# Get more food!



## Zapthycat (Jan 7, 2014)

*Revelation 6:5-6*
_And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine._

A famine is a widespread shortage of food that is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Historically, famines have occurred among the poor because of agricultural problems such as drought, crop failure, or pestilence. A famine can be made worse by increased human population, war, or economic policies which place the poor at a disadvantage.

To us in the Modern Day USA, we associate famines with the past, and starving Ethiopian kids. We don't think it's possible for it to happen to us, however we are now ripe for a famine, just like the 6th Chapter of Revelation predicts.

First though, let me give you a perspective of the frequency of famines... they are a lot more widespread than we think:

China: Chinese scholars had kept count of 1,828 rampages by the famine since 108 B.C. to 1911 in one province or another â an average of close to one famine per year. From 1333 to 1337 a terrible famine killed *6,000,000* Chinese. The four famines of 1810, 1811, 1846, and 1849 are said to have killed no fewer than *45,000,000* people.

India: the Bengal famine of 1770, is estimated to have taken around *10 million* lives â 1/3rd of Bengal's population at the time. Other famines include the Great Famine of 1876â78, in which *6.1-10.3 million* people died and the Indian famine of 1899â1900, in which *1.25-10 million* people died. The famines continued until independence in 1947, with the Bengal Famine of 1943â44â even though there were no crop failures âkilling *1.5-3 million* Bengalis during World War II.

North Korea: 1996â99. An estimated *600,000* died of starvation (other estimates range from 200,000 to 3.5 million.

Vietnam: Famine of 1945, which caused *2 million* deaths.

Finland: 1/3rd of the population died in the 1696 famine.The Finnish famine of 1866â1868 killed 15% of the population.

Ireland: Great Famine in Ireland, 1845-1849, 1 million dead.

Iceland: 1783 famine, 1/5th the population of the island died, 10,000 people.

Russia: 1932-33 famine saw *2.2-10 million* starved to death. Famines in Imperial Russia are known to have happened every 10 to 13 years.

Europe: Severe famines in 1315-1322, 1590's, 1620's, 1740â43, 1770-71.

The 20th century saw large government starve tens of millions of people through failed policies that they wanted to shoehorn through. We didn't find out about the 60+ million that were starved by Mao's policies in the late 50's/early 60's until 20 years afterwards. 

With that in mind... plant that food, preserve it, store it!


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

learn what others dont recognize as food too...you might need that knowledge.it might be a last ditch option in whats coming .

i hope you have an Exodus bag ready to roll.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

i may have to show yall my exodus bag i am working on......you notice you never see refugees with big rucksacks or hardly anything( i know many are poor) as a whole?...theres a reason. can you put things on your person to not draw attention?do you understand how to make and do? i better stop i am about to drift this thread.i may do a thread in future as i finish my bag..its not a bug out bag either its that last ditch effort at maintaining life on this planet bag.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Part of our BOB is worn on our bodies - under our clothes. That way all that we carry isn't in our bag and visible as "stuff".


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

drought in calaburnia,drought in texas/nebraska.frost damage in s.c. and northern florida.gotta plant more rows and buy more canning jars.....


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

Mom_of_Four said:


> Part of our BOB is worn on our bodies - under our clothes. That way all that we carry isn't in our bag and visible as "stuff".



mom i call it survival layers or layered survival.


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## pookford (Jan 11, 2014)

Zapthycat said:


> With that in mind... plant that food, preserve it, store it!


And while you're at it, make sure there's plenty of diversity in your garden too.

www.evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/agriculture_02

That short article is about the dangers of monoculture and the Great Famine in Ireland (aka Irish Potato Famine.) Basically, the vast majority of people in Ireland were relying on just one type of potato (the Lumper) as their main source of food. The Lumper was very susceptible to a strain of late blight that invaded Ireland in 1845. Since disease susceptibility is a genetic thing, and all those Lumper potatoes were genetically identical, the vast majority of Irish food crops were destroyed.

