We love using fresh vegetables from our vegetable garden, using fresh fruits from our orchard, and seasoning our foods with fresh herbs from our herb garden. In short, we love eating things that we grow!
Our garden area is about 25' x 60' an increase of 10". We tried growing corn, carrots, peas, beets, lettuces, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, crookneck, and acorn squash, brussel sprouts, radishes, onions, potatoes, pumpkins, spinach and other greens, cantaloupe and watermelons, peppers and tomatoes. The only success we had in this effort was beets, carrots cabbage, broccoli, spinach and some lettuce varieties and occasionally summer squash and cantaloupes. Otherwise the gardening was a flop due to our high desert area freezes early, mid, and late season. This year, we gave up on the garden altogether and didn't plant at all. Guess what? We had the best and longest growing season ever and could've had our greatest success had we planted! Go figure - lol.
We also have a fruit orchard which includes some native wild varieties. There are chokecherries, elderberries, and wild plums as well as cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, apples, and mulberries. This effort also went unrewarded. We have one apple tree, one elderberry and four chokecherry trees that haven't winter killed. We bought three dwarf peaches that we keep in pots and will put in the greenhouse to winter this year. Will keep you posted on that effort.
We started a berry patch which includes currants, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, and gooseberries. The currents and goose berries are all that have survived here.
We grow both medicinal and cooking herbs in our herb gardens. This too has been hit & miss.
We recently added two coldframes to the south side of our 8' x 12' greenhouse to start our plants and to raise produce in. We use this to keep our cacti outdoors in spring and fall. We bring them in for the winter so they don't freeze. Our problem is the unseasonable freezes we experience and the alkalai/clay type soil we have to contend with.
If you live in a similar climatic zone, we would be happy to swap information with you on what we've discovered to work in the garden for us. Just email us!
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