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Removing lawn and planting food instead (vegetables and herbs, etc) - I heard about this "movement" in places which don't have restrictive HOA rules... doing this basically eliminates the need to care for a useless lawn and replaces it with a yard of function.
Has anyone here ever done this on their property? Any tips/advice for others who want to try it?
Yep, I've done it. I still have grass problems and it took two years for the soil to become completely usable for a food garden. The initial outlay can become considerable if you are in a hurry because you have to truck in seriously good compost and fertilizer and make raised beds. The third year is when it really takes off.
Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy has some excellent suggestions on how to landscape with fruits and vegetables. Maybe start that way before converting your entire yard into a food garden?
Removing lawn and planting food instead (vegetables and herbs, etc) - I heard about this "movement" in places which don't have restrictive HOA rules... doing this basically eliminates the need to care for a useless lawn and replaces it with a yard of function.
Has anyone here ever done this on their property? Any tips/advice for others who want to try it?
Had often thought about it. Have a large area behind my garage and slightly terraced which I thought would be cool to start a garden with corn,melons ,beans etc. Would have to bring in alot of top soil and figure out how to keep the ground hogs,squirrels and other critters out.
Don't need soil to grow food. You can go hydroponics with old barrels and similar. Oh so many creative designs on Youtube. You can also go to motherearth site, it's fully dedicated to homesteading.
Best fertilizer ever is one produced by your animals. You can set a part of your yard for some livestock, then put their dookie into a compost mound and voila.
We started with four garden beds, added 3 more, now we have over 60 chickens, 2 compost mounds... We slowly but steadily lean to forgoing 27 000 sf of grass to mow and turning it into some food source area. But it takes couple years for soil to become useful.
It's a lot of work, kiddo. And you'll need to learn how to do preserves and dig a cellar. As winter time, when nothing grows - preserves come oh so handy.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The only sunny spot in my yard with a large 2 story house and 100' fir trees is the side lawn (corner lot). In order to grow a vegetable garden I put in a 7'x12' greenhouse right in the middle of it, and plan enlarge it next spring. With our short growing season, the deer, rabbits and squirrels it's impossible to grow without greenhouse. This is but the 4th year and since we did it several of the neighbors have done the same, some much larger. We still have a front lawn and part of the side for the grandkids to play when they come over. This year we had lettuce, spinach, peas and kale early on, now tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant and green beans. All in that small space by growing a much as possible tall on bamboo stakes. Well worth it for the pick and eat treat, especially the tomatoes that are like nothing you get at the store or even farmer's market.
OP make sure you keep some perennials/shrubs etc in the yard. Patches of soil with annual veggies are prone to erosion when the veggies are gone. This is bad for the environment, and the health of your soil IMO. Plants such such as raspberries, blueberries (acid soil), roses with edible hips, daylilies etc. can help stabilize the soil around the beds.
Also make sure you have the soil tested to ensure that it is safe to grow food in. Here is my advice:
1. Keep some lawn - The common wisdom now is that SOME lawn is useful for playing, relaxing in etc. If the yard is big enough, you may want to keep a bit of lawn and cut it into a nice shape.
2. Use Raised beds - I like these because they are neat and easier to weed than gardens in ground. Use food safe materials for the beds. The one drawback with raised beds is that it took a while to get the soil mix right. Mine is richer now after a few years of amending it.
3. Have fun experimenting - For the past few years, I've made sure to try something new. I buy seeds, so it is relatively cheap. I've found some new favorite vegetables that grow easily that way.
4. Remember the flowers - In mine, I grow beneficial or edible flowers. These include marigolds, calendula, borage and nasturtiums. These also attract pollinators and are easy to start from seed. Honey bees in particular, seem to love borage.
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