GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

01-07-2003, 11:22 PM

(Not Much) wrote in message om...
I've bought a house and I want to start a garden. I have two main
goals for this garden. First off, I'd like to save a little money. I'm
going to be on a tighter budget and I'm hoping I can save some money.
Secondly, I'm always looking for healthy new hobbies that don't
involve the TV and computers etc. Gardening seems like a good
addition. I live in zone 8a(Dallas, TX) and I want to start sometime
in August or September.

I think I'm interested in the Square Foot Gardening, since I have very
little room to work with anyways(small backyard). Also, where can i
find a schedule of what grows when for my area?

I'd especially like to hear some tips from the frugal growers out
there. The people that like me get a thrill from saving money

Sure. if you start in august, you will be growing mostly fall greens,
and those are

a) the most nutritious of all veggies and
b) in most cases you can let them go to seed and collect seeds for
future crops

Another issue: being by myself, I always have an issue with food going
bad because i can't use it in time. This is especially true with
veggies. Any tips on harvesting or storing so i won't be wasting too
much? And, can you staggar plant veggies in a way such that you are
always harvesting something?

Yes, staggered seeding for plants with a short harvest season (such as
lettuce), but maybe only two or three plantings for longer harvest
veggies such as zucchini or chard. Get a chart with planting and
harvesting times for your area, and pick only what you can eat. In
Dallas, you can have winter greens throughout the winter, no problem.
Just make sure everything is in the ground by october.

Someone point me in the right direction. So far, i've learned about
preparing raised beds and some pointers on square foot gardening and
soil prep, but I'm still lost on what to plant, when to plant, and
when to harvest.

Oh, and one other thing. I'm interested in organic gardening. I'd like
to hear from the organic gardeners too.

Use all of your kitchen scraps, all of your leaves, and all of your
grass clippings as fertilizer and mulch. In a place like Dallas,
mulching should save you a lot of water money. If you have already
established plants, consider
five or six inches of mulch around them.

Since i'm a homeowner now

i may be interested in flower planting as
well, but for now I'm more interested in veggies.

If you start this august, and the soil is more or less prepared, I
suggest (tomatoes will be for next spring):

1) soil test at your local extension service
2) start with relatively easy veggies such as lettuce, chard, collard,
or various salad greens (it will be difficult to mulch greens, except
relatively large plants such as collard or chard... direct seed the
rest, if the plants are thick enough they will mulch themselves some).
As the weather grows cooler (october) you can try planting some
arugula or other mustards.
3) get a herb patch going as it gives a lot for little effort. I would
start with oregano, thyme and sage, perhaps rosemary, given the zone.