A bit of research into this kind of thing convinced me to plant a wide variety of fruits and veggies in the hopes of preventing fungus or bacteria from wiping out my entire garden.


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## snowcap (Jul 1, 2011)

Planning my garden this week. No more room to expand, so it's a case of figuring out how to get more on less land. Not easy to do. 
If we can't eat it some one can. If not the food bank, the chickens definetly will.


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## mommatwo2 (Nov 7, 2013)

snowcap said:


> Planning my garden this week. No more room to expand, so it's a case of figuring out how to get more on less land. Not easy to do.
> If we can't eat it some one can. If not the food bank, the chickens definetly will.



I am working on the same planning what and where and how much.. I am trying companion planting. Like corn with string beans and squash between the stocks. I hope to double my vegetable variety as well as quantity. I am on a city lot and because I have clay I have to use boxes. Good luck.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

you can grid up onions in a single wide row.the fence was used for peas with 2 rows of beets on each side to make them sorta like wide rows too.doing this you have to really watch fertility and water real close.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

one wide row that was finished i planted turnips in early in fall.heres a look at them after the other garden goods died off.if i had waited to plant entire garden in turnips i would have been out of luck for turnips as it was to late for the other plantings.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

you can cram and grow stuff anywhere...heres a old chimmney block i filled with soil and dropped a few onion sets in....alot of free stir fries there....i try all kinds of crazy stuff....lol


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

flower beds...tossed the flowers out and put something i could eat in it.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I try to expand my garden a little every year or try at least one new variety. The only flowers I plant are ones that are useful for keeping pests away or drawing pollinators, and they're planted right in with the veggies, lol! I'm also trying to learn to garden more up instead of out with the use of trellises, gutters, PVC pipe, etc. I also save seeds of everything that does good.

The idea of a "taking my life on the road" kind of bag (didn't know what to call it til now, thanks Elk) has become more and more interesting to me too because I know as a single woman I'd only be able to hold out for so long before being overwhelmed and forced off my property, and as of now I have no family or friends to network with. I'd like to see a thread about that Elk.

I wish I had someone here to teach me firsthand about foraging. I have books and I keep looking, but I'm either not finding much or not sure enough about it to take a chance. I just know some of these weeds and fruits on my property are edible other than the cattails, persimmons and black walnuts, lol! 

Of course, I'm so busy trying to build and nourish raised beds out of this rock and clay and the rest of the time fighting off the wild blackberries and sumac that I don't have much time left for foraging. And I never find any mushrooms, other than toadstools! I'm so envious when I see people gathering up sacks of different varieties.

I've heard sumac is good, but I have a horrible reaction to poison ivy and poison oak, and all three of those are in the same rhus family, so I'm afraid to try it. According to everything I've read and matching up pictures, my sumac variety is _Rhus copallina._


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

calliemoonbeam said:


> I've heard sumac is good, but I have a horrible reaction to poison ivy and poison oak, and all three of those are in the same rhus family, so I'm afraid to try it. According to everything I've read and matching up pictures, my sumac variety is _Rhus copallina._


If your sumac has white berries, stay away from it. Otherwise, sumac with red berries is good sumac.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

heres a section of garden i tried to cram up tight....i used a mantis type tiller between rows.it was to narrow for a big brute like me to harvest easily...one wrong move and i was backing up over crop behind me....lol...the corn is in a 3 row bed too...the maters grew into each other and was a jungle


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## pookford (Jan 11, 2014)

Our garden looks a lot like yours, elkhound. I'm actually going to try wider spacing for the tomatoes next year because ours end up becoming one big tangled mess and it's a pain to work with.


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## biggkidd (Aug 16, 2012)

Great pics of the gardens Elk! You have nice looking soil there. Reminds me of the Scottsville area. 

Our dirt is RED I envy your dirt. lol The last place we lived before we moved here had topsoil a good 4 ft. deep and almost black. 

