self-sustaining vegetable gardening?

does anyone have any book reccomendations or website links for vegetable seed planting/harvesting schedules for a year-round self-sustaining garden? i'm very interested in this and have just planted some fall-season vegetable seeds.

Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman is a good one to look at. But I'd ask around in your zone too; Coleman's in Maine.

Zeppy,

You seem to be asking about several things which you will be able to combie to suit your purposes. I'm not that familiar with Elliot Coleman's growing methods other than his greehouse techniques which may help with your scheduling. For a sustainable method of gardening, look at "How to Grow More Vegetables" by John Jeavons in which he builds on the bio-dynamic raised bed work of Alan Chadwick and others. For more on bio-intensive gardening, see: http://www.growbiointensive.org/biointensive/GROW-BIOINTENSIVE.html

Wayne

Naien,
You might see if they have info to help, free publications from:

http://www.attra.org/usda.html

Also look in you phone book under county listing for agricultural extension service. They should have a schedule to mail you or a local web site to refer you to.

Wayne, thanks for the link. Zeppy, I have that book, for drooling purposes you know!

Good luck!
tf

do you guys think i could work out a self-sustaining garden to provide me with enough produce weekly to live predominantly on home-grown vegetables? is there a staggering scheme i'm unaware of? has anyone tried this? i'm not looking to grow for profit or local markets (although i might if i have a lot). thanks for all your input!

scott

Don't know what size garden plot you have but with good planning and composting, I can't imagine why you couldn't. The Jeavons book is great; read it with pencil and graph paper in hand. :)

I can only imagine what gardening in zone 9b is like. (Frost-watch begins in a few weeks here.) You do have a long season and probably would be able to keep a hoop greenhouse above freezing with little effort or expense. This could easily extend your harvest season (if not your growing season) to 365 days.

You should look at Eliot Colman's book and heed his advice about growing season-appropriate crops. Light is a problem that can only be overcome by artificial lighting which is not "sustainable" or by growing low-light tolerant plants, which is. Coleman gardens up here in the northeast so you will have to factor that difference in.

Jeavons is from California and his experiences may be closer to your conditions. His methods of sustainable, bio-intensive gardening suggest that you might feed yourself for a year on, I believe, 200 square feet of raised beds. (Can't check. My copy of "How to Grow More Vegetables" was borrowed long ago by someone who never returned it. I think I've inspired myself enough to buy another copy.)

Here's an article by Elliot Coleman which gives you an overview of his operation: http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/main/articles/articles/mother2.html

Wayne, definitely ~not~ in Zone 9b

Yes, some books reccomend what is called "succesive planting". Any of Louise Riotte's books would give you an idea & some have garden plot maps.

I may not live in your zone, but with ideas from many boks I am working towards eating straight from the garden year-round. You may also want to look into permaculture. That would include fruit trees.

tf ***ZONE ENVY***

Scott
Do you plan to freeze some stuff to tide you over when things aren't quite ready yet? A thought to consider.
-Juli

I found one place that has some info.

http://www.naturalhub.com/site_contents.htm#GROWING%20YOUR%20OWN%20FOOD-PLANTS

i'd like to learn how to preserve as jams/canned foods (i have a blackberry bush that will fruit this year, finally!) but i don't really have the means (mason jars, tong, sterilizing equip.) until i get some more money to put into this project.

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/InOrder/Shop/Shop.asp?stritem=2

this is a great service! they have production calendars for all the state's crops. thanks for the suggestion, Tamara! i didn';t evem know this existed.

now, for another question... with my corn, i bought "indian calico" popcorn, but the website Quyen posted a few up says the only knows popcorn cultivar is strawberry. any thoughts? I bought all my corn seeds from swallowtail seeds.

I love blackberry, especially freshly picked. Used to live in OR and they are wild there.

How much canning do you plan to do, Scott? On a small scale, mason jars at Walmart are fairly cheap. Scour garage sales and thrift shops, also. I lucked out once and found a brand new box of 1 pint jars (12 ct) for only $4. You don't need a special cooker to make jams or can fruits. Hot water bath works just fine. Here's a link http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Canning/

I've never canned anything other than fruits but a pressure cooker would work for most canning needs. This link has time tables for pressure canning other foods. http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school/cstools/pressurecooker/pressurecooker.html

i ordered three of the books suggested above so hopefully they'll have some suggestions about keeping my food after harvest.

thanks so much for those links, i'll definitely keep my eye out for mason jars, i didn't realize you could do it in a hot water bath, i though it was much more involved than that.

Obliquely related info:

There's a new Asian market in Westminster. It's very big, bright, and clean. The prices of fresh produce there is much better than those at a regular grocery store. I was there last Friday and thought to myself," There's no way I would ever be able to grow beans/broccoli/carrots/celery/cabbage...(well, you get the idea) for this kind of price". I think it would be worth your while to check it out, Scott.

Westminster Superstore
"Thuan Phat"
Northeast corner of Beach Blvd and Mc Fadden Ave.

Scott, check out Big Lots for jars. They are usually $4 or $5 for pints and quarts. I mostly use a pressure cooker too as I can tomatoes as well. You can sterilize jars for jelly in boiling water-nothing special needed. I have been waiting for this heat wave to end to make lemon marmalade.

awesome. that's just down the road. thanks so much for the tip.

i was sitting in class tonight and had an epiphany. if someone had outlined a planting schedule for my zone wherein i could produce all my vegetables cheaply and on limited land, i would have bought it straight off. furthermore, if that same book were geared toward self sustainability and a sustained ecology and caring for your soils/environments i would have bought two, just in case the other one got lost. is this a consensus among the rest of you? maybe i should write a book... i could use some extra money ;)

p.s. i just got my four-season harvest, i'll pick some intersting goodies to relate to you guys after i skim it tonight

you will certainly enjoy the book scott!

i have picked up a couple of "putting by" books at garae sales cheap. haven't rread them yet, prefer to eat fresh LOL

there are many cultivars of popcorn available. the site was either referring to what was available from their 'LIST OF SUPPLIERS' or what is heirloom. if i were to grow popcorn i would try the heirloom strawverry first!

yeah, i'd buy your book,. but not till i could get it for next to nothing from an overtock supplier LOL. remember, many of the same people who fit your description are also great bargain finders! :-P

also, someone may have beat you to the punch: MetroFarm www.metrofarm.com
I bought mine cheaper at www.alibris.com !!!

tf