Gardens

We lived in Saudi Arabia for five years in the early eighties, in a two story concrete town house. Had a small area outside the dining room where we planted frangi pani and had our imported Thai Orchids hanging under a shade. On the roof we had two foot by two foot by two foot high wooden boxes. Some had plants that hung over the side of the roof and had beautiful red flowers. The rest had vegetables growing in them. Average daily temperature was around 125F but the air was very dry so we didn't notice the heat that much.

We had an open house once and invited both the imported workers and the locals to come through and see our flowers, etc. The Saudi's were amazed and oohed and ahhed the whole time they were there. We left Saudi not long after that and sold all the flowers, etc. Took in about $5K American on the stuff, mostly bought by the locals.

If you take the time and do the work you can grow things on cement or rocks. Stick with it T, eventually you will be happier.

George, preparing to do a rain dance in the backyard, we need the water.

Reply to
George Shirley
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Thank you! I am sticking with it! Never quit!

Every time I go out and garden, my blood sugar goes down to the 70's. Office work is nuts on blood sugar.

I got a freeze full of bags of frozen (cooked) vegi's this years to be proud of too.

And the tomatoes that didn't get killed in the freeze and now going nuts. But, I doubt the will get a chance to ripen before the next freeze.

And I am looking forward to planting my over winter shallots and potato onions. Over winter gardening IS SO CHEATING!

I have four tiny little Goki berries facing the coming winter in four of my ground pots. So far they are slowing growing. They are so fragile looking when they are this small, their branches are like human hairs. And the earwigs haven't found them.

Thank you for the words of encouragement! There is a lot of skill involved that I am learning.

My bother in law use to say: "Hand me the can; hand me the can opener; I am a cook."

Hand me the seeds; hand me dirt; I am a farmer. Chuckle. There is a lot to learn in both cooking and gardening/farming. Since starting all this, I have gains a HUGE respect for professional farmers.

-T

Reply to
T

T wrote: ...

if you pick them before they get frozen they can finish inside. some may not make it and rot, but others will gradually ripen. we put them on a table in the garage where they won't be disturbed. a few years we've had enough ripen that way that we've even canned some of them in November.

not at all. :)

you're doing just fine there IMO.

gardener IMO a more small scale and nurturing way to get good food.

unfortunately the large number of farmers around here are still mining their topsoil and losing it. few cherish it and protect it.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

We have a 25 cubic foot freezer full of vegetables, fruits, ready made meals (we made those too), plus loaves of bread we made. The meat freezer is only about 4 cubic feet, attached to the refrigerator. We buy meat when it goes into the "used meat" bin at the supermarket, that means the meat is rapidly approaching its toss out date, ribeye steaks, chicken, fish, pork, you name it, all bought at half or quarter price depending on how close it is to the toss out date. When I'm tired of baking my own bread and cookies there's always the "used bread and cookies" bin, same same. Stuff has the original sticker at around $3 to $5 and another sticker for $1.49 over it, still good stuff, goes in the freezer or just gets eaten in a couple of days. Many ways to get good stuff at a lower price. We also hit Big Lots store about every other month, lots of good stuff with off brand companies and low prices. I have run into some really tasty stuff that I never heard of before at that place. Including some clothing, household goods, etc. Bought a $2K

60 inch TV there for $600.00 because someone decided they didn't need the TV, original price tag on it was over $1200.00. We've had that one three years now and it's still going strong.

We learned how to do these things when we were shopping at our mother's knees, wife from a large family, me from a frugal family. Waste not, want not is the motto. Plus we can and freeze and dehydrate our own stuff grown in our small garden, including my herb garden. Lots of dried herbs go to family and friends every year. I have well over a hundred empty canning jars in the canning pantry and I buy lids with no names in

300 lid lots when needed. Of course a lot of this stuff is because we have been married 56 years, so far, and dated two years before that. We're a well oiled team now plus a nice little dog to catch anything that falls off the counter.

George

Reply to
George Shirley

With our small property and using raised beds and Square Foot Gardening, we throw in some composted cow manure annually and mix the the mix up again plus we pothole our leftover's greens etc. in the beds.

We still have the one Gypsy pepper producing fruit, now it is going into its third year of growth and production. I'm hoping it keeps on going, just imagine a perennial pepper going on. The fruit is smaller but prolific. We have bags of chopped peppers and wife hauls a bag or two to the church pantry for the poor every week. Right now the Japanese eggplant is going crazy as is the okra, church pantry is getting two or three bags a week lately. Alas, the temperatures are dropping pretty good, getting up to low fifties then hitting low eighties again by mid-afternoon. I think we might actually get somewhat of a winter this year.

George

Reply to
George Shirley

That is probably instinct! :-)

Reply to
T

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