Love being self sufficient and here in our mountainous area its tricky but we find ways to make it work. Short growing season, lots of snow, frost danger year round all make it difficult but we have fun even with the triumphs and disappointments. Hope to interact here and learn a lot.
Hello from Idaho
- Thread starter meter16
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Welcome! We are glad to have you here.
I bet Idaho wouldn't be the easiest, but it's definitely possible! And having some herb plants indoors can also be very satisfying as well - and they takeup very little room. Summers can be very satisfying when the winters are harsh like that. You can always learn which plants would survive through the seasons. The community would be more than happy to help you out with it as well I'm betting
I bet Idaho wouldn't be the easiest, but it's definitely possible! And having some herb plants indoors can also be very satisfying as well - and they takeup very little room. Summers can be very satisfying when the winters are harsh like that. You can always learn which plants would survive through the seasons. The community would be more than happy to help you out with it as well I'm betting
Thanks! We do grow some things indoors and love fresh herbs. We have a greenhouse now which has helped a ton and my wife was able to start a lot of different plants this year. We've seen better success with things like our tomatoes and peppers albeit with a bit of a learning curve. The house we bought last year has several fruit trees and we are loving them and learning to take care of them has been fun. We put in a ton of work but when we see our fruit room and root cellar filled with stuff we grew we are so thankful and proud. Still figuring our the root cellar thing though we had several things do really well and some not so much but we are enjoying the journey.
That sounds absolutely amazing! Gardening as a family must be so lovely as well, as you can share the passion. Tomatoes seem rather hardy in my case, I kept getting upset and worried about them, before realising they can handle quite a bit so long as you keep watering them properly. They were my very first "real" plant and have been amazing to learn from, mistakes and all.
The fruit trees could be amazing! Thought of juicing them or turning them into something even more tasty than they already are? Mark has showed us some of the plants he likes to preserve, turn into a sauce etc in his livestream and other youtube videos.
You should definitely be proud and don't be afraid to share more with us on this forum, I'd love to see more!
The journey and learning can be so much fun. Learning what fertiliser works with what plants, and how it affects them. Which plants grow in which climates... I've been having great fun with it myself as well. Let's see more of eachother on here!
The fruit trees could be amazing! Thought of juicing them or turning them into something even more tasty than they already are? Mark has showed us some of the plants he likes to preserve, turn into a sauce etc in his livestream and other youtube videos.
You should definitely be proud and don't be afraid to share more with us on this forum, I'd love to see more!
The journey and learning can be so much fun. Learning what fertiliser works with what plants, and how it affects them. Which plants grow in which climates... I've been having great fun with it myself as well. Let's see more of eachother on here!
We do juice them! And we made syrups and jams and froze several different things. The only produce we eat regularly that we haven't figured how to keep year round is lettuce. We've tried growing it indoors and it just never really does that well for us except during our summer months.
Oh that sounds delicious! Do you think you would be able to write up a couple of your recipies and upload them on here? I'd love to hear about them and maybe even try them!
I'm struggling with my lettuce too, as it keeps bolting. I think my issue might be that I'm growing the wrong type of lettuce for my climate. You might have a similar issue. Or maybe you need at least two types, a winter type and a summer type! Especially when your seasons are so significantly different in temperature.
I'm struggling with my lettuce too, as it keeps bolting. I think my issue might be that I'm growing the wrong type of lettuce for my climate. You might have a similar issue. Or maybe you need at least two types, a winter type and a summer type! Especially when your seasons are so significantly different in temperature.
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- May 27, 2012
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- Bellmere, QLD
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True... can't really preserve it and it's difficult to grow all year even in the best climates!
wow I admire gardeners who have short growing season. look forward to hearing more about your life in the mountains
My wife did plant some lettuce in our greenhouse last fall but we sort of neglected it with preparing for winter but surprisingly it survived and grew a great early crop of lettuce. We have talked a few times about getting a grow light and trying to grow stuff in the utility room. With the water heater and heater, it stays nice and cozy warm in there all winter and with a grow light I think we'd be able to keep something going all the time. We have several house plants because I just love taking care of plants all the time. It keeps me mentally healthy but when we eat what we've grown it is something special.
Season extension has been a huge help for us and we were able to start several things in the greenhouse and are deciding whether or not we should add a larger one to our property. I think we would use it well and it might give us that extra bit of produce we need for our family.
Season extension has been a huge help for us and we were able to start several things in the greenhouse and are deciding whether or not we should add a larger one to our property. I think we would use it well and it might give us that extra bit of produce we need for our family.
Oh goodness! I absolutely understand what you're saying there! Food you've grown yourself always feels that little extra special. I've found that homegrown beans just taste better, haha.
If you enjoy it as much as I think you are I would definitely recommend expanding! Experiment and have fun, make mistakes and learn, then pass on the love! I've found that I enjoy my mistakes almost as much as I love the plant when I do it right the next time!