Towards Sustainability - My Effort To Grow All My Own Food

[David]

My fiance and I FINALLY closed on our house here in Florida on Wednesday. Hurray! One of our biggest criteria was that we get a couple acres with the house so I can work towards growing all our own food (or as much as possible). There's a variety of reasons for this from health to financial which I'm happy to elaborate on if anyone is interested. I plan to keep meticulous financial records to determine if/when we finally save money by raising our own food. I'll post those numbers in the future. I plan for this thread to be an ongoing blog that details this entire journey.

First off, the land! Our house sits on a little more than 2.5 acres in Southwest Florida. The people that moved out let the land get very overgrown. The picture below is taken from inside my lanai (thus the screen showing) looking back towards the end of the property. It's over 600 feet back there (it's a skinny but long parcel). If you can see a building at the very end, that's a horse barn. I never set foot into that prior to putting an offer on the house as the land was too overgrown and I didn't care what shape it was in as I loved the house and parcel

Another picture looking from the lanai towards the edge of the property. Note that fence you see real close is not the end of my property, that's just a fence separating difference areas of the land.

This is part of the front yard:

More front yard:

Back towards the house from the road:

The house is on a corner lot. This is walking down the street towards the end of the land (which is bordered by a canal). The end of the land is where those red signs are in the distance:

Looking in on the overgrown land as I walk down that side road.

Lots more overgrowth and the hidden barn.

The canal at the end of the road.

Today I brought in a brush hog and chopped down and mulched up all that overgrowth. My what a difference a day makes. I can walk my land now!

Hurray for progress

The barn is actually quite nice. It needs cleaned up, but I'm pretty excited about it. It's 5 stalls and a workshop:

As I don't want horses, I'm going to use the barn for other things. What those things are I don't know But I plan to convert this stall to a chicken coop over the next couple days as I hope to pick up chickens on Sunday!

I'm so excited!

 

[Crohn's 35]

Whoo Hoo David!! Looks awesome! I wished I could see the pic of the house it looks like it could be a big one? Congrats to you and your fiance.

I have 24 acres but about 3 is cleared and we have a huge garden, 5 apple trees and we just planted Maple trees (2) we dont get maples growing up this far North so we had to plant them. We get snow lol, so therefore we cut trees from our own lot, so much cheaper. I love the fall and love to go and use the wood splitter and stack the wood. Being in the country has great benefits...except bears, only saw 3 at once this year.

Can we see a pic of the house...pretty please (YOU know I deserve it) :lol:

 

[tiloah]

Oh my gosh this is SO COOL! It is my dream to be able to do this someday... not in the forseeable future, however. Hope it goes really well for you and keep us updated.

 

[beth]

Wow! Excellent. Don't know if growing your own will work out that much cheaper, but they will be better. Takes a lot of work too!
Hope it works out well.

 

[sawdust]

Cool!

Well, I'm not quite as ambitious as you, but this year I planted my first garden and my tried my first efforts at home canning. I learned alot, and while saving money is probably going to be tough (especially if you account at all for your time), you can't put a price tag on "I know what's in this food," "I grew that," and how delicious *pick*-*crunch* is when it comes from the seed you planted and cared for all these months.

Also, Mrs sawdust and I did all this together, and it was very nice to have such a shared effort together. We've just now started eating our pickled things, like pickles and beans. Yum!

 

[Tesscorm]

Congratulations!!! Lots of work for you and your fiance but, I'm sure it will bring you lots of fun and satisfaction (and lots of great food!). :dance:

I'm looking forward to following your blog! I've been wanting to start up a veggie garden for a while... this may be my inspiration!

Good luck!

 

[LindaS]

Wow, that is ambitious. My grandmother lived in Florida for a while, and the best orange I ever ate was picked from the tree about 15 minutes before eating it. Fresh food is higher in vitamins and you can control whether or not you use GMO seeds, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.

I look forward to reading all about your work. Living in Minnesota, we grow a vegetable garden each summer, but our growing season is very limited.

 

[Crohn's 35]

I am not going to follow this until I see a picture of the house ** Pen's foot tapping on the floor and arms folded** I am waiting!!!!!!!!! :lol:

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

That's excellent, David! It sounds like a LOT of work but hopefully it pays off for you. I have a tiny garden and have been considering putting in a little chicken coop (my city has an ordinance that allows residents to have up to 5 chickens).

If you're not looking to have horses, may I suggest miniature cows? Ever since I discovered that these tiny cows exist, I have desperately wanted one. While my city allows chickens, it sadly does not allow cows, not even tiny ones. Oh well. Here's the link, check out how cute they are!
http://www.littlemoos.com/

 

[Jessi]

Congratulations on closing. It's a very beautiful property. It almost makes me miss Florida. Almost. I am so excited to see what you've already done to the place, and what you'll continue to improve. This is a huge undertaking, but I have a strong feeling that you can handle it.

I love the cow idea that Cat suggested. That would ensure grass-fed milks and meats. Good luck with this endeavor. I'm really proud of you and highly motivated by this thread. :hug:

 

[rygon]

Nice garden. Ive started to grow some food. I would suggest that you start off small the 1st year, onions, carrots, tomatoes and herbs maybe and see how you get on. Then you will have a better idea for the next year.

Also worth buying some gardening books. Good Luck

 

[mizgarnet]

I am green with envy, David. Beautiful land and a wonderful beginning for you and yours. I grew up on a farm and I miss the fresh food. I hope to have a raised garden next year. Listen to what RYGON says...start small. It is amazing how many tomatoes you get off of 100 plants...

Wendy

 

[glory_h]

Wow! This is a dream of mine, too. The husband and I are hoping to buy in a few years and one of the requirements is enough land to grow a substantial amount of vegetables!

 

[sawdust]

There was a gardening thread in the Cooking with Crohns subforum last Spring. I hope we can get another going this year. It was helpful to learn, get excited from what others were doing, and holds me to what I plan aloud.

