Author Topic: Cohutt builds a garden, Chapter 1 (Read 117996 times)

cohutt · « **Reply #300 on:** December 11, 2009, 07:05:45 PM »

Thanks for the "well wishes", I'll be allright soon enough I guess.

Teton Trav,

I started from zero last may-
zero gardening expertise
zero garden space
zero local mentors
zero idea where it would go

One of Jack's podcasts woke something up in me and it clicked- I decided at that point that I was going to transform my yard into something productive, something that would move me not only closer to self sufficiency but closer to sanity, something to reground me and help me live the rest of my life in a more satisfying way.

At first Mrs was OK with the basic garden if it looked OK, then tasted some fresh produce and saw a glimpse what was possible. By the time I reached the point of no return and cut the trees and pulled the hedges, she got it. I call it our homesteading project; she talks about how nice it will be when our "compound" is further along. We share the vision now and are completely on the same page.

I guess my point is that you, or me, or anybody here can really change things in our lives if we remain open to the possibilities. We can if we do what we know is right for us and not what others consider "normal'. I still feel like I'm barely into this project and know I have a ton of work remaining, but I still look forward to every chance I get to work on this. My friends thought I was a little whacked when I started but now they wish they had a similar plot on their own property.

Bottom line, DO IT. Try it, kill some plants learning, you'll get the hang of it. You can't eat what you "are going to grow".

And thank you Jack, you pushed the button that started it.

teton traveler · « **Reply #301 on:** December 12, 2009, 08:48:23 PM »

You have come a long ways in a really short period of time. I have been around gardening most of my life, but we always did it the "conventional way". I have a small garden and have gotten some things out of it, but have never really had the organization that would make it produce well. Thanks to Jack, I also see it in a different light. Before, I did it partly to prepare, but, mainly because I couldn't get good tomatoes at the store. It was just kind of a pet project, but nothing to serious. Now I see it in a different light. It is not just about the good tomatoes, it is about the freedom that comes with it. It is about giving the government the middle finger by growing a tomato that they can't tax. It is about taking care of ourselves and reducing our dependence on the "systems". It is taking my freedom back, one tomato at a time. I am not in a situation where I can produce huge amounts of food, but I can use what I do have and make the most of it. I get tingles down my back thinking about the useless grass that I can take over and turn it in to something productive. Instead of paying money for the gas to run the lawn mower, I can save money and get something back for a change. I won't tell the neighbors, but there are several branches covering my garden plot that might just "disappear" this winter.

cohutt · « **Reply #302 on:** December 13, 2009, 05:55:19 AM »

Teton Traveler get his first +1 for getting "it".

patrat · « **Reply #303 on:** December 13, 2009, 08:58:23 AM »

The aesthetic of your garden is inspirational. My landlord has said that the yard looks Like a hillbilly cliche.

Can't wait to build something permanent, so I can stop using plastic totes.

teton traveler · « **Reply #304 on:** December 13, 2009, 08:16:52 PM »

+1 for showing what can be done.

cohutt · « **Reply #305 on:** December 18, 2009, 12:11:33 PM »

My my back has improved dramatically as in the 12 days since I injured it, which was what I was hoping for under the assumption that it was a muscle pull.

Now if it would just stop raining here........ multi year drought seems to be over now geez

Louisiana Suvivor · « **Reply #306 on:** December 20, 2009, 12:54:06 AM »

Quote from: cohutt on December 18, 2009, 12:11:33 PM

My my back has improved dramatically as in the 12 days since I injured it, which was what I was hoping for under the assumption that it was a muscle pull.

Now if it would just stop raining here........ multi year drought seems to be over now geez

good to hear brother. glad it's getting better. yeah it just stopped raining here. this month alone has brought LA 28+ inches

cohutt · « **Reply #307 on:** December 21, 2009, 05:31:01 PM »

What a 1st year- It is December 21 we still have some fresh garden salad makings.

I've been covering the lettuce with plastic and putting a shop light underneath when the night time temp has dropped much below freezing; what I have left is all from the heirloom lettuce sample pack from SSE. (This has convinced me that I will most definitely have some sort of a greenhouse/season extender built by next year.) The Broccoli has taken temps down to 23 without issue and the yellow heirloom tomatoes were picked green last month.

