We decided to make a little series documenting "How We Garden". We both grew up gardening, and together we've grown a garden for 38 years. When we were feeding six kids, our garden looked a little different than now. This garden is just for the two of us, with plenty to share when the kids come home. Our garden provides fresh produce for our table spring through fall. We like to can beans, pickles, tomatoes, corn, and peppers.. Cabbage carrots, winter squash, onions and garlic and potatoes often last until spring. The grapes give us grape juice to last the year. The strawberries, raspberries and black berries give us fresh berries from the end of May into November or a hard killing frost. They fill our freezers overflowing with frozen berries and jams with plenty to share with our kids and friends. The fruit trees provide fruit for pies, and pie filling. The apple trees also give us fruit for applesauce and juice. The pear, plum and peach trees provide fresh fruit to can, dry or store through the winter. Our Anjou pear tree is our favorite. We ate pears into March. And don't forget the horseradish!
One of the best things we've done in gardening is our drip irrigation system. It puts the water right where it's needed, with a deep watering that encourages good root development. It cuts back on our weeding, and makes watering a synch. Sprinkling and flooding make your garden wet so much of the time, making it hard to work in, and can cause fruit rot from water on the plants and fruit. Our water goes right only the roots, and is very conservative with water. We spent around $200 getting it set up in the '90s. I bought a 7500 feet roll of T-tape for about $100 in about 2008 that will last us the rest of our gardening years. So you can see that the initial cost well pays for its self if you plan to garden. Electrical tape is your best friend to fix leaks and seal the ends. Every year we roll up the tapes and save them for the next season. Some that are worn or damaged past repair are replaced in the spring. Look around and see what is available today. Maybe a drip irrigation system would be a great choice for you!
This week we are eating spinach, radishes, lettuce, strawberries, multiplier onions from the garden. Garlic and cabbage harvested and last fall.
If you haven't got your garden planted, it's time to plant most everything!
Watch your apple trees-it's time to start spraying every two weeks after all the blossoms drop.