ~ in your zone the Malabar spinach will reseed freely. Should seeds fall to the ground, it will come back the next spring. When you harvest the seed you will have the telltale purple fingers. I should think the berry pulp would also dye fabric. I have grown it for quite a few years. I prefer the leaves raw in salad or sandwiches. Some like it cooked as you would cook spinach. Either way, it is a pretty ornamental vine and would fit into any edible landscape.

I've always heard if you use hay you'll get seeds that sprout. Hay is full of seeds.

C - once you plant the MS it will come back forever and ever - lol. I always have volunteers everywhere. I think the birdies like the messy purple berries. Pod - I have cleaned many a seed and it sure is messy. I have heard people use it for dye.

I have heard that too. I think it depends on what type of hay or perhaps how old it is?

Don't know! I've never used it!

Locakelly ~ I learned to let the seed flesh dry on the bloom stems before harvesting. More of a chance for them to drop and root but less messy fingers. Very pretty vine.

Maybe I'll try that next time - lol. They drop and sprout no matter what. The volunteers are easy to plop out and pot up. I've given several away and composted many more. I love that vine - to eat and to look at. It is so pretty. And the bees love the little blooms, so more pollinators in the garden!

Doe41 ~ you are right. I probably should not have mentioned the hay but had read of others using it. Good to mention the down side too.

By the way, it sounds as though Malabar spinach can be invasive. I looked it up because I'm trying to find a vine for a stone wall that birds will enjoy, and Plantfiles told me that Virginia creeper, which was my first choice, can cause rashes and allergic reactions in susceptible people. But Malabar spinach seems like it could get out of control easily, and I'd hate to be responsible for it taking over all up and down my river!

Is this spinach edible, or just ornamental?

Greenhouse_gal ~ it would reseed but am unsure how desireable or edible the seeds are to birds. I suspect if they would dine on them, they could easily spread them.

This vine probably wouldn't climb a stone wall as it doesn't have sucker tendrils. It climbs by thigmotropism ~ wrapping itself around things.

Doe41 ~ both ~ which is what makes it so desirable in the HOAs. It multitasks being both pretty and edible.

Wonder where I could find some seed? Sounds like it's easy to grow. I'm not able to do much gardening. Would Wal*Mart have it?

I have traded all the seed from the last crop but should probably have some volunteer plants when the weather warms and they start to sprout if you can't find any seed. I was looking for Orach on Monday and looked at the local box stores. Didn't see any Malabar spinach seed this year but I have in the past. Thinking about it, they may have the Malabar spinach in with the flower seed and I only shopped the vegetables.

Doe41 - I bought mine as a plant but saved seeds. I will have to look and see if I have any left. I'd be happy to send you some if I do. I sent them as bonus seeds in some trades but might have a few hiding out still.

I've never seen the seeds in stores, but I have seen them sold at Johnny's and Seed Saver's Exchange. I'm sure others sell them online as well.

OK

Doe41 -

I found a few seeds for you! I haven't checked, but if you're in the address exchange I will send them out to you tomorrow. If you're not in the exchange please d-mail me your address;o)


Kelly