 

[rygon]

Does anyone know much about gardening on this site? Ive a few excellent veg books but im not sure if its uk only (weather + soil dependant) I found pak Choi really easy to grow along with many herbs (didnt get any basil outside) not sure if climates make a lot of difference to how you garden really

 

[Crohn's 35]

Hey Rygon, yes climate, acidic soil,clay soil, not enough drainage, sunlight.. we have a huge garden and with trial and error..Bears, deer are pesky for gardens. Pototoes are better in clay soil..carrots in sandy soil, tomatoes very far apart from each there. We dont grow herbs, but we have dill. Too much rain or not enough can make or break your garden.

 

[DustyKat]

@Rygon...Most professional gardeners here talk in weather (hardiness) zones and then the peculiarities of the plants...soil type etc. So I would well imagine what grows in your zone in the UK is interchangeable worldwide.

EG...

place looks fab David! Can't wait to see how things continue to progress...:goodluck:

Dusty.

 

[LindaS]

Rygon, what Pen said, climate and soil makes a huge difference. I live in the city, and our soil has a higher than ideal lead content, so all our vegetables are in either raised beds or pots. We live in zone 3/4, so our last average frost date is May 15, but last year it was the end of May when we had our last frost. We also had a frost in mid-September. So our growing season is very limited. My mother in law loves to garden, and she starts a lot of her seeds in a make-shift greenhouse my brother in law constructed. We basically only grow bell peppers, sugar snap peas and tomatoes, along with some herbs. This year, for whatever reason, our basil didn't grow, so no pesto.

 

[Crohn's 35]

Good idea Dusty! I have a book with the hardy zones too. Being as we have -30c below winters, we have to watch what we grow because of a short spring to fall time. Makes a difference. I got a cherry tree specially made in Winnipeg and it is for climates -40c ..cant wait a few years lol.

 

[Crohn's 35]

Rygon, what Pen said, climate and soil makes a huge difference. I live in the city, and our soil has a higher than ideal lead content, so all our vegetables are in either raised beds or pots. We live in zone 3/4, so our last average frost date is May 15, but last year it was the end of May when we had our last frost. We also had a frost in mid-September. So our growing season is very limited. My mother in law loves to garden, and she starts a lot of her seeds in a make-shift greenhouse my brother in law constructed. We basically only grow bell peppers, sugar snap peas and tomatoes, along with some herbs. This year, for whatever reason, our basil didn't grow, so no pesto.

Hey Linda you are our closest US State to us, so our climates are basically the same.

 

[LindaS]

Where do you live, Pen? I would love a cherry tree, but I didn't know they had any for our climate!

 

[Soybean]

Ahhh congrats David, this is fab news! I just told Sam (my fiance) and he's muchos jealous lol! (his dream is to have his own land to practice biodynamic farming to help sustain our community) You should deffo get chickens, we have three in our back garden and 14 on our allotment (plus 4 ducks) - they make the best eggs and are so funny to watch (so inquisitive). Good luck and I look forward to following your progress.

Soybean xx

 

[scoutfinch]

Congratulations! That's really awesome. I'm sure growing your own food is A LOT of work, but I'm also sure that it's worth the money and effort. Best of luck! I look forward to seeing your progress. I'm one of the many who wish she could own a plot of land in a temperate climate, but I'm young and my life is too enmeshed in NYC to see that happening soon (that is, short of winning the lottery and being able to afford properties all over the world) - so I shall live vicariously through you.

Oh, and chickens are a great idea. You'll save SO much money on eggs (especially if you raise them organic, hence organic eggs, which are pretty pricey).

 

[Crohn's 35]

Ugh, still NO pic of the house yet...:yfaint:

 

[xJillx]

Way to go, David! I must say, I am a little jealous. I wish I lived in sunny FL and could grow my own fresh fruits and veggies all year long.

Congratulations on your new home and best of luck with it!

 

[Dexky]

Nice place David! Is the canal fresh water and, if so, can you use it to irrigate? We are blessed to have a well beside our garden. You're gonna love those fresh eggs

 

[SarahAnne]

So incredibly happy for you! I started square foot gardening (raised beds) last year, it was the first time I had ever done any gardening. It was so rewarding! I developed really bad eczema on my hands and feet, so I had to stop.

I am planning on getting it going again in the winter after I recover from the surgery. In Florida we can pretty much grow all year long, and I can't wait to start some winter veggies for my husband. My green beans last year were amazing, and pulling up my own - very tiny - carrots was the most awesome thing ever.

Can't wait to see more pics!

 

[MADiMarc]

Nice, David. Enjoy!

 

[David]

Thank you all for the wonderful comments and suggestions, you're such a great group of people. :hug:

Cat - I don't plan to get any large animals, at least not in the foreseeable future. I don't want that much responsibility right now and my fiance is vegetarian so there's no way she'll let me slaughter an animal that big for food as she'd get attached to it. But maybe in the future, we'll see

Dexky - The canal water is indeed fresh BUT I don't trust it to be clean enough. I worry about pesticides, herbicides, etc so I won't be irrigating with it unfortunately.

Late last week I picked up my chickens! WOO! Pictured below are 9 Rhode Island Red chicks. I wanted birds that were a bit older, but nobody around here had any so got the chicks instead. It's cool, I'm in no real rush and it's fun to have chicks again. They're so darn cute and it's easy to get them tame when they're this age.

I also got my first load of organic dirt delivered a few days ago! WOO! Pictured below is 4 cubic yards at $25.00 a yard. Not a bad price as the quality of the dirt appears to be very high. I'm quite pleased with it. So is my Anatolian who loves to climb on top of it.

