Being that this is our 2nd spring living in our house, @marxrab and I have big plans for gardening, and I think our plans are starting to come together.
We both want to grow raspberries, and we plan to do so separately cause we each have our own ideas. I want raspberries to be my primary focus because they are one of my favorite things to eat, and our 16 month old daughter already seems to be sharing the same love for them. I can eat them till hell wont have it. I want to grow a few different varieties so we can pick them at various points throughout the summer and fall. I also want to grow some black raspberries. My wife has some ideas of her own, like maybe experimenting with growing them in buckets, and she wants to grow some of the yellow ones.
-When we lived in South Dakota I got to pick from a whole field of raspberries on a local farm.
I really like the idea of using the space we have for growing our own food fresh, which will allow us to eat more healthy and reduce our dependency on the establishment. To go all in on doing this, I think I will buy a rototiller to plow the land nicely. Im even thinking of springing for one of the more heavy duty rear tine models (tillers are behind the tires). Im also considering making a few beds due to our mountain soil.
One thing I am looking especially forward to growing is corn. I know some say the dirt is too rocky by far to grow much corn in the Appalachian mountains, but Im going to give it a shot due to how much I love the Silver Queen variety, which is a sweet white corn. In my opinion its the best type of corn in existence, but its very hard to find at the store.
We are also looking forward to growing asparagus. I know you let them all go to seed the first year, but after that you can enjoy them for years as long as you let some go to seed at the end of the season. Asparagus is probably my favorite vegetable.
We will be growing other things as well, such as watermelon and broccoli. In fact, for Valentines Day I got my wife some flower bulbs instead of actual flowers, and she was cool with that.
I would appreciate any tips as we prepare to take on this project. Like for the raspberries, is it all right if they get get direct sun most of the day as opposed to all of the day? But really any tips about those or anything else would be appreciated.
Nothing like getting your hands in the dirt. Following you now!
Im looking forward to trying my hand at legal gardening.
Those are some serious plans! I'll be staying tuned...
Hope we can at least make most of them happen this year. Raspberries are my top priority. If we cant get to everything then it will become a 2 year project.
Fingers crossed they like their new spot and produce a bunch of goodies! I wonder if there are 'aged' plants that will produce the first year? Maybe the container/bush varieties can fill that gap if necessary?
Now you've got me wondering how to jumpstart berries. LOL!
@marxrab has been looking into some aged plants, I believe. And I hope things do well. One thing we have always had a problem with is tomatoes, which seem pretty easy for most people, so I guess you never know what is gonna happen.
Oh good! I wasn't even sure such a thing would be available. I hope she finds some nice ones.
Tomatoes are trickier than most folks think. When they do produce, it's usually so many folks are giving them away and that plays into the myth that they're 'easy'. For me though, I don't generally eat them (don't like 'em) - I just grow them. Maybe they sense I'm not a 'threat'. LOL!
I am surprised they have the aged plants for sale too. I never knew you could just buy such a thing and begin consuming them the first year. I do love tomatoes, and the homegrown ones are by far the best. It does seem like some people who dont even grow anything else have pretty easy time with them, but they just havent worked for us. I was sure last year was gonna be the year too. But we have a neighbor who grows thousands of them and sells them at a very reasonable price, so at least we have that to fall back on.