affected by the economy

[The Dad Fisherman]

I was actually thinking of a vegetable garden this year. Nothing tastes better than a homegrown tomato

[Raven]

most tomatoes you buy in supermarkets have been picked green in the field then they go from there into a ethylene gas chamber to force ripening NOT in the sunshine so they didn't really get a chance to absorb energy from the sun. they do that to prevent bruising. THE typical supermarket tomato has no flavor and the texture just plain sucks. IT's mealy
and spongy and looks nothing like a home grown slicing tomato.

When you grow tomato's in a 5 gallon or (even better) ten gallon planter they mature (produce) much quicker than the same tomato planted out in the garden planted at the exact same time.

a single squash plant will easily take over a 4x8 garden and obliterate it with growth in no time.
better to grow one zucchini or yellow squash bush. USE radishes to
mark your rows and they will be ready to eat in 30 days.

So for a 4x8 garden you put a climbing fence on the north side. you keep a separate area set aside for your transplants so when you see something you want to harvest you grab the transplants and take them to the spot, harvest, then dig out the root and slam the replacements in .....
right then and there- and water them in...no saying- i'll do it tomorrow or next week.

[Crafty Angler]

We're gonna expand our garden to about 5 x 30' this year -

We got enough tomatoes last season (4 different varieties) to harvest by the 5 gallon bucket, give 'em away and still can 4 cases for the winter - my bride is a midwestern farm girl, she does it all...

Gonna do cukes too for homemade sweet & dill pickles - she's got her mom's old recipes -

Hell, last year we had beefsteaks the size of cantalopes, too - plus red peppers, jalapenos and Italian, and those little Portuguese peppers I used to call firecrackers - the ones my grandma, mom and aunts used to make a relish out of and can - plus the usual herbs - a massive basil bush, fresh dill, thyme and oregano...

This year we'll do lettuce, snap peas, green beans, kale (ya gotta have curvsh for the soupesh), tomatoes, peppers & herbs - I wanna see how we can max out the sq. footage production in a small space -

Figure next week I'll start working the beds - the first rite of spring...

Plus real veggies are a treat, not like the crap you get in supermarkets...

[Raven]

sugar snap peas go in first directly in the ground

they are not even phased by frost or snow so don't wait...

grab your V hoe stretch a string and drag a little trench

i usually back fill over the peas with a soil fluffy mix

the main thing i look for is 5 days or so of rain and i plant

them just before it starts ...so your only risking 2 bucks

of pea seeds to start them early... remember spring tends to be over quickly
suddenly it'll jump from freezing temps to HOT allot sooner

than your used to having.... OH the trick with PEAS is to pre soak the seeds until they swell
and ADD the black powder inoculate ...it helps them take make root nodules quicker

then shake and bake them til coated...

so the idea is to plant them and they are essentially already growing.... and the rains make them POP that much sooner

then all ya have to do is water them ... a strong wind proof

A fence is absolutely necessary for a climbing variety

i'm ready to build THE MEGA FENCE this year LOL

simple cheap green house plan