Tomorrow is an exciting day! I get a bunch of fruit trees delivered! WOO! Here's what I'm getting and the prices:

1x of UF Sun, Tropic Beauty, Florida Prince, FlordaGlo, and Tropic Snow peaches - $80.00
1x 2 year old pancho avocado - $50.00
1x 2 year old lila avocado - $50.00
1x 2 year old mexicola avocado - $50.00
1x 5 year old Hamlin Orange - $60.00
1x 5 year old Valencia Orange - $60.00
3x edible hibiscus - $9.00
1x Loquat Tree - $15.00
1x White Fig Tree - $15.00
1x Brown Turkey Fig - $15.00
1x Meyer's Lemon - $18.00
1x 2 year old Pineapple Orange - $20.00
1x 2 year old Kishu Tangerine - $20.00
1x Barbie Pink guava tree - $20.00
4x Jaboticaba Bush's - $80.00
1x Hog Plum - $20.00
1x Macadamian Nut Tree - $20.00
1x 3 year old Kaffir Lime - $30.00
1x Hak Ip Lychee - $30.00
6x Assorted bananas - $90.00

:banana:

 

[Emily]

David you are going to have the most amazing trees!!! I'm pretty sure you covered every fruit in the book but also they are gonna be beautiful. I think I'm most excited about the trees, don't know why. So amazing what you are doing.

 

[Crohn's 35]

Thank you all for the wonderful comments and suggestions, you're such a great group of people. :hug:

Cat - I don't plan to get any large animals, at least not in the foreseeable future. I don't want that much responsibility right now and my fiance is vegetarian so there's no way she'll let me slaughter an animal that big for food as she'd get attached to it. But maybe in the future, we'll see

Dexky - The canal water is indeed fresh BUT I don't trust it to be clean enough. I worry about pesticides, herbicides, etc so I won't be irrigating with it unfortunately.

Late last week I picked up my chickens! WOO! Pictured below are 9 Rhode Island Red chicks. I wanted birds that were a bit older, but nobody around here had any so got the chicks instead. It's cool, I'm in no real rush and it's fun to have chicks again. They're so darn cute and it's easy to get them tame when they're this age.

I also got my first load of organic dirt delivered a few days ago! WOO! Pictured below is 4 cubic yards at $25.00 a yard. Not a bad price as the quality of the dirt appears to be very high. I'm quite pleased with it. So is my Anatolian who loves to climb on top of it.

Tomorrow is an exciting day! I get a bunch of fruit trees delivered! WOO! Here's what I'm getting and the prices:

1x of UF Sun, Tropic Beauty, Florida Prince, FlordaGlo, and Tropic Snow peaches - $80.00
1x 2 year old pancho avocado - $50.00
1x 2 year old lila avocado - $50.00
1x 2 year old mexicola avocado - $50.00
1x 5 year old Hamlin Orange - $60.00
1x 5 year old Valencia Orange - $60.00
3x edible hibiscus - $9.00
1x Loquat Tree - $15.00
1x White Fig Tree - $15.00
1x Brown Turkey Fig - $15.00
1x Meyer's Lemon - $18.00
1x 2 year old Pineapple Orange - $20.00
1x 2 year old Kishu Tangerine - $20.00
1x Barbie Pink guava tree - $20.00
4x Jaboticaba Bush's - $80.00
1x Hog Plum - $20.00
1x Macadamian Nut Tree - $20.00
1x 3 year old Kaffir Lime - $30.00
1x Hak Ip Lychee - $30.00
6x Assorted bananas - $90.00

:banana:

Hey you forgot a Partridge in a pear tree!! :lol2: Sorry couldnt resist.

I gotta see the bananas :banana: All we can grow is apple trees, way to far north. The previous owners had a pear tree but the season isnt long enough. But we do have a special cherry bush but nothing yet, just planted last fall before this one. Only in Canada. You are a lucky man I gotta say.

 

[David]

I've been working really hard on the yard the last week or so. It turns out that one of the vines I've been pulling out of just about every nook and cranny was poison ivy.

I have it EVERYWHERE. SO ITCHY. Why yes, THAT everywhere too...

I let the chickens out of the coop for the first time yesterday. God I love watching those cute little birds doing their thing.

I'll take new pictures soon. I've cleared all the way to the canal which is much more peaceful to watch slowly meander along than I realized. We're thinking of building some sort of small meditation area near the banks

 

[tiloah]

Oh no! I hope you feel better soon. Yikes.

Chickens! Someday I will have chickens...

 

[Dexky]

Chickens don't lay much right now anyway and I think it's a daylight vs cold weather issue so by next summer you should be good to go. We have buff brahma hens, 10 of laying age, and are only averaging 2-3 eggs a day right now. Oddly enough, they usually pick up again after the winter equinox. EJ and I usually split a a 3-egg breakfast burrito every morning, and with holiday cooking approaching, we may have to buy eggs for the first time in over a year. Normally, we give on average 2 dozen/week away!!

I've never heard of edible hibiscus! What part is edible? Fruit? I know I could google it, but I'm lazy

That's a lot of holes to dig!

 

[MADiMarc]

David, not for nothin'hon, but poison ivy? Please google poison oak & poison sumac before you pull any more vines. I promise you will NEVER forget the experience and that you won't repeat it. I had a bad case as a kid, itched everywhere- yes, even that everywhere- and had the scratching scars to prove it for years! Oatmeal baths, buddy. Feel better.

 

[beth]

Ugg! Hope it goes soon David.

Home grown eggs are brill aren't they! Proper deep orange yolks and thick snot whites! We used to keep a couple of ducks, very funny creatures, and fantastic eggs. We gave them away to someone in the next village when we couldn't find anyone plausible to come in to look after them. Nowadays there are loads of people round the village with their own hens that it would be easy to find someone to swap holiday duties with.

 

[Jessi]

I'm so sorry about your rash!! Oatmeal and vinegar will stop the poison from spreading. (I married an eagle scout. He takes good care of us in the wilderness. ) I really hope you feel better soon! Honestly, it's the last thing you needed just after having that bad meat bout. Watching the chickens sounds like good therapy, though.

 

[David]

Thanks for the comments everyone The poison ivy is doing much better. 90% of the itching is gone but I think it'll take awhile for the wounds to fully clear. They seem to heal really slow.

