very local food

[chhotii]

Here's a list of stuff to work on growing in our yard. It's sorted, roughly, according to how much output I expect, per unit of effort, based on my limited prior gardening efforts, and what I hear about other people growing around here. Topping the list, with least effort/most output is rhubarb; nothing needs to be done and we get more rhubarb than we know what to do with.

Rhubarb
Mint
Basil
Concord grapes
Blueberries
Raspberries
strawberries
Peaches
Cherries
pears
zucchini
Butternut squash
Cherry tomatoes
Other tomatoes
peas
Cucumbers
Brussel sprouts
Spinach

Feedback, or other suggestions, fellow gardeners?

Comments

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

asparagus. It's a perennial,plant,and forget it, in a few years start cutting down 1/2 the patch a year

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

from my own failed attempts, asparagus is hard to get started, and since it takes a few years to get going, I'd put it near the bottom of the list. However, once you have a healthy patch going, you don't have to do a thing except to weed it and harvest it.

I really want an asparagus patch.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Asparagus! There's a great idea.

[istemi.livejournal.com]

more rhubarb than we know what to do with

If it's still there, I'd be happy to take some off your hands.

I've heard home-grown potatos are nothing like store potatos, even organic Whole Foods ones. Can't comment on effort and output, since I haven't tried growing them yet.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

my grandmother used to do the homegrown potatoes, and yes, they are heavenly.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure of the state of the rhubarb plants right now. When you come over on Saturday we can look at them. But, they seem to be impossible to kill, so I'm sure we will have rhubarb in the future. You're welcome to come any time and collect rhubarb. Maybe you can cook it into something yummy and feed it to Rich to convince him that rhubarb is actually food; he's doubtful of that, so he's been experimenting with tormenting the plants.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Blueberries are actually more tricky than raspberries. They need *very* acidic soil, which means lots of preparation and then acidifying ingredients (I use HollyTone fertilizer in the spring and mid-summer, peat moss, sulfur, and pine needles) at least twice a year. I also have found they are much happier with fairly regular watering once they are flowering and until the berries are ripe. Mine are in part-sun/part shade, but I think they'd be happier in full sun as long as they did not get cooked. Once they start bearing (one to two years after planting), bird netting is essential.

That said, there is nothing like fresh picked blueberries. I consider them to be well worth the effort.

Raspberries... easy. Like sun, fertilize with manure fall and spring, watering is good but not required so long as it's not a drought (and this year my best patch is the one that almost never got watered...). Pruning the canes after they fruit is essential. I'd recommend fall-bearers just because ... OMG fresh "summer" fruit in September and October. Also much easier with regard to pruning; you just chop them down in the fall when they're done bearing.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Chop them down how short? I think I've been too wimpy about pruning mine properly.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

entry two for vegetables: I've done very well with tomatoes, especially SunGolds. I would say the same about cucumbers except some critter is eating most of them. And they *must* be fenced from groundhogs!

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Wow! Impressive list!

Two thoughts:
--Our family's experience with peaches is that they're very bursty. The tree bears fruit, and you have a bushel of peaches, all at once.
--Zucchini is very much like rhubarb. I've joked that no one with friends should have to grow zucchini, because you get so much you don't know what to do with it all and you end up giving it away to friends.

Second the asparagus suggestion, too.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

and you have a bushel of peaches, all at once

Oh, what a problem to have! Kill me now!

Seriously, I think I would manage to cope. :)

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

:)

Just so you're ready and all...

[tb]

Peas are at the top of my list for really easy and productive. Three things: plant them early (mid-April), give them something to climb up (doesn't have to be pretty or elaborate), and protect them from woodchucks (but you know about those). They don't need fertilizing and don't seem to have pests around here.

You're right about basil. You can start it indoors, but these days I just direct seed it when I transplant the tomatoes and I get more than enough to keep me in pesto until the next year. Tomatoes are also easy once they're planted and staked/caged; the main determinant of how productive they'll be is weather, which you can't control. Even in a bad year (like this one), there's nothing quite like a fresh tomato, and the Sungold cherries are doing just fine.

Cucumbers are easier and more productive than butternut squash, which has a long season and needs a lot of feeding. Zucchini and other summer squashes beat them both of course, but the bushes can take up a lot of room; cukes can be trained to go up things.

Fruit trees can be tough to get started and are an exercise in delayed gratification. Blueberry bushes require soil acidification, as quietann mentioned. I was "lucky" and started with sandy acidic soil, and have been able to maintain it just by mulching with oak leaves (lots of tannin) in the fall. It still took several years before I got enough berries to be worthwhile. Saint Lawrence Nurseries is my favorite source for blueberry bushes and general fruit tree info. Fedco has good pointers too.

Other plants: I like garlic. It has no pests (even the woodchucks leave it alone) and is on a different planting/harvesting schedule than most things. This year I tried sage, and it's doing well; lots of herbs are easy once you get past the constant-weeding stage. Green and wax beans are easy too, and chard is good for greens.

Hmm, I may just need to make my own version of your list.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, peas. I should put peas back into the list. Every time I've tried peas, the plants have been eaten down to the ground by something. But perhaps if we can do a better job with the fencing this time around the peas will be worthwhile.