This spring and summer have been an experimental period for us here at the "KafkA Shack."
I've never been a gardener, but being that after our most recent move (we moved out of the city into a pretty rural area) we found ourselves with some land to work, I wanted to try my hand.
It's been an interesting experience. While I certainly did not create any sort of ideal yield, I did learn some things. My vision was to have a garden that can supply a lot of food. And to do all of this organically, without the use of pesticides, chemical weed killers, etc. Well, I did get some good yields on a small amount of plants. I now know something on a very real level, though: PLANT A TON OF STUFF.
As @nicksikorski advised me early on, it is good to sow many, many seeds, and see what works. It's the "anarchist" approach to gardening, if you will. And, he was right. Some stuff popped up healthy, robust, and plentiful and other plants did not fare so well. Now that I know which ones are relatively easy to maintain, produce a lot of food/fruit, and are hardy, and easy to grow, I plan to maximize on these guys next year, so our garden can put out a shit ton of food!
Beans.
These string beans/green beans that I grew this year just keep producing and producing. The plants can be harvested again and again, seem to do well in our soil, and are resistant to pests. Along with beans, I have found that cucumbers, turnips, carrots, and potatoes are also fairly easy. However, the easiest and most prolific producers by far have been my 3 - 4 bean plants. Just build a rudimentary trellis, keep them watered, and watch them fucking take everything over :)
And they will take over. The vines become almost rope-like in their tenacity, thickness, and strength, and climb and climb (much higher than I had originally expected), and when there's nothing else to climb, they find something else to climb. Good stuff.
So, for all you newbie gardeners out there, here is my newbie garden advice: "BEANS!"
What about you, what has been your most successful/favorite food-producing plant to grow? Let me know in the comments.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DLive and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
Great harvest!
Snowpeas may be a good one for next year. They are pretty good snack without having to cook.
Beans and, I hear from my in-laws in Tochigi (who are farmers), potatoes. I like your approach and sounds like you did a great job. Not enough land for growing much here, but I do grow some herbs. I'm not sure if it really saves us any money, since I probably wouldn't buy them if I didn't grow them, but it is fun ;)
It really is fun, isn't it?
Excellent work, Congratulations on the harvest... It's good that you followed the advice that @nicksikorski offered you and everything turned out very well.
I hope you enjoyed your newbie beans? Lol.
Honestly, you really did a great job, having a small garden around helps alot. I have a small garden in my yard and it has saved me lots of money.
Thanks, @enajo. That is great to hear!