What great info, CompostR! Thanks so much for taking the time to share that with us all.
And welcome to Dave's! Glad to have you with us!
Biggest Yields per Square Foot?
That's definitely a useful list, thank you! It's just the sort of thing I was looking for. Using that, I can go for varieties with high yields (like some of the suggestions I've received), and see if I can minimize the space and maximize the yield of food for our family.
Hubby's promised to buy me a dehydrator and a deep freezer, too, as soon as we move and can do so. Woop - between that and the canner and a nice dry basement, we may never have to buy produce at the store again!
.... well, after a few years, when things have had time to reach maturity, that is. *grin*
-Sev
Add a pressure cooker to that wish list too, Sev. You need a pressure cooker to can things like beans, it's not safe to use a water bath for some things. For heaven sake do not listen to all the garbage about pressure cookers etc. They are a TOOL, just like your stove, your pots and pans, etc. You need to pay attention to what you are doing with it and READ THE DIRECTIONS! Most women can do that.....LOL
Very glad to be here tucsonjill !
sevidra - you're very welcome.
I might add - King of the Garden Pole Limas are extraordinary - they are really BIG and are the best-tasting limas in my humble opinion. We had them tonight is why I thought of them. They are easy to shell and freeze and keep producing right up to frost. A great nutritious item to have in the freezer.
doccat, I've had a pressure cooker for a while - we make the baby's food with it. It paid for itself (over 250 USD) within one month of his eating. Amazing, how much that adds up!
To be honest, I don't know what all the garbage is - I've never heard it LOL
My mother had one, I have one, I never thought of them as anything but needed in the kitchen. Have I missed something?
-Sev
No, in the old days they occasionally blew up. Mainly from operator error, not paying attention to what was going on. I see that in cooking with a pc all the time. It's just kind of a stupid urban myth. I have 2 pressure cookers, I mainly use them for canning anymore, but love the things. So easy. Mine are both old ones, the 5qt had belonged to my mother. I replace the gaskets on them yearly and test out the pressure gauges. I must say the newer ones have me drooling, but sure don't need a 3rd one. LOL
sevidra, the older pressure cookers varied greatly in design and construction. Some of the early ones did not have an "emergency" relief valve (usually a rubber plug that would blow out before the pressure created metal fatigue). The strength and type of metal use in the pots varied considerably too. We had one blow up when a piece of artichoke somehow clogged the vent. This was a pot we had used for years, with a recipe that we have used for generations and was one of those pots without the rubber emergency plug. The second pressure cooker that blew up apparently had a hairline crack in a joint that finally gave way from metal fatigue. It is extremely unlikely that you would encounter a modern cooker with either of these types of construction.
When you use a pressure cooker on a daily basis, you become attuned to the sounds it makes are various stages of its process and will quickly recognize if your cooker needs your attention.
It is also important to recognize that there are pressure *cookers* and pressure *canners*. Although pot designed for cooking can often be used for canning, the pots designed primarily for canning do not always adapt as well for cooking.
Garden_mermaid, thanks so much for the distinction. I'm starting to contemplate doing some canning, and it's good to know that there's a difference in the equipment types!
Sevidra, http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/vegetable/guide.html has a couple of charts that might help with your planning. One is appx yield per 100 ft row. The other is appx planting per person. Gives amounts for both fresh and preserved foods. Hope this helps.
Outstanding!!!
Frank
This message was edited Jan 13, 2008 9:08 AM
You know, there is more great info in that AZ MG manual... really ought to check it out more thoroughly! Thanks for reminding me of that, GrammysGarden!
Thanks for the link!
Thank you granny - since I'll have a few minutes today, I'll check it out then. I think I may have heard about exploding canners, but never gave it much thought. It's sort of like the 'you'll get burned if you pour hot coffee into your lap' thing - of COURSE you will! As long as it's properly cared for, I shouldn't have problems, right?
