New Home New garden! RedBeard Ranch 2015.

[RedBeard1987]

Hello all and welcome to RedBeard Ranch! Or what will eventually be. Right now i have a blank slate and too many ideas rolling around in my head. Some of you may already know my story but ill sum it up real quick. My name is RedBeard, you may be able to guess why. My wife and i bought our first house together last july. My old garden bed was a small 3 by 9 bed that i tended to overcrowd with tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Im still fairly new to gardening and growing my own food. but in the last 4 years iv had all successful harvests. i was able to grow more than we could eat in that little bed. now my entire property is just under a half acre, and i have free reign over the yard pretty much.

So the plan, the long term goal of RedBeard ranch. What i hope to eventually accomplish is using all this space to grow way more than i can eat. i would like to be able to sustain this garden completely on its own by selling off the extra produce at the local farmers market. I would like to be able have the garden pay for its self while having enough leftover to feed my family and hopefully have enough leftover to donate to local food pantries for the needy. Im not really looking to turn a profit. I just really enjoy all the hard work and reward that comes with growing your own food.

Im aware of the scale of what im trying to accomplish. I will be doing this all on my own really. I hope i can get some help from friends and family along the way but i know the brunt of it will be on my shoulders....and its exciting! I have been warned to keep it small and simple but wheres the fun in that! oh i expect to fail, i have lots to learn I know! but thats the whole adventure, and i will be using this as my digital journal to document my progress.

So here is whats going into the garden this year

Tomatoes of course! and lots of them.
cucumbers(slicing and pickling)
zucchini
broccoli
peppers(sweet and hot varieties)
Sugar snap peas
Brussle Sprouts(i think im the only one who will eat these ha)
potatoes
green onions
raspberries
strawberries
pumpkins(jack-o-lantern)
watermelon
corn

some of these these might get taken off the list as things progress and i can get a better grasp on how much time i will actually have to accomplish all of this. The varieties are yet to be chosen, i plan on visiting local nurserys to buy seeds known to grow well in this area. looking for mostly low maintenance hybrids just to keep things a little easier on myself.

heres some pics of the space i have to work with.

this is an idea for a bed. not sure if i like the L shape or should i make two separate beds?

Thanks for stopping by the Ranch! Please let me know what you think!

[digitS']

I think it's great!

First, you'll have to deal with that lawn grass and whatever might have invaded it as weeds. Don't assume that you can just till it in and you'll never see it again. That might work but it will take repeat tillings, over probably about 6 weeks, maybe longer. You can see how that would interfere with a garden schedule.

Ongoing, you will have to deal with your trees and the bush and any other nearby trees and bushes. What are they? The bush looks like a lilac, syringa? The tree isn't a walnut, is it? You will have enough ground to work around them.

Shade to deal with ... what is the situation? Unfortunately, even lawn grass won't do too well if there is little direct sun through the day. That's okay . The gardener needs work, storage and a shady rest area.

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

good points from digitS. You have a lovely amount of flat space, but lots of shade producers: house, shed, trees, shrubs. If you are serious about growing enough veggies to feed your family AND sell, you may have to sacrifice some of that.

Re your list, it is light on cool weather stuff, especially greens. Why not plant spinach early and some mixed leaf lettuces? They will be done by the time you want to plant the late stuff like zucchini. Personally I don't think pumpkins are worth growing - they take up a huge amount of space and most people don't even eat them. Your nice big garden space will start looking small again. Pumpkin vines can easily be 30 feet long and take up hundreds of square feet (even thousands if you grow the giants). Instead I would grow acorn or butternut or other winter squashes. They are lots of food, long keeping, and much more resistant to the squash vine borers. They come in bush varieties that don't take up nearly so much room. I have given up on growing zucchini because the SVB's kill them.

