Homesteading Multipart Series Part VIII – Garden Spots

 

While the average homesteader will have a garden the old time homesteaders depended heavily on meat and meat byproducts. Here on our homestead we grow a large garden. It is approximately 1 ½ acres. Each year we produce about 500,000 calories in garden produce. If we consider a 2000 calorie per day diet then for an entire year the average person needs 730,000 calories over the course of the year. For the two of us that comes out to 1.4 million calories per year. Where do most those other calories come from, well, for me and Crystal it comes one third from our garden and the rest from meats, fats and sugars.

While there is quite a craze these days about keto diets, we have not adopted this lifestyle. I still love potatoes, rice, jams, jellies, and bread. My homesteader grandparents and parents loved them too. What we grow in our garden includes – Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Turnips, Beets, Radishes, Rutabagas, Corn, Beans, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Carrots, Summer Squash, Pumpkins, Zucchini,  Grapes, Apples, Pears, Peaches, Walnuts(American), Watermelon, Cucumbers, Cantaloupe, Lettuces, Herbs, Asparagus, Sunflowers, and Okra. We experiment with something new every year to see if we would like to include it in our plans and because it is just fun to try new things. We Can, Freeze and Dehydrate most of the crops we grow.

So since gardening makes up about one third of our diet it is important to select the correct garden site. We are not organic gardening. I do use pelleted fertilizer. I will also spray, in dire events, the occasional pesticide or fungicide. I haven’t had to use a fungicide since moving to this homestead now going on 8 yrs. Most years I do not use a pesticide. But, if the insect load gets too great I will. I quit growing eggplant because without spraying it for bugs we didn’t get any.

When we moved here most of the fields had grown up into little 2 or 3 yr old trees and very large blackberry and raspberry brambles. I cleared approximately 5 acres for the purposes of hayfield and gardens. The first year we just planted a small kitchen garden near the house because we were renovating the house and time was an issue. We also put in a small orchard. Get those orchards in early. The second year we added 2 100’ x 250 garden plots and those have expanded some as the years have gone on.

The things you want to look for in a garden plot. Level is kind of important but not the end all be all. But at least level enough that you can effectively plow if you intend to do traditional row crop like we do. Two of my garden plots are on a hill and one is relatively flat. Some people like more intensive gardening method and if this is you go for it. But, level will help with that too.

We created our garden plot right out of our central Kentucky pastures. There was everything growing there from Crown Vetch, Johnson Grass, all kinds of native grasses as well as tall fescue. These will create a challenge over the years but by the 3^rd or 4^th year if you are being diligent the grass will become less and less of a problem and weeds like burdock, lambs quarts, purslane, and others will be your problems. A sharp hoe is your friend. Be certain to check out our videos and how to select a hoe and how to use a hoe, they will help save your back.

The next consideration is sunlight. Sunlight is a big deal. Without it your plants will not thrive. Your garden needs to get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. More is better. You will have cold weather crops planted there and hot weather crops. Rotation within the year is a great way to get the most out of your space. For example when we pull our onions in July that were planted in March we plant beans back in their place to harvest in September.

Soil fertility will play a great role in the plants you grow. A hay field soil will be poor in comparison to raised bed soils that you fuss and muss over. It is why I use fertilizer and it is why some folks like intensive gardening methods. They tout the benefits of soil microbes and earthworms in the soil and point to this as a better ecosystem for your plants. I am not here to debate whether this is actually true. It is probably very true. However, setting up a raised bed say 28 inches tall and 48 inches wide and 8 feet long requires approximately 68 cubic feet of soil. For reference regular dirt weighs about 100 pounds per cubic foot. So the bed described has a weight of nearly 6800 pounds or 3 ½ tons.

That is a lot of dirt to move. Let us say you are filling that with compost from the local place that sells it in the bag. We can buy compost at $1.29 per 50 lb bag. It would take 136 bags of compost at a cost of about $180.  It was cost prohibitive to us. You will see us using raised beds but the soil in them is only dirt out of the garden that I cover with leaves every fall and let them rot up and turn them in every spring with a tater fork. It is awfully pretty dirt after 7 years or so. But I still add fertilizer to the beds to help them produce.

I call the raised bed method intensive but you have to remember you have to have the soil fertility to raise the produce in. Composted manure is only equal to about .5-.5-.5 fertilizer. I buy 10-10-10. So it takes a lot of crap to give you the same amount of nutrients for your plants year after year. Many folks add things like bone meal, blood meal, kelp, etc to their raised beds. Those were produced by some industrial process. They didn’t get in that bag organically. Just because the label on that plastic bag says organic……. But, everyone needs to do what they feel drawn to do. I admit that my gardens take up a huge swath of my property. But 10 or 12 raised beds will NOT produce a 10^th of what my garden produces each year. Don’t be fooled by what you see on youtube. You would need a ½ acre of raised beds worked intensely in order to produce what we do on our 1.5 acres. 

Then there is the consideration of water. Water is a precious commodity in many areas. Here in central Kentucky we get about 3-4 inches of rain every month. The garden needs an inch per week. So for us we let Mother Nature provide the water. This will not work in intensive gardening in raised beds. Water will have to be provided. The soils tend to be looser and drain quickly so water must be provided nearly daily. Our raised beds do not get watered unless we are a couple of weeks without rain. They are made from our own clay loam soils and hold water well. In dryer climates I can understand why mulched beds to retain water would be more important than here in our neck of the woods. I can’t imagine the cost to add irrigation to my garden spots, Holy Cow that would be cost prohibitive.

Also, my method of gardening is certainly aided by my fossil fuel using tractor. I can’t imagine what I could accomplish without the tractor. I see these guys with broad forks and stuff working their gardens. I may be too old for that stuff. I have plowed with a mule and cultivated with a Kentucky wheel hoe - like the one in the picture above. So I do know what it is like to maintain a garden spot without the use of a tractor. But, I was a lot younger man back then. As Crystal and I age I plan to put in more permanent raised beds but for now they are a little cost prohibitive for us. You just have to do what you can do.   

I hope this finds you well and I hope you will send up a prayer for us and we will send one up for you. Your garden site selection will be one of the most important decisions you can make. Sunlight, water, types of soils, erosion control, and fertility will all be big concerns. When you get to your homestead take a year to know where the sun is and when. What areas tend to be swampy or which areas dry out quickly. Don’t be in a hurry. Pick the spot that best meets your climate and your vision of gardening. But mostly know that establishing your garden plot will take years to get what you want. But in the meantime try to remember that Homesteading, like Life, is a Marathon Not a Sprint – Slow Down and Enjoy the Ride.   

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