Larry


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Elk's garden makes mine look, well.......like it's cold, dormant and covered in snow. :sob:


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

K.B. said:


> If your sumac has white berries, stay away from it. Otherwise, sumac with red berries is good sumac.


Yes, I knew that, but thanks for pointing it out! Mine has the red flower bunches first and then red berry clusters. I had never seen sumac (that I know of) before I bought this property...didn't realize it was covered in it. The first fall when I saw those red clusters start appearing from the house windows, I had to go out and have a good look at what I thought was just overgrown weeds. What can I say, I was a total city girl before moving out here, lol. :shrug:

I was also tickled to have wild blackberries...until I figured out how fast they grow and try to take over too! They also have wicked thorns, yeowch!

Elk, I planted everything too close together when I first starting gardening back in the 80s. It was like a jungle! I only planted tomatoes, peppers and okra, but those tomatoes grew and grew and put off hundreds and hundreds of pounds of tomatoes clear up until hard frost, and so did the okra. Then I still had lots of green tomatoes to bring in. They were just really hard to get to!

The actual okra plants must have been 20 feet tall, but they bowed over and touched the ground from the weight of the okra. I had freezers stuffed full of tomatoes and okra (that was before I started canning) and was giving them away to everyone I knew that year and even some people I didn't, lol! My hot peppers did well too, but the bell peppers were a dismal failure.

I've thought about doing it again on purpose because those were the best producing tomatoes and okra I've ever had, ROFL!


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

Forerunner said:


> Elk's garden makes mine look, well.......like it's cold, dormant and covered in snow. :sob:



mine too...right now i do have a type spinach that has survived the 1F temp and -30 windhill on a south-southwest facing slope. a few days of sunny temps and it was firm again.some of it was bitten back by the cold but i am amazed and how it has faired..even days of continuous teen temps and then up in high 30's to 50f range of a couple days makes it firm back up from being very soft feeling...all with no cover...a cold frame i think would be wonderful in that sloped micro climate.

i have picked fresh snap peas on thanksgiving day from flower pots .


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I really hate to think of leaving here but I am ready, have my small wild food book etc. 

I will hunker down here as long as possible. Im thinking food will be a good barter tool. so this year I'm planting major fruit bearing tree's and bushes. Will be hard, since I have to wrap every tree from the deer.

I still cant locate .22 shells. Just other types. I have a backhoe and if the shtf, I am digging a moat around my farm,...lol Im so close to the water table it will fill right in. Placing homemade bombs underground. Aint no one getting in...lmbo Have my infrared goggles ready.

I really think if the shtf, we wont have access to anything immediately. There will be wide spread panic, store shelves will be empty in hours, no food will be transported, and fuel will be gone and none shipped. People will panic, head out of the city as there will be no water there, but on the way, it will be traffic jams and accidents blocking the roads, and they will be walking.  

So not only do you need food stored but energy, fuel of some sort. say you heat with wood, you will want gas for the chainsaw stock piled. there will be no way you will get any once the shtf. Or tools for gardening etc. I have my gaswell but really want a generator hooked up. I think if you have a source of energy to charge batteries or your phone, it could be so valuable and maybe a barter tool. they sell those small solar chargers cheap. Ham radios and other forms of ability to get news of whats going on will be priceless. they fit in a BOB.

I also think duct tape and plastic sheeting may be very important. If a war broke out, you know the nuclear plants will be hit. It will be a global disaster. You could attempt to plastic the windows and duct tape any leaky spots.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

snowcap said:


> Planning my garden this week. No more room to expand, so it's a case of figuring out how to get more on less land. Not easy to do.
> If we can't eat it some one can. If not the food bank, the chickens definetly will.


Grow Up! Dh bought me a mess of 1/2" 4x8 sheets of lattuce, so I had to do something with some. The tallest one, is where I planted watermelons, you can see I had to make a hammock for it as it grew too heavy.The shot one I planted cucumbers on each end and lettuce underneath. Lettuce didn't like it one the cucs took over,have to try something else that likes heavy shade.


