Time to Start Planting Vegetable Gardens.

[stephendare]

the farmers market is a pretty great option, dr. K.  but only a few of the vendors are local farmers.

Many of the vendors are central american families who actually get their produce from the port in the morning or via distribution networks.

They do their business at the farmers market, but they also do bulk trade with companies like sysco to sell to the restaurants etc.

In the worst case scenario, there would be a glut of food on the market as the restaurants close down, (with price drops accordingly) followed by shortages as the distribution companies fail and or cut back.

For people who are into it, its a good time to start canning and putting away food with prices at the market being relatively low and relatively plentiful.

However after that, nothing will beat a good veggie patch in the back yard.

Our family garden was completely inexpensive.

We had two pet rabbits who provided the best damned fertilizer that you can imagine, and weeded them ourselves without relying on chemical weedkillers or pesticides.

The only costs were water and seeds (and plenty of cheap rabbit food of course)

[ac]

So, can anyone recommend any good reference materials for beginners?

[Doctor_K]

So, can anyone recommend any good reference materials for beginners?

Yes.  I got my wife a book called 'The Bountiful Container,' specifically for growing things out of pots since we can't dig up the back yard.

Bountiful Container:  http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bountiful-Container-Vegetables/dp/0761116230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223669834&sr=8-1

And tons of others in a similar vein to that:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bountiful+container&sprefix=Bountiful+Contain

Of course, most people are able to plant directly into the ground, so those might not do you a lick of good.  Just throwing that out there though - it's been great for our situation.

[ac]

So, can anyone recommend any good reference materials for beginners?

Yes.  I got my wife a book called 'The Bountiful Container,' specifically for growing things out of pots since we can't dig up the back yard.

Bountiful Container:  http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bountiful-Container-Vegetables/dp/0761116230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223669834&sr=8-1

And tons of others in a similar vein to that:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bountiful+container&sprefix=Bountiful+Contain

Of course, most people are able to plant directly into the ground, so those might not do you a lick of good.  Just throwing that out there though - it's been great for our situation.

Awesome, thanks!

We do have the ability to plant in the back yard, so I think that's the way we're going.  I guess I should have mentioned that up front.  But the help is definitely appreciated, and I'm sure others in your situation will find it useful also!

[Scarlettjax]

Encyclopedia of Country Living
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Fashioned-Recipe/dp/0912365951

Best book ever on how to do darn near anything yourself regarding growing and preserving food, but I learned most of it growing up in rural Georgia.  On the topic of pickles, I still pickle okra, peppers, peaches, pears and chowchow (a kind of relish) besides the cukes.  We can and freeze peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, figs, whatever we grow between our home here and the home place in Georgia. 

And if you do pickled okra right, it will be crunchy, not slimy. 

[uptowngirl]

Encyclopedia of Country Living
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Fashioned-Recipe/dp/0912365951

Best book ever on how to do darn near anything yourself regarding growing and preserving food, but I learned most of it growing up in rural Georgia.  On the topic of pickles, I still pickle okra, peppers, peaches, pears and chowchow (a kind of relish) besides the cukes.  We can and freeze peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, figs, whatever we grow between our home here and the home place in Georgia. 

And if you do pickled okra right, it will be crunchy, not slimy. 

That is an excellent one, so are:

Stocking Up: The Third Edition of America's Classic Preserving Guide
 or
Putting Food By  and Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

The good news is you can check these out at our local library and see if you want to buy. Don't forget the compost pile, if you don't have one start one. For apartment or condo dwellers you can make an easy one out of a trash can and put it on the deck. Save the coffee grounds too...veggies, flowers, and fruit trees love coffee grounds and they smell good too!

[stephendare]

well now Im going to have to seek out one of these crisp pickled okras.

The one thing that I liked best about church in the south and life in the midwest was the unexpected variety of food.  I would LOVE to have some of the sweet pickled mixes that I was able to find in the midwest, where they made the veggies crisp as all get out, but sweet and spicy at the same time.  Really hit all four kinds of taste buds.

Heritage seeds are pretty common in Indiana, and to be honest all of the corporatization of the produce business has really cut down on the variety of fresh veggies available.   I volunteered as a chef for a downtown hotspot in Muncie, and as the word got out that there was a big city chef (I had just come in from Seattle) who liked unusual produce, I would come in almost every day to find one or two of the local farmers with a big box of monster zuccini or blood red carrots or some unheard of variety of tomato or pepper.

I always traded out a meal for produce and got acquainted with more different varieties of bizarre fresh food than in most of the international cities I lived in.

When I got back to Jacksonville to hang out with my Lil Mama, she and my Papa told me it used to be the same here locally, but that the variety had died out over the years.

[civil42806]

What a delightful thread, a shame we don't have more of these

[JaxByDefault]

I highly recommend Standard Feed (1282 Kings Rd.). If you're new to gardening, especially organic gardening, the staff will help you plan, answer any questions, and is a great resource when problems arise.

The no dig garden is a good way to get into veggie gardens and composting:  http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/.

If you're free from HOA restrictions and already digging up the backyard for veggies, try digging up the front lawn and replacing it with a mix of native, same-climate, and edible plants. It's thrifty, water-wise, mowing-free, and lovely.

[stephendare]

thanks JaxbDefault!

DO they have heritage seeds in their inventory?

[uptowngirl]

There are some great organic bulk seed sites...juts do a search. Seeds can keep up to five years if stored correctly, much much cheaper to buy them in bulk without the fancy Burpee packaging.

[Driven1]

What a delightful thread, a shame we don't have more of these

i agree.  Kudos to stephen for starting it!

[adamh0903]

we stock seeds in bulk and they are much cheaper than the prepackaged deals..

Right now I have Rutabage, Collards, Turnips, Cucumbers and beets and I am out of (but stock) Mustard Greens, Broccoli, Squash, Raddish and Cabbage....we sell them by the 1/4oz 1/2oz 3/4oz or 1oz.

Some seeds have been harder to get this year, like FL Broadleaf Mustard.

[uptowngirl]

we stock seeds in bulk and they are much cheaper than the prepackaged deals..

Right now I have Rutabage, Collards, Turnips, Cucumbers and beets and I am out of (but stock) Mustard Greens, Broccoli, Squash, Raddish and Cabbage....we sell them by the 1/4oz 1/2oz 3/4oz or 1oz.

Some seeds have been harder to get this year, like FL Broadleaf Mustard.

Where are you?

[adamh0903]

<------------ Out in Callahan