So which did I choose you ask?

I chose to use the raised bed and potted plant garden methods. I built 1 6x7' box for my kitchen herb garden, this gave me 42 sq ft of garden space to use for herbs!! I would recommend not going any wider than 3' for ease of reaching the middle, but with the herbs it did work well. In the herb garden I planted dill, fennel, rosemary, chive, oregano, basil 2 types, thyme, sage chamomile and lavender. I'm happy to say that I have saved quite a bit of money not having to buy these herbs and they have performed quite well this season in the DFW area!! Do be aware that with the fennel and dill you will only need 1 plant of these. I planted 2 and swear they grow about 1 foot a day, so be careful they will take over.

On the other 2 raised beds I built them 3x8' each and planted a total of 6 tomato plants. Yup, I said 6!! I planted 2 sweet 100 cherry tomato plants. These are a low acidity higher sugar content tomato. I am harvesting like 10-15 ripe and ready a day, and they produce rather quickly!! I also planted 3 San Marzano tomato plants. These are of the plumb shaped, like Roma tomatoes and are supposedly considered the best paste tomatoes in the world. I agree! and they are producing well also. have been picking these and blanching to make some homemade pasta sauces! I do want to let you know that the birds have also become quite fond of these also, so you will need to put up some netting to keep the winged bandits at bay. The last of the tomatoes planted was a Mr Stripey tomato plant. This is a larger tomato, a beef steak type and makes a good slicer. When fully ripe they are supposed to have a sweet and mild taste. The fruit size can range between 6-24oz!! This plant was planted a little later than the rest and has taken off in the last month. Still waiting for this to produce, but I'm sure I will not be disappointed.

The last plants I decided to plant into pots. I planted 6 sequoia strawberries in a half wine barrel. The few strawberries that we were able to eat (darn birds) were excellent. I plan on putting up a netting this weekend. There is some debate as to wether these are ever bearing or not, so I will just have to wait and see. I also planted one green bell pepper plant and 1 jalapeno plant each in their own pot. Make sure you have a support stake in the pot for the jalapeno plant. Mine is producing so fast it laid all the way over on it's side with all the peppers!! I also planted 1 spearmint and 1 peppermint plant in their own pots!!

Over all I am well pleased with this first growing season and am looking forward to the cool season and all of the delicious things to come. It's hard to beat stepping out the back door to get fresh ingredients, and the taste of adding the fresh herbs is amazing! Food has never tasted so good, and I grew it myself!

Happy Homesteading!!!

In ground or raised bed gardening? Which is right for me?

    When planting your garden you have the choices of doing an in ground, raised bed or potted. With in ground gardening you will be tilling up the ground and mixing in compost, humus and additional additives depending on what type of soil you have to achieve the best soil to plant your garden. This option is a good option if you have lots of space and a decent soil type already in place. With in ground gardens your seeds will tend to germinate a little later due to the slower warming of the soil. Weeds can be a bit of a problem if not carefully weeded and rabbits or other critters can easily walk into the garden for a free buffet.
    The next choice is gardening with a raised bed system. With this method you build a wooden box on top of the area you will be gardening and fill it with a good base soil/top soil, humus and manure (do not use manure from meat eating animals) to create the perfect soil bed for your garden. I would recommend laying some landscape barrier material down and then building your boxes on top. this will slow the intrusion of weeds while still allowing good drainage. Do not build the beds any wider than 3'. This is so you may reach to the middle of the beds with out having to step in them, thus limiting soil compaction. Limiting compacting the soil will allow the beds to breath and root system to spread out. This also makes weeding a snap. Raised bed gardens tend to warm up quicker meaning your garden can be planted slightly sooner allowing you to get a jump on the growing season. This also means of course that they will dry out a little sooner so keep an eye on soil moisture and water deeply as needed.
    The last choice is potted gardening. A perfect option for those living in apartments or very limited space. These are easy to set up and can be moved indoors to extend the season or save from a late or early frost. You want to make sure you select a size pot for the plant to grow into. Soil selection would be that of a potting mix. Look for a vegetable potting mix versus a flower mix because you don't want to be eating all those extra chemicals. I prefer an organic vegetable potting mix from scotts. Lastly one important thing to remember with potted gardens is that they dry out quickly so always remember to watch the soil moisture and water as needed.

Happy Homesteading!!!!

What is homesteading?

Homesteading is a way of living simpler and going back to the land. Adopting a sustainable and self sufficient way of life. This can be achieved by many ways and is up to you as to how far you would like to take it. You may be trying to save energy, therefore lowering your electric bills. Growing your own foods (vegetables, fruits, berries, grains), or even can involve live stock (chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, milk cow, or cattle for beef). It's up to you as to how far you want to go, but keep in mind if you live in the city as I do you will have city codes and regulations to abide by. As for me my city does not allow any fowl (birds), so no chickens for me yet.

If homesteading is new to you it is important to start small and learn to manage what you have before going large scale. You could become overwhelmed and loose everything invested. So start small and look at adding 1 or 2 things to each growing season as long as you are able to manage what you have.

Happy Homesteading!!!

Welcome to the Backyard Homestead

Thank you for taking the time to visit, as you can see this is a new blog and I hope that you will return as I believe this will be an informative and exciting place for all of us.