What's cookin' boys?

[RCW]

Raised bed have definitely suited us better. This will be our second year to do it.

It just got a little too out of hand for us after using a 6+ foot tiller i was borrowing from the boss. Year before last we went absolutley crazy.

100 tomato plants (75 romas & 25 some other dudes) cause I thought I was gonna try to make and bottle sauce. And then just bits of everything. Various sweet peppers, cucumbers, zuchini, squash, several herbs, strawberries, pole beans, okra, did a separate section with 12 rows of sweet corn. Even grew ONE cantalope that i eventually mowed over LOL.

Then I felt like I spent every moment i had in the garden pulling grass and other crap. We went WAY too big for our means. I mean we put up SO much food, and had like 2 years worth of pickles LOL. But the grass just really burned us out. It will grow every single place you'd never want it, yet I catch hell trying to keep my front yard from patching up.

We're off to a pretty late start this year after getting behind pruning and cleaning the berry bushes but with our climate we can grow stuff pretty late in season. But its going to be mostly herbs again like last year.

Our early years were in an apartment in an old farmhouse. Rural and older landlady had a nice garden.

When we rented she asked if we wanted a spot tilled for a garden next to hers.....thing was BIG for 2 people - - maybe 30x75(?)

We did all the usual suspects, plus some broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant.

One year got some tomato plants old Uncle Gaudino started. Got a full flat (24).

He said "there's some Romas, Beefsteak, and a couple others..."

Every FREAKIN ONE of those were cherry tomatoes!!!

I could fill my Ranger Pickup with cherry tomatoes EVERY DAY! (Exaggeration - - every other day..... )

 

[Sidekick]

Our early years were in an apartment in an old farmhouse. Rural and older landlady had a nice garden.

When we rented she asked if we wanted a spot tilled for a garden next to hers.....thing was BIG for 2 people - - maybe 30x75(?)

We did all the usual suspects, plus some broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant.

One year got some tomato plants old Uncle Gaudino started. Got a full flat (24).

He said "there's some Romas, Beefsteak, and a couple others..."

Every FREAKIN ONE of those were cherry tomatoes!!!

I could fill my Ranger Pickup with cherry tomatoes EVERY DAY! (Exaggeration - - every other day..... )

We used to do 100 mater plants also. Canned on average 600 jars of a little bit of everything a summer. Then we got smart and realized that we gave most of it away . I run extra cherry tomatoes through the squeezo with all the others for sauce. A 50 / 50 mix of black and red tomatoes makes the best sauce.

 

[RCW]

We used to do 100 mater plants also. Canned on average 600 jars of a little bit of everything a summer. Then we got smart and realized that we gave most of it away . I run extra cherry tomatoes through the squeezo with all the others for sauce. A 50 / 50 mix of black and red tomatoes makes the best sauce.

Wow - - you and @BBFarmer did 100 tomato plants.....can't imagine.

Putting up 600 jars of anything is a lot of work.

As a farm kid, we canned about 150 quarts of tomatoes for winter. Parents and 3 hungry kids. Mom did pickles and some chili sauce.

I didn't know it then, but we were quite poor dairy farmers. Venison was a staple; now it's a treat.

 

[Sidekick]

Here's an older video of our root cellar loaded up for winter