Chickens don't lay much right now anyway and I think it's a daylight vs cold weather issue so by next summer you should be good to go. We have buff brahma hens, 10 of laying age, and are only averaging 2-3 eggs a day right now. Oddly enough, they usually pick up again after the winter equinox. EJ and I usually split a a 3-egg breakfast burrito every morning, and with holiday cooking approaching, we may have to buy eggs for the first time in over a year. Normally, we give on average 2 dozen/week away!!

That's fantastic that you have chickens, good for you Do you free range them?

I expect to get our first egg around late January to early February.

I've never heard of edible hibiscus! What part is edible? Fruit? I know I could google it, but I'm lazy

You eat the leaves of edible hibiscus much like salad greens. I'll try to remember to take a picture of them soon to post. Edible hibiscus is great for climates like Florida since most lettuce is a cooler weather crop whereas edible hibiscus flourishes in warm weather.

Ugg! Hope it goes soon David.

Home grown eggs are brill aren't they! Proper deep orange yolks and thick snot whites! We used to keep a couple of ducks, very funny creatures, and fantastic eggs. We gave them away to someone in the next village when we couldn't find anyone plausible to come in to look after them. Nowadays there are loads of people round the village with their own hens that it would be easy to find someone to swap holiday duties with.

Yes, eggs from backyard chickens that are allowed to free range are SUBSTANTIALLY better tasting AND much healthier for you as well!

You should get ducks again!

I planted our first trees today! YAY! I planted two banana trees along the canal. We can get freezing weather where I'm at a few days a year which bananas would HATE so I planted along the canal as a microclimate. In theory, the water should act as a heat sink and stop the banana trees from freezing and dying. In theory You'll notice the cardboard. I put that down then mulch on top of it to kill any grass and prevent any weeds from growing around the trees until they can establish themselves.

Isn't the canal great? I get a very serene feeling watching it slowly flow by.

Here is what this area looked like prior to all the clearing work I did This is looking in from the other side of the fence.

I've been busy

As I was finishing mulching the second banana, what I THINK was a blue herron flew in and perched. However, I admittedly don't know my birds very well so correct me if I'm wrong. He was huge and beautiful

 

[LindaS]

David, that looks like a blue heron. They summer up here, and they are so cool to watch. We were surprised by one last June at Minnehaha creek (it feeds into the Mississippi river in Minneapolis). They are big birds.

I am so jealous of the banana trees. When I lived in Brazil we ate fresh bananas and they taste so much better!

 

[MADiMarc]

Wow! That's about all I can say! A terrific amount of satisfying work.
Glad the itch is gone. It is something you'll never forget, huh?

 

[xJillx]

How awesome, David.

Best of luck and thanks for sharing!

 

[Mayflower537]

This is really cool, David. So jealous!!

 

[Mountaingem]

So happy for both of you! Best wishes on all your endeavors!

 

[Dexky]

We have some free range game chickens. If we can find their eggs, we do eat them. The old fat layers are in about a 50 by 50 foot pen. We live right on the edge of a large wooded area so even with the pen, we have lost several to predators.

 

[rdsoxfan]

that's exciting!

 

[Silvermoon]

Awesome, David.

My husband and I own a quarter section of land (160 acres, or 1/4 mile x 1/4 mile square) that we have been (slowly) working towards our own sustainability. So far all we have accomplished is the garden (about 3 x 4 acres so far) - have for veg and half for berries (fruit trees do not grow this far north very well, unfortunately, so we rely a lot on berries - both tame and natural to the land) - but have grown just about any other kind of vegetable you can name.

"Organic" is hard work, as we do NOT use any kind of chemicals or fertilizers except what we can produce ourselves. This means a lot of hand weeding (especially early on), constantly testing the soil to see what minerals or nutrients are needed, etc. Even with "weeding" though, one must becareful, as technically a "weed" is anything that is unwanted.... research your 'weeds' before you discard them, as a lot of them are very useful and can have great medicinal properties (for example, "chickweed" is a great astrigent and antioxident; dandilions are incredibly high in Vitamin C - even higher than oranges and tomatoes; yarrow is great for digestive ailments....).

Chickens are a great "meat" to start with - especially free range chickens - as they are extremely low in fat and high in Omega 3 fatty acids (which are absolutely essential in CD and bowel disorders - but people in general are getting way to many omega 6 and 9s and way too few 3s since we have become farmers rather than hunter/gatherers). Even if you chose not to eat the meat, the eggs can be a better source of protien and Omega 3's as opposed to store bought ones that lack protien and are higher in omega 6 and 9s, due to what they are fed.

We haven't yet raised our own cow or pig (that is next year now that the fence is finally repaired and the feild is continually producing adequate amounts of oats) - but a neighbour of mine is "farming" the same way we do, so right now our cows and pigs are being raised on his piece of land.... next year we get to share the work!

Even if you are not into eating the beef, one good milk cow could be beneficial if you are willing to take the time to use the milk for yougurts and such - again, because of the "natural" process of making your own yougurt, it can be extremely beneficial as the cultures and bacterias have not been processed and/or readded in order to be considered "safe" to sell in supermarket stores.....

You will probably find (as Beth mentioned) that in the long run you will not save any money (the only place you may save is in the meat production, but that is moot if you are not eating the meat), but the satisfaction and KNOWING (as mentioned by others) WHAT is being put on/in your own food is extremely gratifying. It tastes better and is better for you. I know I have found a huge difference in the "regularity" and pain in my bowels since eating more "homegrown" and less store bought - even the stuff that claims to be "fresh and/or organic".

Good luck to you and enjoy!!

 

[rdsoxfan]

keep in mind you may not be "saving" money on the front end when going organic (whether growing your own or purchasing it from someone else) but you are saving money on the back end in several ways. By eating a healthier diet, you probably feel better and are probably going to be more productive at work- which may be rewarded by bonuses, raises, and promotions. You are also reducing the costs of medical care when you are older because of your healthier lifestyle. If you have children, it's impossible to calculate the benefits they receive from eating healthier food now.