Yum

mamabear · « **Reply #308 on:** December 22, 2009, 01:17:05 PM »

Cohutt, That's pretty stuff there. I bet it was as tasty as it looked.

Hare of Caerbannog · « **Reply #309 on:** December 22, 2009, 06:56:08 PM »

Cohutt
Allow me to point out a change in your title.
Much deserved.

cohutt · « **Reply #310 on:** December 22, 2009, 06:59:09 PM »

Thank you HoC.

(But I already ate the salad)

GreatwhiteNorth · « **Reply #311 on:** December 22, 2009, 11:25:48 PM »

Great read thanks for the updates and pictures. I know I am getting old when my time on the internet is spent looking at garden porn.

cohutt · « **Reply #312 on:** December 29, 2009, 05:58:41 AM »

thanks greatwhitenorth- chapter 2 will commence in 2010 and will hopefully show even more progress as "we" work through the season

closing note on chapter 1:

I did manage to get the blueberries in the ground last week before the Christmas flu took down 3/4s of the cohutt clan.

edit:

Chapter 2 begins here: http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=12690.0

sherker55 · « **Reply #313 on:** January 26, 2010, 10:09:23 PM »

Hey man great work...been a while since I checked back...I was sorry to hear about your back, and am now glad you are doing better!

I am almost 3 weeks out of spine surgery...the at fault car accident was the week before Thanksgiving, 2008...I finally have feeling back in my legs!

Looking forward to chapter 2 as well!

cohutt · « **Reply #314 on:** January 27, 2010, 04:40:48 AM »

Holy cow Sherker, sorry about your accident and glad to hear you can feel your legs again. Hope you have a speedy an full recovery.

Sister Wolf · « **Reply #315 on:** January 27, 2010, 09:16:26 AM »

Quote from: sherker55 on January 26, 2010, 10:09:23 PM

Hey man great work...been a while since I checked back...I was sorry to hear about your back, and am now glad you are doing better!

I am almost 3 weeks out of spine surgery...the at fault car accident was the week before Thanksgiving, 2008...I finally have feeling back in my legs!

Looking forward to chapter 2 as well!

That's awesome!!!!!! I'm glad to hear that the surgery was something of a success!

DeltaEchoVictor · « **Reply #316 on:** March 11, 2010, 09:38:09 PM »

Might as well see all the progress from the beginning.

Stickied this one as well.

D Haught · « **Reply #317 on:** March 18, 2010, 08:14:47 PM »

Thanks for the great thread. I have been listening to the podcast for several months now and it really had me interested in learning how to do a sfg. This thread has been monumentally informative and inspirational to me. I have a lot of planning to do to figure out how to best do it in my own back yard but this has really helped set me on the path. Thanks.

cardon831 · « **Reply #318 on:** April 30, 2010, 09:22:29 PM »

This was GREAT! Thanks for the dedication in posting the pics. It takes a lot of time to post like you did while in the mist of a project like that. Will check out chapter 2 next.

ladieu · « **Reply #319 on:** June 03, 2010, 09:04:11 PM »

Awesome job. Simply outstanding!

Folinator1 · « **Reply #320 on:** June 11, 2010, 01:01:11 PM »

Cohutt -
Great posts, photos and journaling. Your journey has been interesting to follow.

Quick question about broccoli and cabbage worms you mentioned. I'm having the same problem and wondered how you dealt with them and brought your broccoli back to life. I've read about using bacillus thuringiensis (BT) on the web and would prefer not to use it unless it's the only option. My square foot garden was planted using the Mel's Mix recipe so the soil should be good.

Also, how did you start your peanuts?

Thanks again.

cohutt · « **Reply #321 on:** June 11, 2010, 03:55:07 PM »

Quote from: Folinator1 on June 11, 2010, 01:01:11 PM

Cohutt -
Great posts, photos and journaling. Your journey has been interesting to follow.