Oh, that's right - I have the 25qt All American aluminum foundry type. My mother had a big old monstrosity, which did more than mine does for volume, possibly from the same company. We never used them for cooking, just for canning.
Oh, I have so much planning to do. I got the book "Great Garden Companions" by Sally Jean Cunningham, and am slowly digesting it. I'm learning so much from all of you - thank you!
-Sev
And hey, Sev? Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you and best wishes for many more, Sev! :)
Yes! Happy Birthday sev!
There is a thread on the cooking forum about pressure cookers that you may enjoy.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/802514/
Miss Vickies website gives a lot of helpful info on pressure cookers and canners.
thank you *chuckle*
You should have seen the cake made for me. It was normal for us, gluten-free chocolate, but...
The filling was a QUART of heavy cream mixed with a pack of chocolate pudding and beat til fluffy.
I'm going to gain 50 pounds just from one slice LOL
There's a thought. How in heck will we do without _chocolate_? No way am I going to process that - it's too much of a pain, even if I could grow the beans.
-Sev
Well, you'll just have to compromise. A woman without her chocolate can be lethal. LOL
We'll ship the cocoa beans by sailboat if need be. :-)
I truly admire your goal of growing all your own plant-based foods, and hope someday to live somewhere where that's a real possibility. However, there are two things that are simply necessities: chocolate and coffee. Without these, none of the rest of it will happen either! :)
LOL Jill
Haha Jill - yeah, I'm thinking chocolate will be out of my reach. But I have seeds for coffee plants, and while they're a tropical... I have pots and windows. *grin*
Sure, we may have to supplement a bit (I don't know how much the yield is on coffee plants), but at least I can grow SOME of it - or try!
-Sev
Just out of curiosity, Sev, do you have plans for things like wheat or rice as well?
Now you've got me curious--I wonder what it would take to grow a "crop" of coffee? Hmmm... must go research! :)
They sell coffee plants so it's a tropical plant.. And it grows into a tree.. I saw a coffee tree on our honeymoon years ago in Hawaii.. I even collected some raw coffee beans or seeds from it.. Makes me wonder if my souvenirs are still good for germination.. :)
Sev; I have eight raised beds, each 4ft x 10 ft. I have gardened in those beds for almost 40 yrs.ALL COMPOST!! In 1975, my winter squash yield from one 40 sqft bed was two bushel baskets of squash (about 40 @ 2 lbs each). Waltham Butternut and Des Moines. We gave squash to family, friends and the food pantry. This year, 2007, I again planted Waltham and seeds collected from Chile all Butternut squash in 40 sqft. Yield one and 1/2 bushels (about 20 @ 2 lbs each). I do support the vines on chain link fencing to get more sunlight; and I pamper the blossoms---making sure I have male and female flowers.Critters will steal the blossoms, so I let my guard dog stay inside the garden fence during blossom time. We have eaten some, given some away and have 10 big ones left. We love those winter squash:-). We call them "fruit and fiber"!
john,
Sounds like you got it down to an art. All the compost has done well.
Sev; If you garden for 50 years like I have you learn to identify each year by the Most successful crop. I have had yields of peas, large yields of banana peppers, tomatoes, pole beans, green beans, onions, garlic, etc, etc, etc. As you well know many factors influence the yield; some obvious and some very suttle. Seed vigor, plant vigor, soil amendments, sunlite, moisture, etc, etc, etc. Many times I scratch my head and wonder why I couldn't repeat successful yields again and again. Sometimes it's care and planning; sometimes it's just plain LUCK. I think God planned the variability into it just to keep us gardeners busy :-)
John, you are so right - there are many garden mysteries every season! Keeps you on your toes.
We are now getting Harlequin bugs and a stink bug which are both considered pests south of my zone, but since it's getting warmer, we now have these problems. But, don't ask my why we only saw one potato beetle this year and last we were overwhelmed by them. Maybe they told their friends to back off as we picked off and drowned a ton of them.
Any may I say, this is why I needed these forums - I get tired of scratching my head alone!