Learn me to garden

[phylodog]

Aight ya'll, I now own enough ground to plant a whopper of a garden but I lack the knowledge of how to go about it. I've got a compact tractor with a tiller and a desire to grow all of the tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, sweet corn, celery, broccoli, radishes, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, watermelons and pumpkins we can eat (probably leaving stuff out).

Sooooooo, now what do I do? lol

I know I have a mole problem which will need addressed and my neighbor claims to have not gotten to eat a single bean he planted this year (either time) due to the deer so I know I'll have some work ahead of me in addition to figuring out what to stick in the ground, where and when. I don't expect to do terribly well right off the bat but I'd really like to learn. I've never been able to grow a decent lawn let alone anything edible so where do I start?

 

[churchmouse]

1st....a proper straw hat
2nd....a proper set of bibs.....

 

[Mark 1911]

I am probably not the guy to give gardening advice. But if you plant some corn, then I'll volunteer to come over and take care of your deer problem for you.

 

[mtinner]

find out how to use a grocery store.

 

[phylodog]

1st....a proper straw hat
2nd....a proper set of bibs.....

I've got the bibs but I do need a straw hat lol

 

[bacon#1]

I believe it's, all y'all. Y'all being singular. All y'all addresses everyone in the group.

No help in the gardening department.

 

[Old Dog]

Till ground, fertilize, plant seeds, build fence, electrify fence, pull weeds, add more fertilizer, pull more weeds, kill bugs, pray for rain, pray for rain to stop, then wait till your crops mature, then can/freeze/eat as needed. Kill deer in November. Start process over in April. That pretty much sums it up!

 

[target64]

I would suggest starting small. You can produce a lot of food in a small area.

 

[bwframe]

Start small to stay mostly ahead of the inevitable overwhelming from weeds and even the good harvest. Attempt to plan to use and put up ALL of your harvest. Waist is a killer of ambition. You have to maintain your love of gardening to do it right. It wont take long to figure out that giving away your harvest is waste.

Till your initial bed right now. Plant your garlic now too.

You wont need your electric fence up yet, but sinking your (at least 8' ) T-posts a few at a time will save a large chore later. Fence post driver is a good investment, you'll likely be moving posts out for a few years.

 

[wcd]

Aight ya'll, I now own enough ground to plant a whopper of a garden but I lack the knowledge of how to go about it. I've got a compact tractor with a tiller and a desire to grow all of the tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, sweet corn, celery, broccoli, radishes, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, watermelons and pumpkins we can eat (probably leaving stuff out).

Sooooooo, now what do I do? lol

I know I have a mole problem which will need addressed and my neighbor claims to have not gotten to eat a single bean he planted this year (either time) due to the deer so I know I'll have some work ahead of me in addition to figuring out what to stick in the ground, where and when. I don't expect to do terribly well right off the bat but I'd really like to learn. I've never been able to grow a decent lawn let alone anything edible so where do I start?

How much ground are we talking? Are you wanting to go organic? I can tell you what we did, approx 300 tomato plants, which flourished.

Key thing is get to your local extension office have soil test done, so your not spinning your wheels. I would do a fall till, then cover it with plastic, that will give you a nice weed free start. Key is to keep your plants off the ground. Best to start them in doors as.well.

 

[phylodog]

I've got 11 acres total but don't see ever going over 1 acre for the garden realistically unless it's necessary. I don't really have any space to get plants started indoors, we downsized as far as the house goes and we're pretty well packed in as it is. I have a barn but I don't think that's going to work well. I may try to put up a small greenhouse down the road if its beneficial to what I'm wanting to do.

I appreciate the advice so far.

 

[churchmouse]

What do you want to grow...???
How much of it...???
Are you going to can...???
Is it possible to keep the deer away short of a few of us posting up a coupe hundred yards out with night vision...

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

Aight ya'll, I now own enough ground to plant a whopper of a garden but I lack the knowledge of how to go about it. I've got a compact tractor with a tiller and a desire to grow all of the tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, sweet corn, celery, broccoli, radishes, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, watermelons and pumpkins we can eat (probably leaving stuff out).

Sooooooo, now what do I do? lol

I know I have a mole problem which will need addressed and my neighbor claims to have not gotten to eat a single bean he planted this year (either time) due to the deer so I know I'll have some work ahead of me in addition to figuring out what to stick in the ground, where and when. I don't expect to do terribly well right off the bat but I'd really like to learn. I've never been able to grow a decent lawn let alone anything edible so where do I start?

Deer are edible. I can offer my removal services for a deeply discounted rate.

Till your plot, and figure out what you want to plant. Space it appropriately out and plant it. Water it and keep it weeded. There are tricks to keep critters out of your plot.

 

[churchmouse]

Rain barrels help in watering. We did not need to use tap water once last season.

 

[Leadeye]

Grow stuff you want to eat.

I like wine so I grow grapes, but make some from other crops like fruits and berries.

Keep in mind you will need to defend stuff like sweet corn from raccoons.

 

[phylodog]

We've never canned but it's something we would like to do. I have a cellar to store food and a desire to stop buying vegetables from unknown sources. As far as the deer are concerned, my wife and daughter won't stand for widespread killing of them on the property but I've assured them both that any buck reaching a certain size/age is gonna get it so I'll have to find a reasonable means of keeping them out of the garden. We've got chickens now which will die of either old age or be taken by predators because there's no way on earth we're ever eating them lol.

This is gonna be a long road of learning for me. Fortunately we all really appreciate fresh fruits and veggies so I don't see much of what we can produce going to waste.

 

[mensajess]

I would wait till spring, but I'm not an expert

 

[Expat]

How much time and work do you want to put into it? If you just want to spend a few hours a week, just have a small patch.
I have a medium size garden, about 3500 square feet. you need to put an hour or so a day, weeding and hoeing, and that isn't counting the couple full day you will put in when planting and then a few more cleaning up in the fall. Potatoes, corn and winter squash take a lot of space. But potatoes store pretty well if you set your cellar up right, so does winter squash.

 

[phylodog]

I should have plenty of time to tend to it unless something changes significantly between now and next spring. I'm thinking maybe 1/4 acre to start off, tomatoes are my biggest passion but all of the other stuff I mentioned in the original post I'd really like to grow as well.

I plan to get some fruit trees and an herb garden up and running next year as well.

 

[Expat]

Keep most herbs away from the veggie garden in a contained area if possible. Anything in the mint family, including oregano are like weeds.
there are some good books that you might read.
if you can, start soil prep now for next years garden.

fruit trees , be sure you know your zone and get appropriate trees.