Uncle Claude's Victory Garden

[John Barrows]

Uncle Claude and Aunt Rose Barrows were retired dirt farmers in NY's "southern tier" by the time I knew them. They kept a huge garden (I'm guessing it was maybe 20 - 30 feet wide by about 100 feet long) just for the two of them. They grew everything they ate (except flour), ate what was fresh in season, and preserved (mainly canning) the summer's excess bounty. A lesson we American's are in need of re-learning. I'm reading more these days about how people are turning to home gardens - many of them for the first time in their lives.

This Forum is a place to tell you about Patrick and Debbie, and my and Nancy's, home gardens with photos, garden tips, recipes, and encouragement. Tell us your tales of dirt-farming in your backyards, too!

[Patrick]

First of all, get a teeth baring, mean, gnarly dog thats blind in one eye to guard the garden. Uncle Claude had his dog named "Sid". Mean bastard, he was, damn nasty, I say! Nothing touched the garden though.

[Debbie]

Maybe the dog was mean because he ate whole wheat dog biscuits? Ask John.

[Patrick]

PREPARING THE GROUND:
If your chosen spot is covered with grass (sod) then it has to come up so you can work the soil, not the grass into the soil. Small tracts are best tilled with a small front tined tiller. Bigger tracts require a larger rear tined model. Otherwise, prepare for some back breaking work doing it by hand. Fertilizer such as cow or horse manure can be worked in with a broad tined garden fork. Let the soil "rest" after fertilizing for 2-3 weeks before planting which means begin the prep as early as possible in the spring.

[Debbie]

Wow! You sound like a professional!

But my method is much easier and less back breaking.

[John Barrows]

Another way to turn a lawn into garden is to cover it with plastic over the winter and into Spring. This will kill all the grass and compost it. Or cover with several layers of newspaper and manure, and let the whole thing naturally mulch itself. This obviously takes longer than tilling, but involves less manual labor. You may still have to till, but it should be a lot easier than trying to turn over healthy sod. One thing I did once (which WAS backbreaking, was to slice off the sod and pile it up on the curb with a "free" sign on it.

Under any circumstances, it's a chore to turn wasteful lawn into a beautiful and productive flower and vegetable garden. But it's obviously worth it ... it cuts down on your food bill, is better for the environment, and is simply spiritual.

[Debbie]

I have done it even easier.

[Debbie]

The garden is my refuge. It is our little haven, our little piece of the earth. This is where I have peace of mind. When I am in the garden the rest of the world does not exist. It's one of the places where I have a good sense of accomplishment. It's a simple life, uncomplicated and natural. We will follow up with some pictures. There's no place like your own backyard.

[Debbie]

Parsley

sage

Rosemary

Thyme

[John Barrows]

Are we going to Scarborough Fair?

[Debbie]

"I never promised you a rose garden"............

[Debbie]

Brussel sprouts

Lettuces

Zucchini

[John Barrows]

Here goes my first salvo of photos. I'll update regularly as stuff ripens. So far we've only had lettuce (tons of it as we were cool and rainy most of the spring), kale and chard, some chinese greens, some snap peas, and broccoli. Nancy keeps an organic garden. Depends a lot on beneficial insects (especially green lacewings - their larvae eat tons of pests), netting, and some non-toxic slugbait pellets.

apples: we have 5 varieties

Chinese green (like a baby bok choi: all this type of thing grows fast and abundantly - very satisfying

like all fruit trees and bushes, bluebarries take a while (3 - 4 years) to get established and start producing

broccoli: we've already picked the first "heads"

cabbage: hasn't started to head yet. I'm not a fan of planing things that are cheap in the store and take up garden space, but Nancy wanted to, so .....

figs: we have 4 trees and they're just starting to show some fruit after 4 years

gooseberries

grapes: we get to have some if we beat the birds to them when they all ripen suddenly in September

green beans: really slow this year with the cool wet Spring

herbs: just a few here ... these are mainly thymes and oregano, but we also do rosemary, sage, etc. Most of these Winter through due to our relatively mild Winters

kale and chard: protected against moths that create little green caterpillars which eat the leaves