Quick question about broccoli and cabbage worms you mentioned. I'm having the same problem and wondered how you dealt with them and brought your broccoli back to life. I've read about using bacillus thuringiensis (BT) on the web and would prefer not to use it unless it's the only option. My square foot garden was planted using the Mel's Mix recipe so the soil should be good.

Also, how did you start your peanuts?

Thanks again.

I'm pretty sure I hit the remnants of the leaves with a pyrethrum; I ended up spending a lot of time eye to eye with the plants once I spotted the little buggers. They are so small and very well camo'd that I really had to put my face in the plant to find the worms. Found worms were dead worms. One day it seemed like i couldn't find any more and they never really came back.

The peanuts - you just plant the individual goober peas (shelled but with the papery husk still on them) in the ground an inch or so under I believe. They aren't conducive to SFG unless you have a lot of space; i didn't plant anythis year but I do have a volunteer plant I have let grow.

TwoBluesMama · « **Reply #322 on:** August 17, 2010, 08:49:41 AM »

+1 for an awesome garden. I think everyone who grew something this nice should get at least 5 karma points but alas the good karma fairy isn't here (maybe I can steal her job!) Nice job Cohutt - you've done an awesome job documenting what you grew and how for everyone.

cohutt · « **Reply #323 on:** August 17, 2010, 07:58:32 PM »

Quote from: TwoBluesMama on August 17, 2010, 08:49:41 AM

+1 for an awesome garden. I think everyone who grew something this nice should get at least 5 karma points but alas the good karma fairy isn't here (maybe I can steal her job!) Nice job Cohutt - you've done an awesome job documenting what you grew and how for everyone.

Thank you.

It has been a learnfest for sure.

Oh, I accept cash if your karmas are limited.

ladieu · « **Reply #324 on:** August 17, 2010, 09:28:14 PM »

I love the tomato avatar. It is pretty awesome. I pulled one out the other day with a weird growth on it and thought of you.

deanabess · « **Reply #325 on:** June 10, 2013, 06:25:20 PM »

You can hang old computer CD's or DVD's around the tomatoes and other plants that birds like. It's not a perfect system but it does help detour the birds and some other varmints. Also, I usually sprinkle human and dog hair around the gardening areas, fruit trees, and herb gardens to keep out varmints. Seems to work ok except for the raccoons that like to eat my pineapples so last year, I used the rose, blackberry, olive, and fruit tree prunings that are thorny and placed them around my pineapples. That seems to detour the racoons so I could let our pineapple get nice and ready before we picked it.

cohutt · « **Reply #326 on:** June 10, 2013, 06:54:08 PM »

Quote from: deanabess on June 10, 2013, 06:25:20 PM

You can hang old computer CD's or DVD's around the tomatoes and other plants that birds like. It's not a perfect system but it does help detour the birds and some other varmints. Also, I usually sprinkle human and dog hair around the gardening areas, fruit trees, and herb gardens to keep out varmints. Seems to work ok except for the raccoons that like to eat my pineapples so last year, I used the rose, blackberry, olive, and fruit tree prunings that are thorny and placed them around my pineapples. That seems to detour the racoons so I could let our pineapple get nice and ready before we picked it.

Thanks- Fast forward to 2013, I've developed lots of schemes to protect things.

http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=40265.0

ishanguptaa · « **Reply #327 on:** November 19, 2015, 11:28:58 PM »

Hi Cohutt

I am new here,,, so just wanted to stop by and say congratulations for all the hardwork.

I also checked your blog,, impressive work at cohutt

bigbear · « **Reply #328 on:** March 22, 2017, 01:22:04 PM »

Have any updates on the garden?

cohutt · « **Reply #329 on:** March 22, 2017, 03:17:13 PM »

Quote from: bigbear on March 22, 2017, 01:22:04 PM

Have any updates on the garden?

It is still there... I've had a couple of years of work distractions that have burned up my extracurricular mental energy so I have not kpet posting up to date, here or on myblog. Only so much time and energy...
I've managed to distract myself from manic gardening a bit by adding beehives to the mix. This year's early spring has me behind the curve a bit.

News:

Author Topic: Cohutt builds a garden, Chapter 1 (Read 117996 times)

Hare of Caerbannog