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## Patchouli (Aug 3, 2011)

Elkhound those are really nice looking gardens. Do you mulch with leaves?


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

There was plenty of food in Ireland during the great potato famine. The English landlords found it was more economically feasible for them to sell the food outside of Ireland. Lots of food, but exported. If the poor had had access to this food, the potato failure would not have killed them. The Irish didn't necessarily die directly of starvation, but the problems associated with it. They died from disease that a healthy person could have tolerated. They died in childbirth from bleeding to death. They died in infancy because their mother died.


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

OMG Swan, love that melon bra! LOL


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

7thSwan, thanks so much! I've been trying to figure out how I could grow cantaloupes and watermelons from trellises, thinking I would need some kind of shelf or something for each fruit, but you just solved that problem for me, ROFL! 

I don't know though, I love Black Diamond watermelons, and they get to about 40 pounds. How big did yours get when ripe?

I was thinking of growing zucchini and crookneck squash on trellises over some kind of greens, but I might have to rethink that.

Thanks again, love the melon sling!


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

Patchouli said:


> Elkhound those are really nice looking gardens. Do you mulch with leaves?



basically i use everything i can get my hands on.i have one pile that is 12 or 15 dump truck loads cooking down...lol.

it all works for most part.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

calliemoonbeam said:


> 7thSwan, thanks so much! I've been trying to figure out how I could grow cantaloupes and watermelons from trellises, thinking I would need some kind of shelf or something for each fruit, but you just solved that problem for me, ROFL!
> 
> I don't know though, I love Black Diamond watermelons, and they get to about 40 pounds. How big did yours get when ripe?
> 
> ...


Oh, that's a big melon! Mine are small,just the 2 of us to feed. But I bet you could hold em up with something,maybe a firewood carrying bag.But cantaloupes ,heck ya. I even had some luffa growing, I just need to start them a bit earlier in the greenhouse,they sure have a long growing season.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

7thswan said:


> Oh, that's a big melon! Mine are small,just the 2 of us to feed. But I bet you could hold em up with something,maybe a firewood carrying bag.But cantaloupes ,heck ya. I even had some luffa growing, I just need to start them a bit earlier in the greenhouse,they sure have a long growing season.


The firewood bag is a good idea too! Or since I sew a lot, maybe I could pick up some thick canvas or sailcloth on sale and make some quick and easy, with grommets at the ends to tie them up with cords. They'd be strong, hold up to the weather pretty good and would be reusable for at least several years, maybe longer. Thanks for giving me the idea! 

That's one of the (few) good things about living in Oklahoma...we (usually) have long, hot growing seasons, perfect for melons and other hot weather plants. If we can just balance between our usual heat and drought and get enough water to our gardens, stuff like that grows like crazy here.


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

Every year, I'm loving my garden for the money-saving fresh organic goodness it gives me, but it may not be dependable during the kind of dire times described in the OP. Anything that looks remotely edible would be targets for hungry thieves. It would be a harrowing and dangerous job to cultivate and stand guard over a bunch of tomatoes, f'sure. For hard times of this magnitude, an incognito garden may work better. For example, plant beets, turnips, carrots, and potatoes among nonfood vegetation instead of in come-and-steal-me garden rows... The tops of carrots, beets, turnips can be eaten, plus there's more groceries underground. Those dual-purpose veggies can be "hidden in plain sight" just about anywhere. Jerusalem artichoke can be planted in the background or tucked into unused corners...you get the idea.

In addition to a conventional garden, I also enjoy a multitude of vegetation that does not appear to be edible (to the average untrained eye). There are many highly nutritious foods that look like weeds or even ornamentals. Wait...some ARE weeds, but they pack as much&#8212;if not more&#8212;nutrition than conventional vegetables. Lamb's quarters, chickweed, nettles, amaranth, etc. etc.

