Proud parent feeling

This morning as I went to the garden to take a few pictures of my greenhouses for the previous entry...I couldn't stop taking pictures of my vegetables. And looking at those pictures I felt like I wanted to show the rest of the world what I was able to grow on my own. Almost like a parent getting his flip book out of his wallet to show his kids =) So enjoy the fruits of my labor!

Customize your greenhouse !

So tonight I did was I said I would and built my mini greenhouses around my zucchinis. I did have some trouble building the frames since I was alone but I managed. Now I have no idea if it will do anything. But I did leave two zucchinis outside to see differences. I've read that some gardeners extend their gardening season by having raised beds and putting a small hoop greenhouse when the temperature starts dropping. I will of course try this eventually. but I need more time to get more dirt and planks for the raising of the earth. But hey I'm in my first year! So plenty of time left. Here's a link to the video I made of it on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQe94J-MRRs --UPDATE-- When I took the pictures for this entry I noticed that the inside of the greenhouses were singnifically hotter than the exterior. So I supposed they will help after all =)

Stretching Summer

Where I live, Summer starts ending in September....sadly. But tomorrow I am going to try to stretch my zucchini's life cycle. I'll build some simple mini greehouses over the plants in the garden. Now I have no idea how I'll do this. In fact I still haven't checked if I have plastic left in the garage. But it will be done tomorrow and I will post about it (probably even a video on Youtube). But in the meantime if you want to stretch Summer for your plants. I heard that to avoid freeze, you can simply put plastic over your plants at night.But you need to take it out in the morning or else they will steam during the day. Still some plants that need lots of heat might stop producing as the tempreture drops. I guess we will see if it's the case for my zucchinis =)

Harvesting

I've been having trouble continuing my blog these past few days....for reasons unknown. But what the heck I'll just write what comes to mind about this crazy adventure! For a while now I've been havesting....on a small scale.But as Fall approaches I'm starting to harvest my usual crop (courgettes, onions, beans) and new ones. Like tomatoes, carrots, radishes, spinach, lettuces....and soon I'll have a pumpkin! I only wish I had planted more tomatoes so I could've canned some for the winter. Well I have something to get exited for next year I guess. I mean...just have another look at the picture to the right. =) How can someone not get excited about all those beautiful, organically grown vegetables! here's a link to my video harvest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tpsP5qzvrU

The 10 year plan...

Now here comes my devious plan!
Basically, I'm giving myself 10 years (more or less) to become self sufficient. Ten years to be able to grow and raise my own food. I've told my family and a few friends and most of them think of me as crazy for trying this. But it must be doable!
Over the years I intend on transforming my backyard into cultivated 4x4 gardens (squarefoot gardening). I've gesstimated how much food I could grow with just the 10 spaces I have plowed for next year and it should be a large amount. This year was just a tryout. But next year will be more serious. I'll start a few weeks earlier planting seeds indoor and use all the great advice I got from my research online. My hope for this year was to see how good I'd do at gardening a real garden. And I was sucessful...some crop were harvested earlier than most people's. Next year I intend to have enough produce to last me for a part of the winter. Either by storing them in a cold room, freezing or canning. And every year I'll increase the amount of land cultivated. Probably try to work less at my day job and sell some of my excess but still getting my biggest monthly revenues from my 2 basement appartements that I rent. Once the house loan is paid I should be able to have enough money with my rents, and produce sales. Of course combined with all that will be a reducing of the money I spent in unecessaries (cell phones, takeouts, store bought food and such) recycling, and reusing materials. Now you tell me does this sound doable or am I just crazy!!! =)