Kelly
gardener
Posts: 117
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Post by Kelly on Jan 1, 2009 16:42:44 GMT -5
I thought I'd just leave a quick note to say hello, and that I'm a new addition here to the forums on the suggestion of Dan (Grunt) who pointed me in this direction!
I'm a gardener for Nelson, BC (although it seems strange even mentioning the word garden as I look outside at 3feet of snow, and more coming down every second!), 0.3 of a acre in an old 1930's farmhouse that used to have a LOT more land before it was all subdivided and sold away before we got here. But, 0.3 of a acre is better than 0 of an acre!
I've been gardening for many years, mostly growing up with my mom, but I've been gardening on my own since I moved out when I was 18, 7 years ago as well.
I'm mainly a veggie gardener, very heavily into heirlooms, and in fact next year all my veggies will be heirloom. I'm also expanding my gardening space quite a bit, digging up good portions of my lawn to do it. I hopefully plan to grow 50% of all the veggies we eat next year with extras for preserving.
Well, I think I've droned on long enough! This looks like a great board, I'm glad to be here!
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Post by stratcat on Jan 1, 2009 17:47:45 GMT -5
Welcome to Homegrown, Kelly. Have fun and join in! john
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jan 1, 2009 21:18:47 GMT -5
Kootenay, I know where that is...that's where they make Beer!
Welcome Kelly!! Any friend of Grunt and Grungy can't be all bad, LOL
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Post by americangardener on Jan 1, 2009 23:29:17 GMT -5
Glad to see another vegetable gardener Kelly. I only grow veggies myself.
What you only want to grow 50% of the veggies you eat? Heck i grow 1000% of what i feed my family.. and i don't have much more land than you got there. I actually have bout 2 acres.. but my real garden area isn't even half of that. And then half of the garden is getting too shaded out by trees these past couple years. But, i could see where you could grow most of what you eat once you tear out that lawn. Just eat alot of beans and potatoes and tomatoes.
Dave
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Kelly
gardener
Posts: 117
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Post by Kelly on Jan 2, 2009 14:58:07 GMT -5
Thanks everybody! Bluelacedredhead - I can see the kokanee glacier from my living room window! although it's about an hours drive to get to it. Americangardener - Haha, well I thought I'd start slow and work my way up to 100% if I can get there. Unfortunately MOST of our yard is covered in shade for most of the day thanks to the HUGE monster McMansion that got built next door. I'm tearing out two very large chunks of lawn come April, and I already tore out one last year. The ultimate goal is to get to 100%, although with all the shade we have it just might not be feasible. Fortunately though, we already do eat a lot of beans, potatoes, and tomatoes .
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Jan 2, 2009 22:41:55 GMT -5
Kelly, I'm moving in a few weeks to a house with possibly too much shade for some of the veggies I like to grow? You and I can share notes, hopefully ones on how to successfully grow your own food in the shade.....
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Kelly
gardener
Posts: 117
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Post by Kelly on Jan 3, 2009 12:30:45 GMT -5
For sure, I'd be happy to share any notes I have! Fortunately, my shadiest spot even gets 4 hours of sun a day thanks to how the sun travels over my house during the day, although those are peak summer hours, my other bed gets 6 hours, and my big brand new bed will be getting 8-10 hours a day.
One thing I was surprised with though - my potatoes did fantastic with only 4 hours of direct sun a day, I thought I'd get a pretty small crop. Heck, I even planted them out pretty late too, and I still got a great crop.
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 3, 2009 18:26:53 GMT -5
I've grown potatoes in approx. 4 hours sun with good results as well (and lots of other shade edibles - post on blog). I find it works well with many types of brassicas and water hogs.
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Kelly
gardener
Posts: 117
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Post by Kelly on Jan 6, 2009 13:26:18 GMT -5
In my shadier spaces I'm planning to grow the cauliflower and broccoli as well, along with your regular lettuces, and I'm going to be throwing in some cucumber and carrots. Not sure how well the carrots will pan out in 4 hours of sun - so it'll be a learning experience for me! The unfortunate thing is, I'm going to have to double dig for the carrots (argh) because the area where I'm putting them is currently lawn.
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 6, 2009 15:19:24 GMT -5
You could crowbar planting holes if that's possible in your soil. My experience with BC soil has left me shaken and shaky. It was gulf island ROCK soil. Anyhow, shove a crowbar in, twirl around until you make a funnel shape and refill with previously sifted soil or your easy grow mix. Plant carrot seeds on top.
I have grown carrots in about 4 hours of sun before and they do okay provided they get adequate water, at least in my experience.
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Kelly
gardener
Posts: 117
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Post by Kelly on Jan 7, 2009 13:51:35 GMT -5
You could crowbar planting holes if that's possible in your soil. My experience with BC soil has left me shaken and shaky. It was gulf island ROCK soil. Anyhow, shove a crowbar in, twirl around until you make a funnel shape and refill with previously sifted soil or your easy grow mix. Plant carrot seeds on top. I have grown carrots in about 4 hours of sun before and they do okay provided they get adequate water, at least in my experience. I'd never heard of using a crowbar before to do this! It's a great tip, something I'll most likely end up doing as well. Fortunately the soil here in the Kootenays isn't as bad as on the gulf island (at least not where I am - it's not particularly rocky, although it is absolutely laden with clay). Adequate water definitely won't be a problem for me! I'm almost religious in watering my plants .
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