(I have not read all the posts in this thread, so please excuse if this has already been mentioned.)


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

:thumb: Great thread! 

Elk, what type of spinach are you growing that survives those temps? Monkey-see, monkey-do...I want some too! 

7thSwan and Elk...your gardens are beautiful. Swan, am I seeing goldfish in the water...and something else in there, or am I "seeing things"? lol

Callie, I would love to be your neighbor...I could teach you how to forage like a wildchild, lol.



.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes, I have gold fish in there and 1 Koi. Usally I put goldfish to eat misquitos(sp) but we do not have them here-the county sprays. But I like them anyway,and on the north side of the tank I have a bench ,it is under overhanging fruit trees(cherrys) where I can sit in the shade. I have many gardens, each year I make something and had just converted over that area of the garden into raised beds. On the other side of the row of asparagus I plant potatoes. Infront of the picket fence is an area of red and golden rasberrys,J. artichokes and growing on the cable for the elec pole is golden Hops. You can see honeysuckle growing on the privacy fence. To the left down hill is a huge herb bed and many raised beds with blueberrys, oh I'll just post a couple of pictures. It's so nice to look right now when everything is covered in ice/snow.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

As you can see I have a Cottage Garden, I mix things intogether, Herbs, Flowers, Blueberrys, Grapes, Horseraddish and on and on. I have about 35 different fruit trees and one photo here is a days harvest.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

This is my greenhouse I made of salvaged materials and a chickencoop( 2 actualy) behind. I also now have a hoophouse against a pole barn. I'm on a hill,so I make beds all over the "yard".ps. I put the Koi and goldfish in the hoophouse for the winter, the Koi immd. jumped out overnight he was dead.


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## Patchouli (Aug 3, 2011)

elkhound said:


> basically i use everything i can get my hands on.i have one pile that is 12 or 15 dump truck loads cooking down...lol.
> 
> it all works for most part.


Ah you follow the wisdom of Forerunner then?  Nothing in the world better than making bad dirt good.


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## Patchouli (Aug 3, 2011)

7thswan said:


> This is my greenhouse I made of salvaged materials and a chickencoop( 2 actualy) behind. I also now have a hoophouse against a pole barn. I'm on a hill,so I make beds all over the "yard".ps. I put the Koi and goldfish in the hoophouse for the winter, the Koi immd. jumped out overnight he was dead.


What did you use for the roof? I love the small square windows. I would love to do this myself, greenhouses are so expensive!


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

cajun...the spinach is bloomsdale longstanding.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Patchouli said:


> What did you use for the roof? I love the small square windows. I would love to do this myself, greenhouses are so expensive!


_I used storm windows that are framed in aluminum. One area is done in regular roof style for the woodstove pipe to go thru._


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

For those that are interested. If you join (or even just look) Flickr ,a photo site, we have groups, Homesteading,gardening, ect. We post pictures and if we "friend" each other, our posted pictures come up to each other. We ask questions ect. Some of us are very visual,so it's fun.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

7thswan said:


> _I used storm windows that are framed in aluminum. One area is done in regular roof style for the woodstove pipe to go thru._


You do have a very beautiful and productive garden.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

painterswife said:


> You do have a very beautiful and productive garden.


Thank You. It would be nice to have some HT types living near me so that I can share the many runners and such that I'm overwhelmed with each spring.


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## sdnapier (Aug 13, 2010)

elkhound said:


> heres a section of garden i tried to cram up tight....i used a mantis type tiller between rows.it was to narrow for a big brute like me to harvest easily...one wrong move and i was backing up over crop behind me....lol...the corn is in a 3 row bed too...the maters grew into each other and was a jungle


For a "big brute" you plant a mighty nice garden! Wow


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## sdnapier (Aug 13, 2010)

7thswan said:


> This is my greenhouse I made of salvaged materials and a chickencoop( 2 actualy) behind. I also now have a hoophouse against a pole barn. I'm on a hill,so I make beds all over the "yard".ps. I put the Koi and goldfish in the hoophouse for the winter, the Koi immd. jumped out overnight he was dead.


