I'm fortunate to be able to say I've never had much trouble when it comes to growing things - a green thumb? Maybe I suppose, but I mostly put it down to having a passion for it, which began as a young kid thanks to my parents and because I grew up in the country, and the fact I've spent time to learn along the way, sometimes from my failures. Not much in my garden dies unexpectedly nowadays; I've had failures and buggered things up from time to time but mostly things go to plan and as per the lifecycle of my plants; things die when they're meant to and not before...generally.
Whether it's flowers or fruit and vegetables, I plan and strategise what goes in and when, engage in companion planting, and use organic methods rather than chemicals to support and protect my plants mostly; the results I get are pretty good and I get a good level of satisfaction from the planning, planting and nurturing of my plants and, of course, looking at and smelling flowers and eating my fresh produce as well. One area I've found challenging over the years though is the time aspect though.
All the planning, planting and nurturing takes time and time is, I'm sad to say, a commodity I have in small supply. Sure, I have the same 24 hours in each day as the next person but with all the things I have to fit in...well, I'm usually time-poor so can sometimes be found gardening at the oddest of times like really late at night.
Like every grower I'm anxious about the weather.
It's too hot, too cold, too frosty, too rainy, not rainy enough, too much sun, not enough sun...too humid...blah blah blah...but in truth the biggest concern I always have is finding the time to do what I have to out there and I sometimes get worried that I'll leave it just a little too long and my crop will be ruined; It's especially devastating when my tomatoes don't come out perfectly for instance, I can't stand eating store-bought tomatoes!
Fortunately, so far in the current planting, things are going along ok. I'd like a little more sun, it's been warm to hot but a little too humid for my tomatoes, but generally everything is coming along nicely I'm happy to say.
In this post you can see some of my current vegetable garden plantings: Bananas, pineapples, carrots and potatoes.
OK not really, none of those things are in these images at all! I've got a nice selection overall though, things I'll use over the summer like capsicum, tomatoes, cucumbers, many others and herbs, fruits and so on. Most I'll eat and some I'll trade with others for things I don't have or grow like milk, eggs, honey and mushrooms; I'm lucky to have a good network who likes to barter and trade for produce and skills within the group, I'm happy to see things are going well though as my time-poor lifestyle is, to my shame, causing me stress due to a little neglect when it comes to my garden. I work hard at it though and the results show...unless they do not.
Do you have, or have you ever had, a group of people around you who like to trade and barter produce, products and skills? It's a really cool way to make use of excess produce and the skills we each have and it feels a lot better than simply going to the supermarket chains and handing over cash for what we need. Feel free to tell me about it in the comments, about your current garden, or any other general comments you may like to make.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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I don't know you personally, I've only read some of your posts, but your passion and care shine through every word you've written.
I grew up in the countryside too, and when I was 20 I moved to the city. Now I've come back, and little by little I'm rediscovering my connection with nature. Your lifestyle really inspires me, especially because, as you mentioned in one of your comments, many supermarket products are trash, and things might get even worse in the future.
Perhaps one day we'll all have to "return to the fields" if the current economical system proves unsustainable, but it's still wonderful to be able to do it now, to create a little universe of our own, and so on. It brings a lot in terms of health, and then, in a world that moves so fast, the patience of nature is a beautiful lesson to learn.
About your final question, it happened in my life, but when I was young. My grandfather was still alive, and in Sardinia everyone in old age owns some animals and gardens. So, my grandfather exchanged his products with neighbors, getting also sweets, bread, marmalade or meat in return.
It was also common to give some of your products to neighbors just for the simple pleasure of letting them taste them. "I made the wine, tell me what you think". "I made the sweets, try them", etc. It was something very normal. Now those people are gone, and the neighborhood has changed a lot. We barely talk to each other.
I keep those memories hoping that something will change in the future, and trying to live everyday being the change that I would like to see in the world.
Best regards from Sardinia, Italy! ✌️
I like to be as self-reliant as I can but that's difficult in this modern world and takes effort. Still, I work towards it as I know that one day those skills will make a big difference to me and those around me; people who are not properly prepared are in for a big shock. It's good to hear that you're moving the same way.
