Since a lot of talk about natural diets is about the quality of ingredients and 'organic' produce, I was wondering how many of us grow any of our own veggies? Or anything, for that matter.

I grew up on a farm, so I just must have some things growing... I'd love to hear if anyone has grand ideas for growing in a small space or particular things to grow... or books. I love books. ;)

I grow and dry my own herbs. In Maine I had a vegetable garden...the soil here in Colorado stinks for that.

I'm going to try growing some herbs this summer and a tomato plant or 2. Other than that I've always had just flowers and plants. My grandparents always had a HUGE garden and we'd always have fresh tomatos, peppers, zucchini, beans, onions, currents - everything.

You can go to www.yougrowgirl.com - there is a forum with it and you can get all sorts of info.

Originally posted by CDuncan
... or books. I love books. ;)

Oh - me too me too!!!!!!

The 20-minute Vegetable Gardener is a good one, especially for strategizing for both high productivity and for growing creatively in a small area. Specific varieties are mentioned and it is a fun little book. It emphasizes growing things that grow well in your region.

The apartments where we used to live had little garden plots, you just had to say you wanted to use one and they were first come, first serve. We grew lettuce, carrots, tomatoes... I can't remember what else, too long ago!

The first year at the house we grew lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and watermelon.

We missed out on lettuces last spring because of working on a retaining wall and then building the new raised beds... we grew tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, canteloupe and watermelon. There is also rosemary, sage and mint around the yard, but I'm going to try to bulk up our productivity this spring.

This is the arbor we built (under construction, it now has a 'top') and also one of the raised beds... Picture taken last spring, right after I got things in the ground. That is the neighbor's house and rusty shed/storage thing. ;)

This is the retaining wall we re-built. The previous version was low and sat on the edge of the driveway! We dug it out and fastened the new boards in with pieces of rebar. DH is very handy with a sledgehammer. :brow: I think we added another board on top of this and then dug it out and replanted most of it. We put in a bunch of lantana and portulaca that spread out and loved the sun... then we got an elephant ear from a friend and it took over the whole front corner. There is rosemary and sage and we'll have to find more stuff to add once the far end (at the back of the house) is finished. We have a lot of grading to do in the back yard as well, so I will have plenty of places to tuck little things around.

I want to do a lot of edible flowers, for the color and also to bring in the beneficials... we planted nasturtium two summers ago, but I didn't get around to those last year.

Cydney, your gardens look great! I think everyone should grow at least 'something'; it give one a purpose, and the rewards are very tasty.

We grow a huge vegetable garden, and in our greenhouse we start our seeds and then grow tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes (for us ;)), etc.

Our dogs are allowed in the vegetable garden during harvest time, they munch on raw beans, carrots, parsley tops, etc.

Please let us know how growing edible flowers works out. I'm just learning about that and would like to learn more :).

wow, cool. we are going to put an organic veggie garden in this year. this is our first spring with a yard in some years(had been living in a warehouse in sf's financial district, walked the dogs to the park two or three times a day) the fog prevents us from growing some things, but you should see the pumpkins that my father can grow. he lives in the foggiet part of town. the soil in our yard is questionable so we were thinking of doing some building. your pictures have motivated me, and hopefully they will motivate the BF as well. thank you.

Cool! You know it's not nice to give me "spring fever" so early!! LOL HEre's my "village" herb garden that I just started at the end of the season - so I plan to have my herb garden here since so many herbs will look like trees and bushes.

The buildings are just rocks that I painted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/jackyscott/P9180001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/jackyscott/P9180002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/jackyscott/P9180004.jpg

wow jackyscott, what an awesome idea. here's another cute one. my father grows his pumpkins in a front yard. he trains the vines to grow up a short sturdy tree so that when the pumpkins grow they look like they are growing from the tree. some of the larger ones are propped up on broom handles, etc. come halloween time, he decorates the "pumpkin tree" by painting faces on the pumpkins. heh heh, it also helps that he has several black cats that like to sleep under the tree. yep, my poppa loves halloween.

We had a garden for the first time this summer. We grew green peppers, tomatoes, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and pumpkins. We also canned green beans for the first time too, only 17 quarts. We had tons of beans to go to waste; it got a little overwelming. We ate corn everyday and I froze some too. The tomatoes didn't do very well. We have plenty of potatoes in storage. I've been giving away some as well.
We have DH's Grandfather to thank for the garden. He's the one that tilled it and helped put everything in. He would come over and check on it. Then he would tease us by pulling out a huge weed and ask if we were planning on eating it too. Talk about big shoes to fill, he's farmed all his life and still grows tobacco.

Jacky - now is the time to get seed catalogs and start deciding what to plant. ;)

One thing the 20-minute veg. gardener book talks about is building raised beds and adding the dirt... sand, soil, composted manure and other stuff can be mixed in right there, so you don't have to work as hard to make your existing soil workable. It also talks about staggering your plantings within the 'window' of planting time, so that not all of something is ripe at the same time. It is a great little book and I have read it at least twice. :) I think there is another book, "The 20-minute Gardener," that is about flowers, mostly.

I just ordered the 20 Minute Gardener. Got it on e-b-a-y for $2.00 :D

SCHWEET! I hope you enjoy it!