Yesterday was the first time that I've had to shop the produce section at the grocery store in a long time. I've picked up a couple of things up here and there (mushrooms and peppers) but for the most part I planned our menu this summer around the garden. The end result? Our grocery bill was up about $20.00 and the store was out of several things that I needed. Sigh... I really miss my garden - oh well, at least I don't have to weed!

I so hear you! It killed me to buy an English cucumber for $2.49 when they were coming out of our ears. I'm thinking of getting a green house to extend our season a little bit.

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The mighty oak started out as a nut that held its ground.

Well we are still using our garden. Have about 10 bell peppers and 25 or so squash/ zucchinni in the refrig, plus 3 boxes of green tomatoes upstairs in the closet. Plus we are just now starting to use the fall garden, lettcue and radishes are ready, kale, cabbage and beets are still growing.

Then we have all the produce I canned this summer, green beans galore in the basement.

As for the cucmbers, we are just going to do without for quite some time... we had so many of them this past summer, i really have no current desire for them..

The only thing I have to reguallry buy in the produce section is still fruit as well as onions. The onions didn't take this year for some reason ans used the last of last years harvest in August, so sadly have to buy those again.

Now, come December and January I think I will have to go back to buying veggies again to some level but it's not yet.


Do either of you have fall gardens in? The cold weather crops? We have even had a light snow thus far and night time temps into the mid 20's and the fall garden is still doing well.

Treehugger, I knew you were feeling my pain as well!

We're discussing a greenhouse but that is down the road a ways (bills first!). I looking into a cold frame though and plan on studying that this winter. Mother Earth Magazine (and I'm not sure if this is an old issue or a new one) had a great article on what you can grow with a cold frame and I was amazed to see what they were actually growing with snow on the ground.

I'll see if I can find that article!

You were posting on here as I was! Do you have a cold frame or a green house? I'm assuming you're out of the Denver area - so I know you have bad weather. But the Morther Earth article that I was talking about had the same veggies that you plan on growing in your fall garden. I guess what I'm asking here is, "What are your methods for your fall garden?"

Right now we do not have a cold frame or anything else, it's all growing just fine thou. In past years we have put up mini hoop houses over the lettcue and have been harvesting still into January.

We have in fact had snow so far, but only 3 inches and it was all gone in about 12 hours. I was a bit scared as that same night it dipped down to about 23 at night, but everything made it. The ground was still warm enough to not freeze everything.

Have you read any of Elliot Coleman's books? he lives in Maine and has a garden going pretty mush year round with the help of a single greenhouse. "Four season harvest" is a good book. Amazon.com: Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long: Books: Eliot Coleman,Barbara Damrosch,Kathy Bray



Sadly we do not have the space for a greenhouse, but the mini hoop houses have worked, so long as you keep the snow off the food,it should last. You can also paint milk jugs black and fill them with water and place under the hoop house, they heat up during the day fromt he sun's rays and then disapate the heat at night when it's colder.

It is however trail and error. This year we have scaled back on both the summer and fall gardens, but still have larger gardens than anyone we know, which for being on a .08 of an acre in the middle of the city is still pretty darn good!

Mother earth news is a grea reasource, but so is countryside and backwoods hom, you should be able to find good info on their sites as well.

Good luck!

Thanks! You have a lot of information -- I'm going into the big city today and I'm going to look for that book. I'll probably be contacting you to learn more!

Glad some of that info is of help.

Here it's far from a perfect practice, but we at least are willing to try. Would love to be like the Path to Frredome folks Path to Freedom but they are in CA and have a lot more growing season as well it sounds like a lot more time. Of course the ideal is to be in the middle of like 400 acres, but do what we can with what we've got thus far.

All that aside, I can totally understand the buying produce feeling... this summer I was laughing when I saw cucumbers on sale for $1 each, meanwhile at home I have them coming out of my ears and are driving the neighbors sick with all the produce we fobbed off on them!

Just wish we had room for some fruit trees as well, but are happy that we have managed to find room for raspberry bushes, even if they do take over.

Have fun in the city today, hope you can find some good fall/ winter reading material.