So so so very sweet! Will you post more pics?


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

sdnapier said:


> So so so very sweet! Will you post more pics?


Sure,Walkway between the fenced garden and Rasberry,J.artichoke .Herb ect garden. Inside the one garden,I like the mist right over the asparagus. Last a garden under a tree, mmy 3 rottweilers are buried there. It overlooks our alfala fields and the cow pasture. Down the hill is a stream and our woods beyond that.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Hazelnuts, cotton bloom,blackberrys. I plant the "intensive method" , didn't know that but learned after. I have too much to weed and keeping things planted close eliminates the need after the spring spurt. I prefer to move things areter they out grow their space. Course one must have good soil to provide , so I mulch , compost and also make a compost "tea".


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Just realized you might have ment more pics of the greenhouse! Right after building.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Your greenhouse is wonderful!


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## Westexas (Apr 10, 2013)

Thanks for all the great pics, 7S! Wish I were closer too!


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

I've got 11 sliding glass doors that I plan to one day turn into a greenhouse...been saying that for 4 years now...some day. For now, south facing mudroom has to due for our seedling starts.

Matt


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

RK, I've built 4 greenhouses,my favorite was made of doorwalls. Go For It!


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

It's all planned out, just got to find the time. Between the new garage, new kitchen, re-organizing the house (have 3 houses worth of furniture...one being used, the other in the spare bedroom and attic), just run out of energy/hours.
It will get done 7th, thanks for the encouragement.

Matt


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

calliemoonbeam said:


> I wish I had someone here to teach me firsthand about foraging. I have books and I keep looking, but I'm either not finding much or not sure enough about it to take a chance. I just know some of these weeds and fruits on my property are edible other than the cattails, persimmons and black walnuts, lol!
> 
> Of course, I'm so busy trying to build and nourish raised beds out of this rock and clay and the rest of the time fighting off the wild blackberries and sumac that I don't have much time left for foraging. And I never find any mushrooms, other than toadstools! I'm so envious when I see people gathering up sacks of different varieties.
> 
> [/I]


I've been known to buy seeds for some of those wild edibles. I have nettles seeds. I don't really want them in my yard, but they grow quickly and are not readily recognizable by average folks. 

When it comes to the blackberries, could you transplant them to a better location? That is a wonderful wild edible to have on your property.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

TheMartianChick said:


> I've been known to buy seeds for some of those wild edibles. I have nettles seeds. I don't really want them in my yard, but they grow quickly and are not readily recognizable by average folks.
> 
> When it comes to the blackberries, could you transplant them to a better location? That is a wonderful wild edible to have on your property.


Hmm, never thought about planting "weeds" on my property just for that purpose, lol, what a great idea!  I don't even have ordinary dandelions, and I thought they were everywhere.

I've been thinning and cutting back blackberries ever since I moved here about 6 years ago. I've never really kept track of how many I get since I pick them a little at a time. But a couple of years ago I was really sick and had been in the hospital at ripening time, so I let some friends come and pick. They spent two weekends and ended up with 11 5-gallon buckets full! That was after 3-4 years of cutting them back! Of course, they were also scratched from head to toe, lol. Those wild blackberries have much worse thorns than domestic ones!

I moved here in December, and I don't know how long they and the sumac had been let go wild, but that first summer, between the two of them, they took over at least two-thirds of my 5 acres and were over 8 feet tall! I also had snakes galore! 

I had a guy come in that fall and brush hog them down and started digging them out and pruning them back to a more manageable area, but I still have to fight them every year, though I would never get rid of the berries. I'd love to get rid of the sumac, if only that was possible, lol!

Thanks for the nettles and other forage plant idea!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

callie, I read that the brown flowerhead on sumac tastes like citrus. You might want to look into it.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

7thswan said:


> callie, I read that the brown flowerhead on sumac tastes like citrus. You might want to look into it.