 

[David]

Today I planted some beans, lettuce, and cantaloupe in containers as I was aching to plant something. A few days ago I ordered 1000 cinder blocks which should arrive on Saturday. I'll be creating temporary raised beds for the veggies and trees out of them. I already did a test on a peach tree and like the result. I'll post a picture of it soon.

When I lived in Brazil we ate fresh bananas and they taste so much better!

I bet! Do you know what kind they were?

When I lived in Hawaii, I ate apple bananas constantly. SO MUCH better than the bland store bought crap. I'm hoping to order some apple banana trees from a nursery I found online this coming spring :dance:

Wow! That's about all I can say! A terrific amount of satisfying work.
Glad the itch is gone. It is something you'll never forget, huh?

Hahah, yeah, it's terrible. It turns out it's not just poison ivy that's getting me but something called "Brazilian Pepper" which is in the same family. Good times.

We have some free range game chickens. If we can find their eggs, we do eat them. The old fat layers are in about a 50 by 50 foot pen. We live right on the edge of a large wooded area so even with the pen, we have lost several to predators.

Awww. Are they getting into the pen somehow?

My husband and I own a quarter section of land (160 acres, or 1/4 mile x 1/4 mile square) that we have been (slowly) working towards our own sustainability.

OMG! You should start your own thread (or you're welcome to share in this one as well!)

"Organic" is hard work, as we do NOT use any kind of chemicals or fertilizers except what we can produce ourselves. This means a lot of hand weeding (especially early on), constantly testing the soil to see what minerals or nutrients are needed, etc. Even with "weeding" though, one must becareful, as technically a "weed" is anything that is unwanted.... research your 'weeds' before you discard them, as a lot of them are very useful and can have great medicinal properties (for example, "chickweed" is a great astrigent and antioxident; dandilions are incredibly high in Vitamin C - even higher than oranges and tomatoes; yarrow is great for digestive ailments....).

Organic is WAY HARD. Thank god for horse poop and vermicompost

You will probably find (as Beth mentioned) that in the long run you will not save any money (the only place you may save is in the meat production, but that is moot if you are not eating the meat), but the satisfaction and KNOWING (as mentioned by others) WHAT is being put on/in your own food is extremely gratifying. It tastes better and is better for you. I know I have found a huge difference in the "regularity" and pain in my bowels since eating more "homegrown" and less store bought - even the stuff that claims to be "fresh and/or organic".

While I agree with everything you say, I'm of the opinion that food is going to do nothing but become more expensive in this country. With various economic policies of our "leaders" and peak oil, I feel that we're going to be spending ever larger sums of money on food. Considering over 45 million americans already need food stamps to be able to eat, food is already too expensive. At current price levels I might never break even, but I think in the future, it will prove to have been a great investment.

keep in mind you may not be "saving" money on the front end when going organic (whether growing your own or purchasing it from someone else) but you are saving money on the back end in several ways. By eating a healthier diet, you probably feel better and are probably going to be more productive at work- which may be rewarded by bonuses, raises, and promotions. You are also reducing the costs of medical care when you are older because of your healthier lifestyle. If you have children, it's impossible to calculate the benefits they receive from eating healthier food now.

That too

Thank you all for your comments and support!

:Karl:

 

[Feather]

This is wonderful! I do a lot of work on my school's farm, which has been so rewarding, but the only growing I've been able to do is some basil and lettuce under my bed in my dorm room with a small grow light. But someday! My family has some dwarf peach trees which have finally started producing some fruit -- delicious.

 

[JohnnyRottenAppleseed]

Wow I'm so excited for you! I moved into a tiny apartment and miss my garden. Good call on the fruit trees. Banana trees can get a lilttle messy but bananas are so good for people with IBD. cheers!

 

[David]

It has been awhile since I've updated but progress has been steady and I've been having a lot of fun. Here is a before and after showcasing what I've done so far:

The very first picture I posted here:

Now:

:banana:

You can see some of the cinder block raised beds for my trees that I'm building. Further in the background are pallets of cinder blocks I haven't gotten to yet. The trees got quite a haircut as well

Here's my first raised bed for vegetables (made of wood) and so far so good. There's bell pepper, sugar pea, green beans, turnips, beets, chives, carrots, and broccoli :thumleft:

And my newest raised bed for vegetables made of cinder blocks that went in a few days ago. I plan to have around 20 of these raised beds when all is said and done.

My chickens are getting so big It won't be too long before I have to build some nest boxes. I HAVE built an automated chicken coop door which opens in the morning and closes after dusk which has made things so much nicer for me (and the chickens).

Here's a mulberry tree in one of my raised beds.

And a peach tree. This is a special low chill variety developed by Florida State University.

Fun fun fun! Until next time!

 

[KWalker]

Wow this is awesome! Living in an apartment it's absolutely not possible for me to grow anything organic personally but I would love to be able to find somewhere to buy true organic fruits/vegetables and fresh eggs. There are so many chemicals even in the "fresh" fruits at most grocery stores.

Kudos to you guys!

 

[David]

Living in an apartment it's absolutely not possible for me to grow anything organic

http://www.amazon.com/Victorio-VKP1...3EK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323819959&sr=8-1

I use that to grow all my organic broccoli, alfalfa, and mung sprouts. It saves me a ton of money (my fiance and I love sprouts on sandwiches and in salads), is super easy to use, and the sprouts are invariably healthier, tastier, and crunchier than what I get in the store. In my opinion, most Crohnies should try sprouting as you get the health benefits (those vitamins and minerals and other goodies I so often harp about) of the vegetables in concentrated form with reduced insoluble fiber so you (hopefully) don't get the negative aspects.

Point being, yes you can

In fact, there's tons of stuff you can grow indoors, especially if you play around with hydroponics or aquaponics.

 

[KWalker]

Hmm, that's very interesting. I want to look into that. I guess I have a balcony too lol. I notice one of my neighbours has plants growing on their balcony....but I don't think those are fruits or veggies (if you catch my drift lol)

 

[David]

I just started a thread on sprouting. Join us!

