leasmom:

How many green beans did you plant??? I am just curious. I want enough to freeze alot and looking at the amount I have, I won't have the amount I want...makes me want a farm-lol.

I think I had 4 double rows. This year I have 5 single rows.

You don't need a farm to grow alot of vegetables. We once had  1 1/3 acre lot and it was 165X 400something...anyway long and narrow, it was like having a back 40.  Our garden was 75X150, with another 25X50 patch of corn. We built a garden shed and a goat shed with scavenged wood and shingles. We pretty much tilled and " pastured" whatever we had, so we a small front yard and a small back yard area...the rest went to growing stuff.

Dh always said he'd rather till than mow.

We had a friend, older Vermont farmer. He said, I never plant a garden to big for the wife to take care of. My husband would love it if every inch of yard was growing food. Then, it would be my job not his grass. Babs 

I wish I could use every inch to garden but I'm renting and we are moving in 2 yrs back to Tennessee. The landlord could rent the house easier if it looks more like the same but we are utilizing as much as we can. I took an area that had flowers and put a garden there and I built one off the ground in a raised garden in the back, next year I'll get some platforms and utilize the back gate area and plant in pots back there. I also have upside down hanging tomatoes by my windows. And behind the backyard I made a gate that can easily be removed and put the chickens in a rabbit hutch right now and a coop for when they get older, they're only a little more than a month old. It still looks like a backyard but it has hidden qualities-lol.

My snap peas and beans are starting to get big enough to have flowers; my tomato plants are mostly going great, and starting to flower (the cherry tomato plant is still pretty small, but it is the only one that has fruit yet); the bell peppers are pretty small yet, but I'm hoping that now that I've cleared the mint away from them that they'll get more sun and grow; the lettuce is all over the place (my neighbors are very happy; they're getting the overflow that I can't eat fast enough); and the raspberries have small green fruit all over them - I put the bird netting up a couple of days ago in hopes of keeping most of the fruit for myself.

Can you dry/dehydrate raspberries?  I may have enough this year to try it.

I wish I knew the answer to your question about raspberries, its a good question. If you do find the answer can you pass it along to us?

 I have so far picked two tomatoes, three cherry tomatoes, lettuce of course, and green beans. Everything else is still growing. I have about 6 tomatoes and flowers on the rest. The rain has created some veggies to grow while others seem to be again suspended not knowing which way to go. I've started the fall/winter garden, I've started seeds for some and ordered seeds for others as well as potted some small veggie plants too. I have carrots, radish and lettuce sprouted up, as well as rutubaga. I also have in pots: leeks, spearmint, and three mini tomatoes. I've ordered brussel sprouts, a winter squash variety, beets, turnips, kale and peas. The winter garden will be diverse just like now. But, I have recently planted a newer row of collards and red cabbage for winter that will go along with all of the rest. I am enjoying seeing everything growing. I hope to have an abundant harvest.

Our german johnson tomatoes are getting ripe - we had one for supper last night - it was so good.  I will eat what was left of it for lunch today as a tomatoe sandwich.  The rest of our tomatoe plants are LOADED with green tomaotes.  We have 6 cantalopes on one plant and several small ones on the second one.  My cucumbers are not doing well, only have 2 plants left and they haven't started blooming yet.  And the green beans have started to bloom.  Squash is not growing as fast as it should - think I'll move it to another area next year. 

Shellia

Oh you southern gardeners make me jealous!

Tons of blossoms on the peas and green beans, and baby green tomotoes. Been cutting the broccoli, cauliflower, lettuces and mustard greens regularly. Have baby cabbages forming. Melons did not do well this year. The corn is waist high now. Pumpkin plants are climbing over the corn stalks. No blossoms yet on any of the squashes. I have a bunch of volunteer tomatillo plants. I've been pinching off the blossoms on the potato plants.

still have to plant the beans I was planning!  maybe today since it is cool. plus the 2 tomato plants I bought.   got my first couple of raspberries though. need a couple of more days for them though.

Right now there's still only one tomato out of the three plants - a yellow jubilee. Its green and getting bigger every day.  The red celebrity has a ton of buds on it, some starting to blossom, so I'm hoping for a nice haul of tomatoes.  The purple cherooke has small buds forming, but the leaves are curling .  I think it might not be getting enough rain because its just under the eaves.  I'll water it after the sun goes down this evening if its dry after the t-storms roll in.  The cucumber plants are huge! I think I miscalculated how much room the "bushes" would have.  I definitely need to plant some in new containers--I just need to find the money for the containers!  My lettuces are sprouting, but not getting much bigger, and falling over. I don't know what I did wrong.  I might need to thin them a bit.

 The herbs are doing very well.  I keep pulling and using parsley and it just keeps getting bigger.  The rosemary I haven't used yet, but our neighbors advised me they'd snipped off a bit last week to make focaccia but I can't even tell LOL.  I will admit--they're still in their nursery containers   I can't even imagine how much they'll spread when I transplant them.