Welcome to The Yardstead
Here at the yardstead we are planting our fall garden. Many people believe that after the summer vegetables have gone that they must wait until next year to plan their next garden. Yet there are many cold hardy vegetables we can plant now to carry us through to the next spring season. In some cases this requires heavy mulching or using a row cover but in most cases it requires no special protection at all.
In the panhandle of Florida and in much of the south east it is time to plant broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale and kohlrabi. These vegetables need to be planted 3 months before the first frost to ensure good production. Carrots, turnips and beets can be planted from now until approximately 8 weeks before the first frost. In September, begin planting spinach which will germinate well for a fall harvest and up to the first frost for an excellent early spring harvest. Shallots, garlic, and onions can also be planted now for the spring and early summer harvest next year.
A while back someone was nice enough to post a you-tube video to our forum on a movie (documentary) about the Dervaes family. It is titled Home Grown Revolution. If you have not heard of the Dervaes family, I suggest you check out their website at www.pathtofreedom.com They live on a 1/4 acre in Pasadena, CA. This land is very near the freeway and in an urban environment. They have turned a dream into a way of life and a business that supports a family of four. It's inspiring and amazing the amount of food they can grow on such a little plot in the city.
I have always thought that Jason and I were doing quite a bit on our 1/2 acre little yardstead...but we are no where near the production capacity of the Dervaes family. At the yardstead we plan to take on the challenge that the Dervaes family has started. We will quit waiting for more land and start producing as much as possible on our current land. And who knows...by this time next year, maybe we won't be mowing grass anymore.
After submitting the article for raising catfish in a barrel, I decided to go to youtube and look for some videos on small fish farming. I found aquaponics. Aquaponics is the cultivation of fish and plants in a recirculating system. Essentially you have a tank to hold your fish and you pump the water into hydroponic beds to grow vegetables. Then the water is pumped back into your fish tank. The plants clean the water of nutrients that the fish provide through their waste products. In an ideal situation the most you add to the system after set-up is fish food for the fish and approximately once a month a dose of chelated iron for the plants. As you harvest your plants, you can plant more to continue to use the fish waste as nutrients.
I plan to do more research on this topic and then start one of my own. I hope to find most of the materials for free. As usual I will be sure to take pictures and give some progress reports as I go. I will also write a more detailed article on aquaponics as soon as I learn more and start our system.