DUDE. If you have a balcony, you can totally grow TONS of fruits and veggies (and the other stuff ). Container gardening is super easy. I'm happy to help in any way I can if you get into it

 

[KWalker]

I noticed, I'm going to check it out. I don't want to "derail" your thread, but so say I wanted to get started with this, what are the first and most important things I need. See to me, I would go to the local Canadian Tire (same as any big box stores) and get some seeds but have no idea where to start. How do you know what soil to use, and all that fun stuff.

Also, being in Canada we're pretty much waiting for snow now any day. If I were to use my balcony would I have to wait until Spring time to start?

 

[DustyKat]

Why do you have raised beds for trees?

Dusty.

 

[vonfunk]

I would go to the local Canadian Tire (same as any big box stores) and get some seeds but have no idea where to start. How do you know what soil to use, and all that fun stuff.

Also, being in Canada we're pretty much waiting for snow now any day. If I were to use my balcony would I have to wait until Spring time to start?

If your apartment has a south facing window start them there, if not south then east, followed by west, then north.

As far as sprouting them goes, seed need warmth not light. So put them in the warmest spot in the apartment. they don't need light until they have actually broken the surface of the soil.

 

[David]

I noticed, I'm going to check it out. I don't want to "derail" your thread, but so say I wanted to get started with this, what are the first and most important things I need. See to me, I would go to the local Canadian Tire (same as any big box stores) and get some seeds but have no idea where to start. How do you know what soil to use, and all that fun stuff.

Also, being in Canada we're pretty much waiting for snow now any day. If I were to use my balcony would I have to wait until Spring time to start?

No no no! You're not derailing! Anything food, garden, sustainability related is welcome in here. If you start talking about cats then yes, THAT would be a derail.

You don't need to wait until spring to start! You can plant winter crops But you'll also want to determine which winter crops are easy on your gut. My suggestion would avoid that big box store and find a local nursery. Go there, explain you want to grow some stuff on your balcony, and they'll help you with pots, soil, and help you choose plants you can plant NOW. I strongly suggest organic methods.

Why do you have raised beds for trees?

Would YOU want to sleep on the ground? If a bed is good enough for people, why not for trees?

In seriousness, good question A few reasons:

1. A lot of the trees I'll be planting are tropical and subtropical such as avocado, lychee, longan, various citrus varieties, and more. Point being, they HATE the cold and frost can kill them, especially when they're young. Where I live in Florida, I'm told we get a few days of 28-32F degree (freezing weather for you celsius folks) which could kill my precious babies The raised beds are microclimates. They do a couple things:
A. They raise the trees off the ground. Cold air and frost goes to the lowest point. If the trees are elevated, the frost and cold air can't gather there.
B. The cinder blocks retain heat during the day and release it at night. It's the same reason you can plant less cold hardy trees against block walls or the south side of your house.

2. Most of the trees I am planting HATE having wet feet. A couple days of standing water and they're dead. Where I live, the water table is VERY high (thus the need for the man made canal behind my house) and during particularly heavy storms, my land can turn into a lake for a few days. The raised beds solve that.

3. The soil here is basically sand and quite devoid of nutrients. This lets me control the soil and give them lots of tasty nutrients. You know me and my vitamins and minerals I nag my trees too, not just you guys

The cinder blocks are actually temporary and letting me get the trees planted now. I plan to actually make BIGGER beds around the trees using ferrocement which is what they sometimes make boat hulls and water tanks out of. I'll make the ferrocement walls around the raised beds then pop out the cinder blocks and add more dirt.

 

[KWalker]

First things first. You're from Florida? You have no idea what freezing weather is! Lol.

I would love to grow some organic things. Baby cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, etc. I LOVE fresh vegetables! If I talk to someone at a nursery they'll know what they're talking about as far as organic or not right? What are some of the easiest plants to start with?

 

[vonfunk]

No no no! You're not derailing! Anything food, garden, sustainability related is welcome in here. If you start talking about cats then yes, THAT would be a derail.

You don't need to wait until spring to start! You can plant winter crops But you'll also want to determine which winter crops are easy on your gut. My suggestion would avoid that big box store and find a local nursery. Go there, explain you want to grow some stuff on your balcony, and they'll help you with pots, soil, and help you choose plants you can plant NOW.

David, I'm going to disagree with you on this.

The part of Canada that we're in is going to hit -30C, which is somewhere around -20F. We don't really have winter crops. As far as planting crops that require a fall planting season (garlic for example), he won't be able to build something big enough on a balcony big enough to ensure that the soil doesn't completely freeze. He can grow indoors, lettuces would work, as well edible flowers (nasturtiums), sprouts and pea shoots (which are just plain delicious).

 

[vonfunk]

I would love to grow some organic things. Baby cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, etc. I LOVE fresh vegetables! If I talk to someone at a nursery they'll know what they're talking about as far as organic or not right? What are some of the easiest plants to start with?

Kyle,
As far as seeds go, Urban Harvest is the place to order from.
The rest of your stuff can be bought from Canadian Tire,Rona etc. For growing on a window ledge I'm going to suggest starting with leafy things as they don't need the same level of sunlight, a window near a radiator should be okay provided it doesn't get too cold. The seed place I linked to sells seeds for dwarf plants, what you can do as well is make a cloche to provide extra insulation by cutting the bottom of a clear 2L pop bottle and placing that over the plant.

 

[David]

First things first. You're from Florida? You have no idea what freezing weather is! Lol.

You're right. I really DO NOT comprehend what it's like to live in that cold of a climate so you should actually throw out what I said and listen to this:

The part of Canada that we're in is going to hit -30C, which is somewhere around -20F. We don't really have winter crops. As far as planting crops that require a fall planting season (garlic for example), he won't be able to build something big enough on a balcony big enough to ensure that the soil doesn't completely freeze. He can grow indoors, lettuces would work, as well edible flowers (nasturtiums), sprouts and pea shoots (which are just plain delicious).

