Just something to make you think !

[ZAGran]

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Gardening is work. Boy, are all of you right.
And there is more to it than putting a seed in the ground in the spring. You have to know what you are going to plant and where you are going to plant it. If you had a garden last year, you have to remember where you planted what and rearrange accordingly. You have to know when the last frost in the spring usually is and when the first frost in the fall usually comes and how deep you till the soil, how deep do you plant the seed and on and on and on.... Do potatoes do better in the spring or in the fall in your area? Which is the best way to plant your sweet corn, N to S or E to W or at an angle? Which way is the prevailing wind blowing from?
The first year I made a garden all on my own, I planted a single row of sweet corn. It was beautiful! Any of you who that have raised sweet corn know how many ears I got and why my Dad laughed for 15 min when I told him.
Start now! Start small. Get a farmer's calendar.
All the books and planing and observation in the world cannot prepare you. You have to get out and do it and fail and fail again. Don't let your failures be when your life depends on it.

[countryboy6685]

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Gardening is work. Boy, are all of you right.
And there is more to it than putting a seed in the ground in the spring. You have to know what you are going to plant and where you are going to plant it. If you had a garden last year, you have to remember where you planted what and rearrange accordingly. You have to know when the last frost in the spring usually is and when the first frost in the fall usually comes and how deep you till the soil, how deep do you plant the seed and on and on and on.... Do potatoes do better in the spring or in the fall in your area? Which is the best way to plant your sweet corn, N to S or E to W or at an angle? Which way is the prevailing wind blowing from?
The first year I made a garden all on my own, I planted a single row of sweet corn. It was beautiful! Any of you who that have raised sweet corn know how many ears I got and why my Dad laughed for 15 min when I told him.
Start now! Start small. Get a farmer's calendar.
All the books and planing and observation in the world cannot prepare you. You have to get out and do it and fail and fail again. Don't let your failures be when your life depends on it.

This is a great link to help you get started also a great site .
Robert W
http://modernsurvivalonline.com/gett...lOnline.com%29

[RICHFL]

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After you spade the grass and weeds away from your soil take a few samples to your county Ag center they can test it to see why you are facing problems.

More then likely it is a lack of one or more minerals or the soil maybe to acidic for the plants you want to grow. Now don't get in an up roar over the report. It tells you what you need to do. It takes years to get soil ready to grow the gardens you see in the magazines.

You can also ask them about how to establish a compost heap to help your garden along. They have a lot of good information for the area you live in. This service is not just for the local farmers but for anyone who lives in that county.

Another possibility is see what your neighbors are growing and see for our self how well they are doing. Some plants do better depending on the location. Here in Florida growing seasons are very early spring and late summer. Most summers are too hot and will kill off the roots of gardens so we plant as early as January and as late as September.

[myakka]

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My Dad's family had a good size farm that lasted till I was about 11, when all the brothers sold out and moved.

I only remember one thing that seems like a neat idea for those who don't know about it. When we planted corn, we also planted beans. (White half runners if my 35 yr old memories are accurate)
As you put the corn in the ground, about every third hole you drop in a bean. This way when the corn is up, it acts like a trellis (sp) for the beans to vine along.
This gives you two crops for the one acreage.

I am not any kind of expert but that technique stayed with me, and I hope it is useful to anyone farming now.

[Scouter]

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Have done beans and corn together many times. RichFL is right, County agent will help you along with soil conditions. May just need to add some lime to neutralize the acidity.

[Mangler]

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All the books and planing and observation in the world cannot prepare you. You have to get out and do it and fail and fail again. Don't let your failures be when your life depends on it.

That's the absolute truth. This gardening stuff is a lot of work and very discouraging, especially when a failure takes a whole year to correct. But that is exactly why I am trying to learn it now.

[Catullus]

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Thank for the info. Canning is something I learned from my grandmother. If you don't know what you are doing it can seem daunting.

[dalewick]

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Agree with much of whats been said here. Gardening is alot of work as is canning and preserving your own food. But, doesn't it give you a good feeling to know that your producing your families food off of your land and feeding yourself. I'm still picking tomatos and peppers for canning and have a number of pumpkins to process. Still have corn, watermelons and carrots to harvest also. Hunting and trapping season are just around the corner and I have enough rabbits and squirrels in the yard to eat for a few weeks. LOL. I LOVE FALL!

Dale

[dalewick]

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One quick suggestion for anyone wanting to improve there soil and increase there harvest. Last year I started adding biochar (Homemade charcoal, crushed and soaked in compost tea) to my garden soil. Saw it on NATGEO about the amazon rain forest. The first year it increased my crop production 250% with not near enough biochar. Added more last winter and my production is up 400-500% from 2 years ago. Have read of increases in the 800% range, so this winter I'm adding more and going to see. If I can, I'll take pics and share the process.

Dale

[Griptilian]

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Another way to improve your soil which we're going to do real soon, is plant cover crops like buckwheat. Bought 7 bags of organic topsoil yesterday & plan on doing the rest of my beds next wk. Cover crops add nutrients to your soil like manganese, etc. I'll post pictures of my raised beds when I can.