Computer Cowboy
06-18-2009, 08:55 AM
Hello folks,
What a delight to find a spot with so many kindred spirits! I've been reading Patti's excellent articles in Organic Gardening magazine for quite awhile.
We try to produce almost everything we need foodwise on our little place, even though it's only a 1/5 acre town lot. Over the years, we've learned alot of important lessons the hard way and have steadily increased our production. One of the key lessons has been that, in this hot, arid region, much of the advice found in gardening books needs to be disregarded. Until you get innovative and experimental in your thinking, you don't successfully grow much around here. Three years ago, we hit the magical milestone of reliably growing enough of everything to last beyond the next year's harvest! Yep, it can be done.
This year we're raising 47 different foods, all organically, and plan to continue our habit of avoiding the grocery store as much as possible. We also live in a pretty energy-efficient adobe house, heat entirely with wood, and compost everything that's compostable.
Here's a shot of one of our raised beds from last season:
http://www.computer-cowboy.net/images/garden1.jpg
Yeah, I know it looks crowded for most parts of the world, but that's one of the keys to success in these parts; crowding shades the soil.
Here's to nonconsumerism!
What a delight to find a spot with so many kindred spirits! I've been reading Patti's excellent articles in Organic Gardening magazine for quite awhile.
We try to produce almost everything we need foodwise on our little place, even though it's only a 1/5 acre town lot. Over the years, we've learned alot of important lessons the hard way and have steadily increased our production. One of the key lessons has been that, in this hot, arid region, much of the advice found in gardening books needs to be disregarded. Until you get innovative and experimental in your thinking, you don't successfully grow much around here. Three years ago, we hit the magical milestone of reliably growing enough of everything to last beyond the next year's harvest! Yep, it can be done.
This year we're raising 47 different foods, all organically, and plan to continue our habit of avoiding the grocery store as much as possible. We also live in a pretty energy-efficient adobe house, heat entirely with wood, and compost everything that's compostable.
Here's a shot of one of our raised beds from last season:
http://www.computer-cowboy.net/images/garden1.jpg
Yeah, I know it looks crowded for most parts of the world, but that's one of the keys to success in these parts; crowding shades the soil.
Here's to nonconsumerism!