I've always had about a 15'x15' garden plot that I mulched in the fall and tilled in the spring, with grass clippings added all summer. 2 1/2 years ago I asked a guy to till up 10' more. He tilled about 40' more that I really did not want to to maintain and till every year. So I started searching the Internet and found several articles about lazy gardening, which led me to a book written by Ruth Stoudt, a proponent of no till sheet mulch. I bit the bullet, bought some straw and went to work, adding grass clippings and leaves in season. I then found websites by Baker Creek and Southern Exposure and was hooked on heirlooms even though I had always been a better boy kind of guy. Along the way I bought an acorn squash to try because my grandmother always had them and I liked them. And guess what: after not tasting them for 20 years, I found a new favorite veggie! Winter squash, and in particular SVB resistant Moschata's !
i tried them as summer squash and they were great.
Then I decided they took up too much room and discovered cattle panels and vertical gardens and how well they work for cukes, squash, beans and tomatoes. And how productive they made my 2500 sq ft! All kind of veggies coming out my ears!
So then we had to buy a canner this year for all the extra production and we relearned that skill. Still have plenty of canned veggies and winter squash to enjoy as of today.
i know I'm OCD, but I sure have enjoyed changing the chore of planting a few plants just to get a few fresh tomatoes into an obsession. Learned a lot over the last two years and I'm looking forward to the knowledge I gain this year.