One reason people have been suggesting start smaller is that you will need to do a LOT of work improving your soil. The better the soil, the better the garden. You can't make up for bad soil by throwing fertilizer on it. Most residential areas have really bad soil, because the topsoil was stripped off to clear the building site. So you need to be adding lots of organic materials: fall leaves, compost, mushroom compost, worm compost, and whatever other organic stuff you can get your hands on. With that much space, I wouldn't bother trying to build boxes, just wasteful of materials. But you can mark off beds and paths. Dig all the top soil out of the paths and pile it on the beds. Lay down burlap or old carpet strips (carpet side down) on the paths to keep weeds and mud down. If you do this, you don't even need to get rid of the sod, just strip it and flip it, grass side down and then pile lots of soil and the above organics on it. It will be smothered and will just add to the soil.

You are in the Chicago area? Your average last frost date is about the same as mine, mid April. For me that usually means I can be working the soil and planting the earliest stuff about mid-March, depending on the rain, etc. You do not want to work wet soil, especially clay-based soils.

Best wishes, keep us posted how it is all going.

[imafan26]

Hi Redbeard. You have a great space to start with. As others have said, you probably will need to pare down your list and start with only a few beds at first since you will need to spend a lot of time in the beginning preparing and getting to know your soil. In Chicago, you do not have a long growing season so add a greenhouse or cold frame or someplace to start seeds first. If you have plants to overwinter, you need a garage or space in the house or a greenhouse for that too. If you grow tomatoes, plant the earlier varieties as the long ones may not produce much in a short season. Cool season crops are a good suggestion since they can be put out earlier than the tomatoes and usually are done in a short time. Kale and broccoli and some other things can handle a bit of frost.

Straight beds are easier to work than "L" beds but that depends on the width. Most beds should not be wider than 4 ft and accessible from all sides and placed in full sun which means you will need to know how much shade that tree will cast. Tree roots are another thing.

Do a soil test so you know what you are starting with. You can cut costs by just mounding up the soil rather than have a formal border for the beds at least in the beginning. It also allows you to make mistakes in case you need to realign things later on down the road without having to take the beds apart. It is best to align the beds north/south to maximize the sun and to put the trellises and tall plants on the North end, as well as most of the buildings and compost piles so they don't shade the garden.

If you plan to sell produce at a market, you need to check out what permits and licenses you need to sell and what the state regulations are. You should also do some market research and see what is in demand or niche market that has room for growth. If you really get into that, ask at some of the local restaurants and talk to the chefs and ask them what local produce they would like to see more of. Some people here sell directly to restaurants. Thai and Vietnamese restaurants use a lot of specialty herbs and even have signs saying they are buying seasonal fruits. Food banks are happy to get any fresh produce they can, but here only a couple of food banks will take perishable items.
But, that is way out there in the future right now.

I have a lot less space so I have to think more about how to maximize yields. Corn takes up a lot of space, but I know none of it goes to waste so I still plant it. In the cool season I plant Asian greens cabbages, mustard, kale, broccoli. cilantro, beets, and peas. In the summer corn, beans, cucumber, 3 tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant, long squash, chayote (it just arrives, I don't take care of it. It fruits in the cooler months and just requires a strong fence.), and a lot of herbs and peppers. I have a small garden at home and 800 sq ft community garden plot and I take care of the herb garden where I volunteer. I do have a 365 day growing year and I plant things that I eat and can grow well. BTW I also have a few citrus trees too, papaya, and a fig. I occasionally will plant carrots, but it is not worthwhile since they do not do well once the temperature exceeds 70 degrees and they are relatively cheap to buy. The herbs are the most worthwhile since many of them will last a long time and are very expensive to buy and taste better fresh. It may be worth planting potatoes for you, but I don't eat a lot of them and they don't like wet clay soil very much. Most of these plants yield more than I need in a relatively small space and I still have some to give away.

[RedBeard1987]

Soil prep, im expecting to be a nightmare. Any tips on what I can do to make that easier on myself would be much appreciated. I was thinking of renting a desodding machine to get the grass up but not sure if I want to spend the money. I mowed it through last summer and never saw any "weeds" really. Mostly just healthy grass. I do have a roto tiller that I bought with the house just need to make sure it works.

I entertained the idea of raised beds all over the place but quickly realized how foolish that was. I love raised bed but the cost to build and fill them would break the bank.