Sorry for leading you astray, and thank you vonfunk for correcting me!

I would love to grow some organic things. Baby cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, etc. I LOVE fresh vegetables! If I talk to someone at a nursery they'll know what they're talking about as far as organic or not right? What are some of the easiest plants to start with?

Yes, they should know organic gardening methods. Once the last frost is past, those cucumbers and tomatoes should work for you Green beans are pretty fool proof and do well in containers and so do snow peas.

Hopefully vonfunk can give some suggestions of other things that do well in your area.

 

[DustyKat]

Would YOU want to sleep on the ground? If a bed is good enough for people, why not for trees?

In seriousness, good question A few reasons:

1. A lot of the trees I'll be planting are tropical and subtropical such as avocado, lychee, longan, various citrus varieties, and more. Point being, they HATE the cold and frost can kill them, especially when they're young. Where I live in Florida, I'm told we get a few days of 28-32F degree (freezing weather for you celsius folks) which could kill my precious babies The raised beds are microclimates. They do a couple things:
A. They raise the trees off the ground. Cold air and frost goes to the lowest point. If the trees are elevated, the frost and cold air can't gather there.
B. The cinder blocks retain heat during the day and release it at night. It's the same reason you can plant less cold hardy trees against block walls or the south side of your house.

2. Most of the trees I am planting HATE having wet feet. A couple days of standing water and they're dead. Where I live, the water table is VERY high (thus the need for the man made canal behind my house) and during particularly heavy storms, my land can turn into a lake for a few days. The raised beds solve that.

3. The soil here is basically sand and quite devoid of nutrients. This lets me control the soil and give them lots of tasty nutrients. You know me and my vitamins and minerals I nag my trees too, not just you guys

The cinder blocks are actually temporary and letting me get the trees planted now. I plan to actually make BIGGER beds around the trees using ferrocement which is what they sometimes make boat hulls and water tanks out of. I'll make the ferrocement walls around the raised beds then pop out the cinder blocks and add more dirt.

Okay, I see.

So is that a standard practice in your part of Florida, to plant this way and use these type of trees? and does it work?

By working I mean, do the trees flourish or do you really need to work at it for success.

Dusty.

 

[David]

I haven't heard of anyone here doing it before me

I HAVE heard of people's trees dying left and right though.

We shall see...

 

[Entchen]

Hi David! I have started watching an old BritCom that reminds me of your goals. Now it's a well established pattern for many, but in the 70s...wow...talk about insight!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/goodlife/

We did not have animals but we did garden organically in the 80s (and still today, although I am now limited to a balcony and - next summer - a community garden plot). People thought it was strange, yet somehow we had the Best garden in the neighbourhood (in my humble opinion) and never wanted for potatoes, corn, beets, you name it. It took more work and planning and we did expect to lose a crop of something each year (usually peas), but we thought this was preferred to throwing chemicals on our food and soil and ignoring where/when to plant, which plants keep unwanted bugs away or attract good bugs, and so on.

 

[DustyKat]

Ooooooo, a pioneer! :ybiggrin:

Seriously though...good luck...:goodluck:

Dusty. xxx

 

[David]

We did not have animals but we did garden organically in the 80s (and still today, although I am now limited to a balcony and - next summer - a community garden plot). People thought it was strange, yet somehow we had the Best garden in the neighbourhood (in my humble opinion) and never wanted for potatoes, corn, beets, you name it. It took more work and planning and we did expect to lose a crop of something each year (usually peas), but we thought this was preferred to throwing chemicals on our food and soil and ignoring where/when to plant, which plants keep unwanted bugs away or attract good bugs, and so on.

Cool, I bet you could teach me a lot! By all means, share any tips and tricks if you so desire.

Ooooooo, a pioneer! :ybiggrin:

Heheh, I've never been one to do things the same as everyone else because then you get to the same place as everyone else. Sometimes that has worked out well, sometimes not so much. But I always learn a lot

 

[sawdust]

Looking good! Lots of hard work going on, despite your gasoline adventures.

That soil makes me drool. It'll take me years composting and tilling to get stuff that looks that sexy! Very nice.

 

[Dexky]

An automated chicken coop....hmm Good idea David!! Damn, you've been busy!!

 

[Silvermoon]

This is going to sound fairly strange (until you think about it, and vonfunk might know what I am talking about), but after searching the internet for years trying to find and amalmagmate tips on how to grow your own food and be organic, some of the best sites we have found have been marijuana forums - especially the 'grow' forums - for both dirt (potted) and hydroponics growing. When you think about it, I guess it does make sense, in that some of these guys want to grow 'optimum' crops.......

(No I will not post links to any sites we have used/looked at, but Google usually comes up with the 'most used' sites, and is a pretty good indicator in this case...)

 

[vonfunk]

the marijuana site are top notch for indoor growing. When I started seedlings for my garden I pulled bunch of information from those sites.

The are a fantastic resource, not only do they use a lot of organic practices, because they are all trying to do things cheaply and below the radar, they are quite economical in the practices. I built my indoor seedling rig based on information from those sites.

 

[David]

Hey rygon, this is how I do my raised beds:

 

[David]

Progress has been, well, sorta steady. I say that because while I now have 10 raised beds and more trees in the ground, my wife and I spent $699.56 on food in February! OUCH! Our bank account is not pleased with us. Part of the problem there is I began the Specific Carbohydrate Diet so am eating a LOT of meat and no carbs so I'm having to eat a ton to feel fullish.

We're down to 1 rooster and 4 hens. I culled and ate a couple then gave three roosters away. One hen got taken by a hawk However, I figured out that eggs are a trigger for me so I'm giving all those away anyway God I miss scrambled eggs.

A few pictures:

We've been enjoying sugar snap peas, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, turnips (I can no longer have these on the SCD), potatoes (those are out too ), and bell peppers. And we have lots of things hopefully on the way!

