Hello from Arkansas!

[Carol Dee]

Welcome from Eastern, IA My DH and I have raised beds. But ours are 4 ft. wide and 20 to 30 ft. long! We have a 2 acre lot that we TRY to grow lots of fruits and veggies on. I like that it is easier to get to weeds and keep rows tidy this way. I am envious of all the space you will have. Dream Big.

 

[Cuddles11]

Cathy, this is what I have.View attachment 577

Oh my gosh, Mary! You have a beautiful garden...or gardens! Thanks for the virtual tour!

 

[Cuddles11]

Wishing you a warm welcome from Wild and Wonderful West Virginia, Cathy! Good luck with your new 40 acre piece of paradise!

Monty, you are a master of alliteration! Thanks for the reply and I look forward to hearing from you!

 

[Cuddles11]

Welcome from Eastern, IA My DH and I have raised beds. But ours are 4 ft. wide and 20 to 30 ft. long! We have a 2 acre lot that we TRY to grow lots of fruits and veggies on. I like that it is easier to get to weeds and keep rows tidy this way. I am envious of all the space you will have. Dream Big.

Carol, I like your "long and lean" idea...that may work beautifully for my planned area. Most of our yard will be dedicated to grasses, both native and cow-specific. Oh, I like these little dancing guys! Did not realize I clicked them so often, though, because they kept running from my cursor.

 

[Cuddles11]

Hi Cathy and welcome! Congratulations on your new farm, it sounds great. Is your cow a milker or for beef? We also talk chickens a lot on here...our own little clique outside of BYC, lol.

And Mary! Your garden is so beautiful! I'm glad you can post pics now. You've been holding out on us.

Thanks, Journey! We have a very sweet Jersey. She came with a calf, who is going home tomorrow afternoon. That should up our milk production! Our chicken collection is holding steady at six (mostly considered "show chickens" and layers of teeny eggs) but I am hoping to open the coop to more hens after winter loosens its grip a bit.

 

[Cuddles11]

Hi Cathy & Welcome!

I think we will really enjoy learning about your farm & garden progress.
Please keep us posted.

Steve
(Isn't it great to see pictures of Mary's garden? And, all Cathy had to do was ask .)

Thanks, Steve! I went through my seed collection a few nights ago and am anxious to begin my spring planting!

 

[Cuddles11]

Howdy Cathy Cuddles. We have several folks from your part of the world. I'm about 120 miles north of NinnyMary, up in the woods. Up here I'm having a zone 7 winter this year. Most winters are more like zone 8, and we're also having a drought so far.

KT'sGirl is also from around your area, something like the opposite end of a ridge or something like that from Ridgerunner.

Raised beds are the way to go if you ask me, but I don't know about doing a full 40 acres that way. You know your gardening!

Bountiful Gardens has a lot of varieties designed for sustainable living. With 40 acres you'd be able to have a ton of bramble berries, some fruit trees. Those that need minimum freezing hours you'd need to look into which varieties. You could add Chickens. We have lots of Chicken keepers here, plus they have their own chicken forum, a sister forum to this one. There are some beekeepers here too. Not many, but some.

Ugh, I was pruning through my bramble berry patch today. I feel kinda stretched out again, but gaining on it.

With 40 acres, heck, you could have many gardens on it! Oh yea! Sure wish I had 40 acres!

We have fun here. Don't lose your login stuff, and come on in often.

We also have a network of bean collecting and growing.

Wow! Thanks for all the information! Some of our acres are wooded (it's beautiful with a creek running through it!) and most of the rest is pastured. We have a Jersey to take care of her side of the pasture, and behind our house is usually mowed for hay. The area around the house is currently mowed, but I plan on tilling the fenced area near the house (we have deer romping in the unfenced area) and creating a garden of about 1/2 an acre. I have several varieties of fruit and nut trees I purchased locally as well as berry bushes. I find I have wild blackberries out the wazoo growing along the fenceline, and those little stinkers have mean barbs! I also have wild cherry trees, black walnuts and hazelnuts. I want a garden to support my extreme hunger for salads and salsa, and was impressed with the abundance of tomatoes I had last year.

Chickens? Yep, I have six. They are "show" chickens (phoenixes and a mottled houdan) that lay wee eggs every so often. I bought them because they were cheap and from a loving home. They are such sweet birds that tear across the field to me when they see me approach. I am hoping to add more good layers this spring. Our phoenix rooster is doing his darndest to grow the population, though.

Please tell me about this bean network. And does it come with any hints on how to grow tasty beans? I have grown peas and beans in the past, but they were so blech nobody would eat them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Please tell me about this bean network. And does it come with any hints on how to grow tasty beans? I have grown peas and beans in the past, but they were so blech nobody would eat them.

http://www.theeasygarden.com/thread...rk-get-new-beans-varieties-nearly-free.13066/

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Welcome from O-HI-O!

We rent a measly three acres at the moment, but with a little luck we might end up with a thirty acre farm - with a nice barn!

 

[ninnymary]

SeedO, I would not call 3 acres measly. I call them grand. Now, my tiny beds where I can only plant a 6-pack of kale or swiss chard, I call those measly!

Mary