"Ray Drouillard" wrote in message ...
"Rod Tuomi" wrote in message
m...
I have alot of Farmer's blood flowing through my veins, and I love
this time of year. I enjoy getting the soil ready, planting a garden,
but most of all waitng to see those little plants sprouting through
the soil. I love to watch the plants grow, take care of them, and of
course eat the fresh tasty veggies and fruits that come from the sweat
of my brow.

Rod Tuomi

I'm getting excited, too. After living in the city for way too long, we
are closing on our new 'estate' in a week. Ten acres! Woo hoo! I have
been looking at the seed catalogs and checking out the nurseries and
drooling. Sort of like a one-eyed cat in a fish market.


Ray

Ten acres! get organized, Ray. I wish I had known as much as I do now
when I bought my present home (which is also my first). I would have
veggies year round and fruits ten months a year, and plenty of nuts
and mushrooms of course, even though I live in Michigan. And, sure,
why not, a couple goats for cheese and a few chickens for eggs. In
retrospect what I should have done first (that would make gardening
more pleasurable and productive now) was:

1) figure out what grows well around here, make a list of fruit plants
that can cover the season continuously. Here the first fruit of the
season are mulberries. Unfamiliar with them at first, I found in time
that there are varieties growing around here which are excellent (yes,
I took cuttings).

2) set up a garden in full sun and with proper wildlife protection
(though I have since eliminated the problem by a variety of methods).
Soil quality does not matter as much as sun and water, unless you have
toxic soil. You can always get good soil in two years by adding
organic matter and/or ground rock. It is better to plan ahead. I was
fortunate enough to place chicken wire under my beds. My lawn is
overrun with moles, but the garden is unaffected. But I had to find a
different solution for slugs, mice, rabbits, deer and groundhog.

3) build large, walk-in tunnels for winter and early spring
vegetables. I have been having large salads for over 6 weeks now, out
of greens that were planted last september and that survived the
winter under the tunnels. You can use the tunnels as a greenhouse for
seedlings (if you plant in the ground and not in pots, to limit
thermal fluctuations). I think a household (we are four) needs 500
sqft of tunnels (mostly greens and roots that can be stored in the
ground) and 500 of open garden (seasonal and warm weather stuff). To
that, I would add another 500 sqft of "storable" garden (potatoes,
winter squash, bush peas, garlic, onions, favas).

4) perhaps most important, put down a serious irrigation system. If
you go for a big garden, having a well would not be out of the
question. Drip, with buried lines wrapped in chicken wire and
driplines kept under the mulch, is by all accounts the best method (I
am installing my own right now).

5) ruthlessly eliminate veggies that do not grow well on your site,
and get as many perennial veggies as possible. Sorrel, asparagus,
sunchokes, cardoon and perennial chard under cover, mushroom logs and
mushroom beds, herbs of course, raspberries and strawberries.