If you look at the last picture with the gazebo to the right. I'm facing west there. So my yard runs east to west. If you notice it is separated by a chain link fence. The area with the sheds won't be garden area. Behind the garage gets plenty of sun though out the day despite the two trees right there. The previous owner grew his tomatoes there without an issue so I'm going to give it a try. As for cool season crops I figure I won't have much time for those since I'm starting new and no prepared soil yet I'm thinking of skipping them in favor of getting the warm crop beds ready to plant.

As for some of those trees in the way back....I got me a chain saw to take care of them! I plan on using the wood from them to build trellises and what not.

As for the pumpkins. I'm growing pumpkins not to eat but more for the novelty. I think it would be so great to have the necessary and nephews come over and pick a pumpkin from their own private pumpkin patch!

[imafan26]

If you don't have a lot of weeds in the grass then you could do a lasagna bed instead. You don't have to dig out the grass, just fork it as deeply as you can so air and water will get through. Still plan to align the beds to make the best use of the sun. Put the tallest plants and trellises where they will not shade the rest of the garden once the sun is on the move.

Layer the area with thick cardboard. Boxes from moving places or appliance stores are the best they are large and thick. If you cannnot get enough cardboard several layers of newspaper will do.

Contact some local tree trimmers or landscapers. If they are nearby they may be more than willing to drop off the tree trimmings rather than pay to have it dumped elsewhere. You may have to be picky, no walnut or imported weeds.

If there is a composting facility near you, you can buy compost by the truckload a lot cheaper, if you provide the truck. The delivery charge usually costs more than the compost. Once you get your compost pile working, you should be able to provide most of your own compost.

Manure- if you know a horse ranch or farm nearby that has manure you can get it cheap or free, but beware fresh manures are best added to the compost pile and not in the vegetable bed unless you have at least 120 days before harvest.

Greens from the kitchen, neighbors, friends. If you make friends with some restaurants and grocers you may be able to get their throwaways, but you may have to separate out the trash, save those coffee grounds. Lawn clippings are also green especially if they don't have weed seeds and no one has used a weed and feed product on them.

Usually this type of bed is prepped in the fall and should be ready for Spring planting, but you can plant on top of it right away if you put a few inches of compost and soil on the very top of it.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/s ... osting.pdf

[Susan W]

This is a wonderful venture, RB! Where are you (please put location in profile). Pics show cold, so grown probably frozen. There are several good suggestions for you listed above. If I may, will throw out a couple more. I am urban and budget minded, just a tad warmer in the MidSouth!

It is hard to read through long involved posts, so perhaps missing some comments. One suggestion is to figure a small area, perhaps 4 x 8, sunny, near house. Prepare early, semi raised bed, for spring stuff including spinach, lettuce, radish etc. The other areas can be tilled or whatever for summer veggies.

I have mentioned the sorta raised bed before, will be brief here. Basically, mark off your area, sprinkling flour a good way. If anything is growing, weed eat that area. Pour on a bag of Black Kow poo. Lay down newspaper, several layers. Put more poo and some top soil on. Water with hose. Then just build up with bags of whatever is available (top soil, poo, natures helper, cotton burr, mushroom compost). Mix. Then put some cheaper mulch, such as shredded hardwood mulch around the edges to keep contained. This gives you at least 3" to plant early not deep rooted stuff.

I see mulch mentioned to get straight from tree people. This stuff is green, and you don't want it on your garden. Also being fresh, you get all the disease and bugs that were in that tree, probably why it was taken out. Trust me on this. I just had the pros take out a nasty elm. They chipped/shredded the smaller stuff on site, well 1/2 the tree. I for one wouldn't want to use it fresh!

[RedBeard1987]

Sorry i thought i had my location in there already! Im located in the south suburbs of Chicago. zone 5a as i understand it. we had a pretty mild winter this year so far. i even abandoned fixing my busted snow thrower since we only had enough snow to shovel twice so far. ill save the money in parts until next year. youll learn that im pretty cheap! ha I love to try and recycle things and turn them into something useful, and what better place to do that than a garden. im pretty handy as well you will see as i tend to show off from time to time. i enjoy creating something from nothing.

thanks for stopping by everyone. still have so much to think about! I feel like ive been reading nonstop on gardening. i picked up a book on amazon called "the backyard homestead" it has lots of good info in there and im only on the first chapter. i keep a real journal for my garden that my wife got me this christmas, and ive been keeping lots of notes in there. Getting very anxious to get my garden going this year. i think i even have my wife excited with all my babbling about tamatoes this pumpkins that. She is even starting to like the idea of keeping chickens! but now im really getting ahead of myself!

