Our Farm
We live on about 4.25 acres in the Texas Hill Country area about an hour south of Austin. Me, my two sons Ozric and Aidan, and my husband Eric. We're on one of the few loose, sandy patches in the area, most of the land around us is black clay and white limestone rock. Towards the east of us is red clay and the "Lost Pines" forest of Bastrop. We're in this margin between the two, where the topsoil is more like tan powder than anything. You can dig down 2-4 feet and find red clay and iron ore.
The sandy soil is a lot easier to work with than clay. All you really need is to add plenty of organic material (compost and manure) to improve the water retention and the fertility of the soil. Clay soils need the organics plus sand added to loosen it, not to mention some areas are more rock than soil. With the sand, a lot of surface mulch is neccessary too, to improve water retention.
The front acre or so of our property is a nice wooded patch. We're currently clearing out the oak trees that have fallen victim to this "Oak Wilt" that is plagueing the area, and most of the yaupon bushes that have taken over. This is were I am planning my true "Garden of Eatin". I have already discovered many wild edible plants and tree in this area, including Amaranth, Lamb's Quarters, Ground-Cherry, Wild Lettuce, Black Walnut, Chittamwood, and Mulberry. We collect seeds of new plants during nature walks on the surrounding properties, or at public and state parks to introduce to the area. If we come across some unknown plant, I will take photos and collect seeds to research later, then discard them if it is poisonous, or save to plant if it is beneficial.
Our house, barns, greenhouse and vegetable gardens occupy the middle two acres. There used to be a lot more trees around the house, which shaded it nicely once upon a time, but the Oak Wilt took care of those.
The back lot, about 1.25 acres, is half wooded and half pasture. It's currently open to the rest of the family ranch for cattle grazing, but we plan to fence it in for raising goats. The drawing to the left was done by an overlay of a satellite image of our property. You can click it for a larger view.
Due to the declining economy, bizarre legislation being passed, and that I hate going to the doctor or the store, we've decided to become as self-sufficient as possible; growing our own foods, preparing our own medicines, and living off the land wherever possible. Besides, home-grown just tastes better.
The Greenhouse
Our greenhouse was originally built by my parents when I was a teenager. My dad is a great carpenter, but unfortunately some cheap materials were used and it is in desperate need of repairs. The plastic used for a covering was photo-degradable, rather than the more durable, but more expensive fiberglass sheets. It has gradually been crumbling away, leaving the entire roof and many areas of the walls open and exposed. It has served as a decent wind-block during the winter for some tender plants, but cannot provide total protection if the temperatures get more than a few degrees below freezing.
Right now, I have semi-raised in-ground beds in the greenhouse. We are using old railroad timbers and cinderblocks as borders, with plastic stapled to the timbers to avoid creosote leaching into the soil. Flat paving bricks make up the walkways between beds. The existing ground soil was used, and amended with composted cow manure, and leaf compost from other areas of the yard. This has provided a dark, rich soil excellent for growing vegetables.
For the 2009 growing season, we planted cabbage, 2 varieties of lettuce, Rattlesnake beans, radishes, Druzba tomatoes, several kinds of peppers, and Bloody Butcher corn. The lettuce, tomatoes and radishes did wonderfully. Some of our corn was affected by smut...a type of fungus...but the plants went through the roof, and we were able to collect enough dry kernels to increase our stock of seeds. The cabbage suffered a bit from caterpillars, but was tasty and edible, despite the holes. The best-producing pepper we had during the summer was Florina Greek, and my Santaka chili exploded with peppers later in the fall, once the grasshoppers stopped munching it! The Druzba tomatoes did amazingly well, 2 plants grew to cover a 4x8-foot area, rooted into about 5 plants, kept us well-stocked with tomatoes, and all that growth returned after a severe pruning in late summer. They were almost ready for a fall havest, but a sharp cold spell killed them completely. If I'd had a roof and door on the greenhouse, they would have survived.
This year I have changed the bed layout a little bit, and am planning some peas and herbs. I already have a few carrots, cabbage, parsnips, and turnips in there that were planted in the fall. The turnips have done awesome, but the other vegetables are just now starting to come along good.
I have also started repairing the other half of the greenhouse floor; leveling and compacting the soil, covering with black plastic, and laying down pavers and pea gravel. I was able to salvage most of the pea gravel my parents had used previously, but the "weed-control fabric" was ruined. Hopefully the plastic will prove more efficient at keeping the weeds and gopher mounds under control, as well as retaining moisture to increase the humidity. Unfortunately the gravel is full of dirt and weed seeds and roots, so I am doing my best to clean it before spreading it back out, and will have to be diligent with pulling weeds throughout the entire greenhouse.
The Vegetable Garden
Our vegetable garden is about the same size as the greenhouse, and directly south of it. This provides an excellent wind block during the winter months. It is partially irrigated by the greywater from our bathroom sink and tub. A pipe is run out underground to the area, then a section with holes cut in it runs along the west side. The land slopes down towards the east, and I have also buried a foot-wide length of stiff plastic that was originally an above-ground pool border to help deflect the water into the garden. This helps a lot, but I still have to water when the summer is very dry, or at the east end of the garden.
I do not like long-row gardening, and have too much open space to warrant square-foot gardening, so I combine the two. I use long, bordered beds with quite a bit of success. The garden is shaped like a giant "E". Borders are made of large cement blocks...test sample plugs that an uncle dumped here erosion control in the creeks at the back of the property. The walkways have been levelled and packed tight, and covered with black plastic and cement paving stones. The black plastic will help retain soil moisture and deflect surface water to the growing soil. The outer walkways are 18 inches wide, but the center one is 2 feet to allow for a wagon or wheelbarrow to pass through. The beds themselves are roughly 3-4 feet wide. This all helps to keep invading grass under control, keeps the fertile soil contained, and makes it easier to mow around without damaging vegetable plants. Putting plants closer together, and using "companion plants" also creates a living mulch that shades the soil to keep it cooler and retain moisture.
For the 2009 growing season, we planted yellow squash, habanero peppers, green beans, okra, and watermelon. The squash and okra did the best, but grasshoppers and gophers devoured the beans. This year we have been able to add more manure to the soil, so we should have a much better yield.
The front acre or so of our property is a nice wooded patch. We're currently clearing out the oak trees that have fallen victim to this "Oak Wilt" that is plagueing the area, and most of the yaupon bushes that have taken over. This is were I am planning my true "Garden of Eatin". I have already discovered many wild edible plants and tree in this area, including Amaranth, Lamb's Quarters, Ground-Cherry, Wild Lettuce, Black Walnut, Chittamwood, and Mulberry. We collect seeds of new plants during nature walks on the surrounding properties, or at public and state parks to introduce to the area. If we come across some unknown plant, I will take photos and collect seeds to research later, then discard them if it is poisonous, or save to plant if it is beneficial.
Right now, I have semi-raised in-ground beds in the greenhouse. We are using old railroad timbers and cinderblocks as borders, with plastic stapled to the timbers to avoid creosote leaching into the soil. Flat paving bricks make up the walkways between beds. The existing ground soil was used, and amended with composted cow manure, and leaf compost from other areas of the yard. This has provided a dark, rich soil excellent for growing vegetables.
This year I have changed the bed layout a little bit, and am planning some peas and herbs. I already have a few carrots, cabbage, parsnips, and turnips in there that were planted in the fall. The turnips have done awesome, but the other vegetables are just now starting to come along good.
