2009 Season Food Growing Thread

[endlessvista]

Last year I tired veg gardening in a serious way for the first time and was pretty amazed by the results. Ate the best food I have in years.

I am already to start again now and have all my seads and started clearing and preparing the garden. I am also going to try planting some fruit trees, grape vines, blackcurrants and blueberreries. There are some fantastic sales in the garden centers right now.

Anyone else planting food this year? Would like yout tips, ideas experiences.

Let all try and grow some food this year. Even if it is only some herbs in the window box. One mouthful of home grown food is one the NWO/Illuminati can't poison you with. Get heriloom/heritage/organic seeds if you can. There are loads of great websites.

Bring Back the Victory Garden!

[adzboarder]

Hell yeah man, I'm with you - doing the square foot successional gardening method this year, where you only stick in the ground the seeds you NEED - no thinning out so no waste, you can read it online at google:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9_spjPVMnCUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=square+foot+gardening&ei=leGiScWQLojcygT_iMCMAg

I'm focusing on a lot salad veggies, onions, beans, lots of potatoes and this year I have cleared a new area which is going to become my fruit corner, plan to put in an apple tree, plum, pear, grape vines, goji berry and raspberry canes as all this kind of food will bring sweetness and extra energy enhancing fare so when the shit goes down, fruit and veg are covered.

Last year I had shallow beds, but with freely obtained timber I have raised these and all the crappy old bushes I cut down last year have mulched into compost nicely so I have filled these beds up with lovely nutritious goodness and we're ready to go. Got a crappy little 5 ft tall greenhouse from Wilkos at the weekend and will shortly plant my first seeds...

It's all good man!!

The key thing for me is that everything is entirely organic, so all seeds I have bought are and there will be no fertilzers or pesticides used, all natural stuff throughout. I am even thinking about getting a hedgehog or two to roam the grounds killing insects and slugs for me.

[endlessvista]

Cool, I made a good start myself today as it was nice and mild. I still cannot get over how many seeds are in a Parsnip packet. Your plum tree idea is a good one.

I also planted out some Rhubarb.

I love this time of year!

[the itinerant shrubber]

I'll be growing Mary Jane,Tobacco,Opium poppies as well as the more traditional medicinal plants,the usual vegetables as well as cider and wine and the wild plants and berries throughout the year.
Hopefully the hard winter we've had means we wont have the snail and slug invasion we've been having the last few years.
Get some rhubarb from somewhere and get it planted. Dont bother forcing it as it wont do much for the first year but the leaves make a good pesticide.

[adzboarder]

I'm so not into Rhubarb, it will just take space for food that I cant stand!!

I didn't have much of a slug invasion last summer, yoghurt pots in the ground all around with beer in them put paid to any slugs. I fear they may have a plan this year though.

I guess time will tell. Keep me posted on developments :)

[fnulnu]

I've got a modest array of tubs on my balcony.The beauty of living in a towerblock is that the slugs would need to be on steroids to climb up here.Only spiderman could successfully plunder me crops.

Am also curently attempting to grow potatoes indoors,all year round.I saw a youtube video on it & thought I'd give it a crack.

[ownoiz]

Let all try and grow some food this year. Even if it is only some herbs in the window box. One mouthful of home grown food is one the NWO/Illuminati can't poison you with. Get heriloom/heritage/organic seeds if you can. There are loads of great websites.

Bring Back the Victory Garden!


Yeah thats the spirit. I find myself growing more different types of food every year.

And dont even get me started on packaged supermarket milk...i dont touch the stuff anymore, now i cant be bothered with owning livestock but things have gotten so bad i fell like i need my own goat or cow ATM just to drink some milk that isnt FUBAR (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=F.U.B.A.R.) .


Am also curently attempting to grow potatoes indoors,all year round.I saw a youtube video on it & thought I'd give it a crack.

Great idea. If you see how many chemicals are sprayed onto potatoes to mass produce and mechanically harvest them :eek:

I have centre pivot irrigation sites not far from where i live and they cant even replant in the same spot succesively because of all the crap they spray to finish off the crop and kill off the above ground bits before they harvest, they have to wait a few years (nothing grows in the soil afterwards for a while) and they move the pivots to fresh ground instead.

Then theres the steriod like fertigation chemicals, pesticides and weed killers fed constantly into the pivot irrigation or sprayed over the top.

So imagine what goes into the spud :eek:

http://www.davidicke.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=193&pictureid=1601
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"98% of us will die at some point in our lives" - Will Ferrell - Talladega Nights

[endlessvista]

I am thinking of getting some hens for eggs. Anyone have any experience doing this. I was thinking of resucuing some Battery Hens and giving them a decent life. Is this possible?

[none]

Right. I'm going to start stock-piling non GM seeds. I'll plant some tatties and carrots in the garden this weekend and see how it goes. Local cat's beware, I have an airgun now.

[glacidtek]

endless vista -
we'v just gotten 3 chickens to provide fresh eggs - while saving battery hens at the end of their carear may seem like a good idea, there is a real reason they have been retired - they are un likely to produce eggs regularly.....

we bought our from a local 'mother hen' type lady who had a garden full of them - they cost a little more than the local cattle market, £12each, are at the 20week point of maturity, and have provided 15 eggs in the last 2weeks.

good luck, and go for it!
mike.

[endlessvista]

Cheers glacidtex - what about the hens eating your veg crops can this be a problem?

[glacidtek]

I'm not too sure as yet - our veg for this year is only at the seadling stage...... at the moment, the hens are in their house to roost over night, then get the run of a sectioned off bit of garden for the day....
they do peck away at anything that is green, so think they'll definatly have to be seperate from the veg when planted out!