[RedBeard1987]

Quick update. Haven't been able to do much outside yet. Ground is still too cold. Checked into local laws and found I'm limited to owning dogs and cats and that's all. No poultry, livestock nothing. I find it funny because this town used to be a dairy farm Town I beleive.

[RedBeard1987]

another update. planning is going better now that im starting to get a better idea of how everything "should" be planted. decided not to plant in ANY raised beds. Im going to till and amend the soil in rows going north to south in the back lot. i will take care of a few shady trees in my way and make a nice sunny area. if im guessing right based on what i saw last summer i should have no problem getting over 8 hours of direct sunlight for the majority of the growing season.

as for the back of the garage ive decided to keep that area more "decorative". when we moved in i told my wife i wanted to make our yard as close to the vacation feel as i can get. we love the backwoods small town feel and i want to try and recreate that in my yard until i make it there one day. we tend to vacation in spots like a cabin in the ozarks, or rent a house in the woods on a lake. that kinda thing. so thats what im going for a spot for us and a spot for me and my garden .

behind the garage and in the yard i would like to plant lots of pollinator attracters as well as some herbs. There are already some day lillys and Naked ladys(my favorite ) witch was awesome because we love lillys. I have to plant star gazers for my wife, those are her favorite. our yard is so peaceful and relaxing already but i think i can make an even better place for my wife and I to spend time together.

[digitS']

Garden rooms! Areas for different activities - some mostly vegetable gardening, some mostly lawn grass, some for heavier "traffic" activities.

Steve

[RedBeard1987]

Garden rooms! Areas for different activities - some mostly vegetable gardening, some mostly lawn grass, some for heavier "traffic" activities.

Steve

I actually thought of this. sectioning off parts of the yard for different reasons. but thats why im leaving the yard alone and planting in what im just going to call the back 40. The yard has plenty of space to play around in so im not worried. and if i don't like it i can always change it next year!

[RedBeard1987]

I've been thinking about my soil situation. Some things that I've read suggest that my back 40 may have pretty good soil aready. The previous owners owned the house since it was built sometime in the 60s. They told me they never did anything with the land other than using it for space for the kids to play. He mowed it with a bagless riding mower so it's been collecting natural material for a long time. I Looked and There are a few weeds but not much. I'll Take pictures. What do you think. I still want to bring in some compost and topsoil. I have A test kit already so once I till the soil I'll see what's going on.

[RedBeard1987]

Well winter is trying to kill me before I can even getc this garden started! Fell on the ice last week with my hands in my pockets. Badly brused my left ribs and lung. At least the doc gave me some meds! So while I've been out I got bored and went rooting around the garage and found my left over seeds. Decided to plant some and see what sprouts. As well as some new stuff. So far after 2 days I have some cabbage, Brussels sprouts, thyme, sweet basil and cauliflower. Excited to see some stuff popping up. I used some burpee seed starter seems to do the trick. I also picked up one of those 4 shelf greenhouses at Menards for 16 bucks! Can't go wrong there. Here's some pics of what I got so far.

[RedBeard1987]

Well the weather has been great the last week here so ive been trying to get things going when not stuck at work. so far I have built a new rain water reservoir, and tilled a 25x25 plot(i think i need to go bigger). Didnt get as much done as i had hoped but ill take what i can get. heres some pics of the new reservoir that im pretty happy with. It works by filling one can at a time it then overflows into the next can and so on. each can has its own shut off valve just before the hose valve. this allows for maximum water pressure and use of water by filling and draining tall containers individually instead of all at once. the theory goes the higher the water level the better the pressure at the hose. if all else fails a pond pump should work well to move the water to the garden.