I've heard that, and it's good for vitamin C, but I mentioned somewhere (don't remember if it was this thread) that I'm severely allergic to poison oak and poison ivy, and they and the sumac all come from the same rhus family, so I'm afraid I'd have a bad reaction to it...and if it's even half as bad internally as it is externally I'd rather just be set on fire, lol! I haven't found anyone or anything on the internet who can tell me definitively whether I'd have a reaction or not, and I'm sure not chancing it! But thanks for the suggestion.


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

This thread has some of the best eye-candy in all of HomesteadingToday!

7thswan's gardens look like they fell off the pages of Birds & Bloom magazine!!!!!! <insert drooling smile here>

Elk's photos look like they fell off the pages of Mother Earth News magazine. :thumb: (Thanks for the name of that spinach...I'm going to search thru my stack of seed catalogs for the Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach.)



.


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

calliemoonbeam said:


> The firewood bag is a good idea too! Or since I sew a lot, maybe I could pick up some thick canvas or sailcloth on sale and make some quick and easy, with grommets at the ends to tie them up with cords. They'd be strong, hold up to the weather pretty good and would be reusable for at least several years, maybe longer. Thanks for giving me the idea!
> 
> That's one of the (few) good things about living in Oklahoma...we (usually) have long, hot growing seasons, perfect for melons and other hot weather plants. If we can just balance between our usual heat and drought and get enough water to our gardens, stuff like that grows like crazy here.


You might look at canvas painting tarps. I've found thick sturdy ones that were much cheaper than buying the same equivalent size canvas from the fabric dept.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Can't hide veggies or edibles around here. Anything green would be checked/taken.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

mommatwo2 said:


> I am working on the same planning what and where and how much.. I am trying companion planting. Like corn with string beans and squash between the stocks. I hope to double my vegetable variety as well as quantity. I am on a city lot and because I have clay I have to use boxes. Good luck.


I hear a lot about companion planting, "the three sisters", etc. But when I look for examples all I find is corn-pole beans-squash.

Can anyone give me some other ideas for companion planting?


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## pookford (Jan 11, 2014)

This may not be textbook companion planting, but we plant onions with our peppers because we've noticed that beetles leave our peppers alone when we do. We usually plant a 'wide row' or block that has a row of peppers, a row of onions and then another row of peppers.


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## kkbinco (Jun 11, 2010)

cfuhrer said:


> I hear a lot about companion planting, "the three sisters", etc. But when I look for examples all I find is corn-pole beans-squash.
> 
> Can anyone give me some other ideas for companion planting?


Maybe these pages have info you're looking for.
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=72 (Digital is free, printed sent to you cost $)


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

Not sure how much gardening we'll do this year because of my continuing back issues but here are a couple pictures of growing UP. First shows the trellises that DH made many years ago using plastic trellis panels, some PVC on the backs for stability and metal hinges. As the hinges have rusted out, he replaced them with zip ties. We grow beans, cukes and snow peas on them with lettuce on the shady back sides. Second photo shows a zuke growing up instead of out. As soon as it sprouted, I put an extra large tomato cage over it to steer it upwards.

Love everyone's photos!!


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## Patchouli (Aug 3, 2011)

I was starting to get all excited about gardening until this latest arctic wave came through.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Me too, but brrrr! :shivers:  I've loved all the pictures and advice though, thanks everyone!


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## mommatwo2 (Nov 7, 2013)

cfuhrer said:


> I hear a lot about companion planting, "the three sisters", etc. But when I look for examples all I find is corn-pole beans-squash.
> 
> 
> 
> Can anyone give me some other ideas for companion planting?



Corn beans and squash are the three sisters. But here is a link to farmers almanac and companion planting. 

http://m.almanac.com/content/plant-companions-friend-or-foe 

They list what you can plant with various veggies and what would not work...


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