As for what you said about your grandfather's era, that's how it was all over the place and it was a better time to live I think; humans have lost their way thanks to greed and consumerism.
Anyway, thanks for your comments, I appreciate it.
Everything you're showing off looks pretty damn good :D
So between that and the barter/trade groups do you have half your groceries done? :D
Very impressive, especially considering you have so many other things going on. In spring and summer I'm more or less a full-time gardener. I used to trade produce with my nearest neighbour but she died suddenly last year and out here, neighbours are few and far between. I was very surprised when I moved to the country to find so few people grow their own food and while in the city, you can find organic markets all over the place, in the country they're almost nonexistent.
Full time gardener? Hmm, do you need a navvy to help? (I know it doesn't pay much but for food and board...maybe I'd stick my hand up.)
As someone who doesn't get as much time as I'd like to dedicate to my garden and other things I am a little jealous of those who have that luxury; I imagine it to be a nice way to spend your days.
Anyway, if you were closer by I'd barter with you...Umm, cucumbers, tomatoes and venison for whatever tasty treats you're growing. Fair?
Hahaha, I don't think you'd like the climate here much. I could count the sunny days we've had this year on one hand. I grow a huge amount as we juice daily and eat almost exclusively from the garden, plus freeze a lot for winter. We also share with the chucks and dogs. Chickens are very partial to melons and cucumbers and the dogs love a bit of spinach and kale.
You'll have to up the ante and get a bit more exotic than cucumbers and tomatoes, sure I grow those by the ton, and I haven't eaten meat for 45 years. What about some Finger Limes, some Muntries or some Kakadu Plums:)
Hmm, yeah I think the weather might get in the way of my navvy skills, I'm Australian after all, the land of sun.
You know, I had you figured for a Kakadu plum sort of lady so am not at all surprised to see you confirm it. I'll get to growing some.
Great garden! I'm with you on the store bought tomatoes...they're watery, tasteless, mealy most times, and all of the time disappointing. That's the cutest little eggplant you got there 😍
My own gardening isn't going gangbusters like yours, but I'm ramping it up a little each year. Self sufficient in several herbs and fruits, but my veg struggles in ground. Going mostly raised beds next year, so I'm hopeful that will increase yield.
There are a couple of vendors at a Saturday morning farmer's market that I visit who will trade with me their grass fed beef for handspun yarn or handwoven towels and rugs, but I don't grow anything in such excess as to barter with....yet lol
I purposely chose the cutest eggplant for the photo shoot, there were many vying for the opportunity.
It's good to hear your accelerating your gardening and think it'll pay dividends. I watched a show on Netflix last night called, Buy More and it's alarming at the rate at which we fuck up this planet...it'll come to a head at some point and those with more "human" skills will appreciate that they took the time to acquire them. I also think that skills or produce for a barter system will be a valuable thing for a person to have. I don't know when this will all play out, maybe not my lifetime, but play out it will.
I've not yet seen that show, but can imagine what it contains. By the sheer amount of garbage I see people put out for the trash collection, it won't be long till we're living on islands of garbage. In our local barter/trade group many have joined but then fall off the rolls, and I just don't get it. There are just a few actively participating.
I don't know when it will all play out either, but it's ramping up quickly. Between the governments, weather woes and warfare it could be sooner rather than later. Best to be prepared.
It's pretty confronting, the waste and disgusting behaviours such as companies taking goods for "recycling" that go straight to groundfill and Amazon putting brand new products under ground (landfill) because it's cheaper than selling off or disposing in other ways, the fact that most "recyclable" packaging isn't recyclable at all...just a few examples.
The fall is coming T, it's on the way for sure, and we are racing eagerly forward to it one needless purchase at a time.
So true....and it doesn't help that it is getting more and more difficult to buy quality products...ones built to last. Easier and cheaper to buy low quality imports, but the cost year over year amounts to alot of money and fodder for those landfills. They do the recycling here as well, and yep, it goes to the landfill, for the most part.
Society doesn't want quality it seems, just more, and more and more, and more and more and more and more and more, and more and more and more...You get the idea. So products are designed to last for a pre-deternkned time and then...landfill. people are delusional including those who bury their head in the sand and say things like, we're on the right track.