I'm getting plenty of vitamin D at least!

 

[Mountaingem]

How beautiful! You have your own Eden there David. Whatta nice dog, too! SO happy for you.:dance:

 

[JohnnyRottenAppleseed]

Sweet!

 

[Emily]

Looks great...and your puppy is soooo cute!!

 

[Dexky]

$700.00/month for two!!! The COL must be outrageous there, or you guys have very expensive taste?? No wonder you are so determined to grow as much of your own food as possible!

That no potatoes or rice thing was a deal breaker for EJ when we tried SCD. Good luck with it David!!

 

[David]

What's COL?

A lot of that $700 comes from me purchasing grass fed meats in an effort to reduce my n3 - n6 fatty acid ratio. It's wicked expensive And of course eating all organic veggies definitely adds up too. I think I've got some tricks to eat just as healthy but at lower cost this month though, so we'll see if I can improve on that

 

[sawdust]

What's COL?

cost of living

Looking good, David. I have been planning my garden here of late, although I'm in a much different climate. Our last frost is May 15-31.

 

[David]

The last couple of weeks have seen great daily harvests. Here's tonight's stir fry

I love farming!

 

[Entchen]

What a GORGEOUS meal. What a success your garden is!!!!!

I picked my community garden plot today (even better, despite some snowy weather lately I rode my bike over to the garden). It will be the end of May or early June before it's safe to plant, but I can draw up plans (and...shop) now! When I lived in dorm I grew veggies in planters by our back door (sadly, I don't think I ever made it onto the go-see list for the campus plant and tree tours, lol). But otherwise, I haven't had much opportunity to garden since moving away from my parents' place. My balcony is too shaded to grow anything except a few hardy flowers and some mint. I can't wait to pick my first tomato this summer.

:soledance:

 

[MADiMarc]

Looks wonderful!

Joe and I spend between 500 to 600 dollars a month on food. We do have expensive tastes but eating better (free range, organic, blah, blah) costs more. We feel better though.

Enjoy David; you've earned it!

 

[Chrismac]

Looks fantastic! What a fantastic opportunity you have here on a beautiful piece of land. Sadly here in the UK we are running out of space for big plots of land. We keep building on it all! Unless you're Richard Branson, then you forget the UK and just buy a whole new island.

Seriously though, I grew up in a house with a big garden and we grew our own veg. I miss having a garden SO much.. Flats are fine to live in now, but I definitely want a house in the next few years.

 

[RFarmer]

> dem palm trees

I love them. I only see them when I go to Florida on vacation

Two thangs:

1) D, you gonna eat them chickens?

2) Anyone know of the growability (lol) of quinoa... Yes? Okay, good. Anyone know if it is at all possible to grow it in Canada?

also,

> not been overly active for few weeks
> come back to check up
> David's all sexy
> wat?

no homo.

 

[David]

Crops are finally producing enough that I am starting to preserve I just harvested 40 pole beans which got frozen. So exciting!

Judith -- there's no BT on these bad boys

 

[Judith]

Good grief! Those are Beautiful!

 

[Catherine]

Hi David

I know you have problem with chicken eggs, are you ok with other eggs eg duck, goose ect. The proteins are different. Wouldn't recommend geese, but that maybe the memory of the goose that chase us every time we collected their eggs as children.

 

[David]

Catherine, good question, I don't know! Thanks for the idea

 

[scoutfinch]

Crops are finally producing enough that I am starting to preserve I just harvested 40 pole beans which got frozen. So exciting!

Pole beans are so delicious! Yours look absolutely gorgeous. Sometimes I wish I lived in a warm climate where crops grew all year round. You're quite the accomplished farmer!

 

[Mountaingem]

:congratualtionsavid your veggies look gorgeous-awesome job!!!!

Seeing this brought a tear to my eyes as I remember gardening with my Grandpa...:wub:

 

[David]

Pole beans are so delicious! Yours look absolutely gorgeous. Sometimes I wish I lived in a warm climate where crops grew all year round. You're quite the accomplished farmer!

Heheh, thanks, but I have a lot of work to do and MUCH more to learn before I accept that as truth

:congratualtionsavid your veggies look gorgeous-awesome job!!!!

Thanks! I love being able to provide for my family in this way. Being able to trust that the food we're eating is as healthy for us as possible (and tastier!) means a lot to us.

Seeing this brought a tear to my eyes as I remember gardening with my Grandpa...:wub:

Awwww. :hug:

 

[MADiMarc]

I know just how much work goes into farming. You must love what you are doing! Enjoy the fruits of your labors.

BTW: a few posts back someone mentioned duck and goose eggs and how the proteins are different. I don't know about that but I can tell you that the taste is SO much stronger than chicken eggs. Much like the meat I suppose.

 

[David]

I have about 60 or so trees planted now. I added a couple more raised beds since the last picture as well. For comparison, here is the last picture I posted here:

And the new one taken today though it's hard to tell much of a difference:

The all important hammock has been added as you can see

 

[Mountaingem]

Oh so beautiful David! Love it-hammocks are a must-have!

 

[David]

About a month ago one of our three hens got broody and was settings on her eggs. As we don’t have a rooster, I knew that wasn’t going to workout well so I asked our neighbor for some fertile eggs (he gave us four) which I placed under the hen. Today I went out and was greeted with this:

 

[Mountaingem]

:wub: Awwww so cute!

 

[Soybean]

*sqweeeee* sooooooooo cute!!
We've got another brood too, they're going to be 3 weeks old this Friday. Sam did a hatching project for a local school and just had to hatch some for us too lol. This time though I said no way to them living in my house so sams built a massive shed thingy in the garden for them. They are the cutest and run around like looneys when we offer them worms hehe!

Enjoy the little fluffbums cos they grow sooooo fast

 

[scoutfinch]

So cute yes, for now. Soon they will be so delicious. That's right, I said it.

 

[David]

Hahahah! I'm willing to keep one rooster so they better hope they're 3 hens and a rooster or 4 hens