The 4x8 Raised Garden

I've been researching abouthow to build a small home garden for next spring so that I can start to learn the basics of raising crops to supplement our diet, and to gain an important survival skill should it ever be necessary.

The 4x8 raised garden is an ideal method to grow a tremendous amount of produce in a limited amount of space.  Now, I have enough room in my yard to plant perhaps 10 of these boxes, but the idea is to learn the right way on a small scale (like 1 or 2) so you know what to do if you want to expand later on.

I could explain more about the raised garden, and there are plenty of articles and books out there that do, so I'll do just a summary from 40,000 feet (high level overview): 

You build a box 4 foot wide by 8 foot long by 18-24" high.  This box will hold roughly 50-60 cubic feet of gardening soil or some mix of clay and soil.  This is an appropriate set of dimensions to allow for easy labor without walking all over your crops (you can easily reach across the box to harvest or water), and keeps the garden off the ground and away from small animals.  You can install a chicken wire type screen along the bottom of the box to keep burrowing animals out, but allow the drainage of water, and bend a 1/2 inch pvc pipe in an arch shape to gap the 4 foot widths in 2-3 spots along the 8 foot length (and cover the arch with either plastic or bird netting) to create a green house or just keep it safe from birds, deer and other animals.

Some people will then sow the box in rows with seeds, water and allow their harvest to grow.  The method I am going to follow calls for you to recreate nature.  Mix 4-6 different types of veggies in the box, and do not plant in rows.  Throw the seeds down in no particular pattern so that all the veggies are dispersed equally.  The idea is that if you grow the right combination of plants, they will each benefit their neighbor much like a rain forest, and you'll be able to fit more in that box then a row or two of corn.

This works because each plant contributes something to the greater good of all - bean plans might add nitrogen to the soil where other plants pull them out to grow tall and green.  Some flowering plans may attract beneficial bugs that keep other insects away.  Some of the taller plants provide shade to the smaller ones (that like shade) and those smaller ones act like mulch to keep the soil cool and moist.  If done correctly, the box will be thick and full of life, producing a lot more food than nice and pretty rows of veggies, and harvesting will be more like scavenging through the forest than harvesting a farm.

There is a lot more to be said about this, and like I mentioned, there are books all about this and what you grow depends on where you live (climate wise) but suffice to say if a 4x8 box can provide a nightly salad mix for much of the entire summer and into the fall, then several of these boxes planted correctly can also provide potatoes, beans, corn and other nutritious foods in vast quantities.

Anyway, after applying the correct types of seeds in no particular order, mist the soil to get it nice and moist.  I am thinking about a small pvc type water delivery system I can do myself (ala Rainbird) for not too much money to keep the box moist when I want to water, but a lot of what I read recommend a soaker hose and that seems to be the cheapest and probably most direct way of watering the plants.

You can even suppliment your box by growing other plants in pots and replace some of your food that you harvest from the 4x8 box with the plants in the pots to keep the box full throughout the summer into the fall (plant fall harvest plants in the pots so that they can get transplated after your spring and summer items are picked).

Anyway, so much to learn as you can see, I recommend you brush up on your agri-skills and start making mistakes (paying the fool-tax) today instead of the future - when you are depending on the land to feed the family.

Blueberries - Should every home grow some?

I think blueberries are a great fruit to grow at home, and even more essential during a long term disaster.  While these little berries aren't exactly a common survival fruit, there are a few things working in their favor:

1. Fruit are otherwise hard to come by unless you have enough land for several mature fruit trees.  One blueberry bush, which takes up only around 16 square feet (4x4), can produce upwards of 10lbs of fruit each season.  Different varieties can be planted which harvest at different times throughout the late spring to late fall.  Planting a dozen bushes along the side of your home or as a decorative bush in the yard can result in 100lbs or more of edible fruit.

2. Blueberries can survive in a wide range of "USDA Zones" from Florida to New England, and survive frost well during the winter.  As long as they get enough water during the growing season and the winters dont get too cold (which varies by variety), you should get a decent harvest.

3. Aside from requiring a slightly acidic soil, which isn't too difficult to maintain, the plants themselves require very little care - just a little pruning and a plan to keep the birds away from ripe berries.  In fact, blueberry plants also do not attract a lot of bugs or snails, meaning your fruit are much more likely to grow undisturbed.

4. Some varieties are self pollinating and do not require other plants or bees to produce fruit.  Others may require 2 bushes to cross pollinate, hardly a major issue as they take up very little space.

5. Blueberries are a great addition to any diet.  They are full of antioxidants and are tasty and preserve well.  They can be added to a lot of mixes such as pancakes or muffins, pies and cobblers.  You could use them to create jam or other spreads as well.  Plus, a pint of blue berries are great for trading or selling when you've overdosed on their flavor.

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