Every grower is anxious as we can't control everything. Glad to see of late you are getting desired results, which is the biggest achievement for a grower. Unfortunately, very few are around who produce, but in my native, we distribute, even though not trade. So in exchange, we get fresh vegetables from their garden. In my native garden, we get lot of bananas ( raw and ripen), apple berries, papaya, jack fruits, Carambola etc and these plants do not need continuous care, so that does not stress us out.
It sounds like you've got a lot of different things and it makes sense to have easy-care plants to minimise the time-focus.
Yes, that's true.
It's a good feeling, eating what you grow yourself, I only have little space in my garden where I grow tomatoes and blackberries but still it's rewarding and fun, my kids like to walk in to the garden to get a snack in the late summer 😊
For us it all starts around May 15 when we plant tomato seeds in a seed tray and keep them inside for 8 weeks because it's still too cold outside, of course this all depends on where in the world you are.
It's incredibly rewarding for sure, all that effort and care culminating into something edible, and tasty.
I don't like to complain about the weather really, but the farmer in me means I do especially when the weather doesn't align with my needs. (No I'm not a farmer, but think of myself as such in respect of my garden sometimes.)
Hi Galen, years, many years ago I participated in a time bank. In principle the issue is very simple, for example I work for an hour and in return a plumber fixes me a breakdown. Everything is measured in time; in fact it is a barter of time: mine in exchange for yours.
This time bank went bankrupt, yes, it is possible for a time bank to go bankrupt. It turns out that the person who worked in the office, who was in charge of contacting those of us who belonged to the time bank by phone, was also dedicated to phone erotic phones, leaving a large debt.
This is my unique and curious experience in a network of "favors".
Bartering is a good way to get what we need and I think builds a good community spirit as well. Of course, human nature can tend towards greed with some people so there's always someone whose there to ruin the process by cheating others in some way. Typical human behaviour.
The barter idea is very good. Then we are the executors of the idea 😰. Greetings.
When I had the garden I experimented a lot, I learned from my own mistakes and together with my family we planted a variety of things. We learned how to take care of them and then we had a very good guide, an expert who helped us. My godfather was Italian and like you he didn't like bought tomatoes. His tomatoes were the best, he cooked deliciously and we exchanged a lot of products with him. It was great!
I think I'd get along with your godfather; we seem to share a taste for good, homegrown, tomatoes. Store bought ones are rubbish.
In his garden he had a lot of things and he raised chicks, poultry, the Italian likes that very much. My maternal grandmother, when she was a child, also had her own garden with her family and my great-grandfather sold eggs in the neighbourhood, from the hens he had in his house.
Tomatoes, peppers... all these things have a different taste and we know what we are eating if they come from our own garden.
Your garden is great😀
The most beautiful blue eggplant.
When you mentioned working in the garden at night, well, you know how, all the plants in the garden that need to be watered during the summer months, like the water more when there is no sun and when the earth has cooled down, which is usually before dawn. So yeah, yeah. I also worked in the garden during the night.
And as for the barter? Of course, it's my favorite way to get food that we don't grow in our garden. In earlier posts, I published pictures of tomatoes and grapes, take a look, which we couldn't eat ourselves, so we gave them to our neighbors, who gave us eggs, cabbage and cucumbers 😁
It's good to hear that you're bartering which I think should be more prevalent in these economic times although maybe it's not because p oppe are lazy and don't grow or make much themselves.
Some people are blessed with the gift of planting, its unfortunate that am not one of them. I tend to plant cucumber one time and it was frustrating because it didnt yield well. Actually maybe my sister @bipolar95 will have a different opinion from mine cause shes good at it.
It takes some time to learn the right skills I guess.
Yahh it really does
That's really great that you prefer to use organic source rather than chemicals and the results as expected will be better and pretty. Good job 👍.
Yeah, chemicals can be harmful.
The eggplant looks nice though.
Don't have enough space for a garden in my house but there's a farm just down the road at my neighborhood so we get our crops from there.
It's handy to have a farm down the road for sure, I assume the produce would be nice and fresh.
excellent results that you have begun to obtain friend, the truth is that there is nothing better than being able to have the pleasure of harvesting our own food
Yeah, I agree that there's something quite nice about growing one's own food. Pleasing indeed.
Great work!
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