What’s your favorite gardening method?

[lhamilton1807]

About 7 years ago I built a greenhouse out of free lumber, windows, and roofing from Craigslist. I then built a bunch of raised beds out of old cedar fence boards and tried the Square Foot Gardening method.

Last year (now at a different house) I have a few garden plots but I’m doing the Back to Eden method, which is essentially sheet mulching. Started out by laying down a layer of cardboard boxes (without any tape or shiny print on them), then garden soil and 1+ year-old horse manure from a local farmer. I had set up a huge compost pile with arborist chips, grass clippings, and coffee grounds from Starbucks the fall before, and I screened the bigger chips out through 1/2” hardware cloth and used that as top dressing. Worked really well! Everything seemed to grow big really quickly - sugar snaps, lettuce & spinach, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, peppers. I found this method to be more productive and flexible than square foot gardening.

I have ducks that are excellent slug hunters to keep the pests at a minimum. Ancona ducks lay over 200 eggs/year, are friendly, are great grazers, and can’t fly off.

If you’re interested in the documentary for Back to Eden, it can be watched here:

https://www.backtoedenfilm.com/watchfreeorganicgardeningmovie.html#/

[Bow]

I'm in the desert, so I mostly grow desert plants in my garden. Cacti, succulents, local to my area flowers, etc. I do have a raised herb garden outside. Super fun to grow. I think I have like 120ish plants inside, crown jewel is a huge like 9 foot tall/long carnivorous pit her plant.

Gotta have my crisp air. Lol.

[lhamilton1807]

I’d love to see pics of that plant!

[Grendel]

Raised beds, in the long run less effort to garden but does take more water. If I really needed to live off the garden it would be a cultivated field setup with rotation planning and cover plants,

[Grendel]

Gophers, a well trained Terrier or other ground dog and let them have free access. They will drive Gophers away. Another method we used to use on dairy farms with Woodchucks is shoot them stuff them back down their whole and cover with a rock. This helps prevent another one occupying their den. Moles I have no idea without using horrible chemicals. Moles are attracted to nematodes as a food source, you have to get rid of the food source and moles will leave . The problem is getting rid of the nematodes and there really isn't anything OVC that works so takes hiring someone.

[lhamilton1807]

Nematodes aren’t a food source for moles - grubs are. Nematodes are microscopic organisms that feed on grubs but leave the earthworms alone. The idea (not tested by me yet) is that if the grubs are gone, the moles will move elsewhere for food.

https://wtop.com/garden-plot/2019/09/how-to-deal-with-moles-and-grubs-in-your-backyard/

[glaman5266]

Sit in a lawn chair with a cold drink & a shotgun and just wait.

[Cdn_Cuda]

I subscribe to the Darwin gardening method: Survival of the fittest! I have raised garden beds in an attempt to keeps the weeds down. We grow things that grown well, like zucchini, cucumbers, peas, romaine, pumpkins and squash. My tenants went and set up a fancy irrigation system for their box only, (one of four boxes) and when I water I just use a sprinkler.. and water everything at once. Seems like we could just put the sprinkler on a timer and water everything together... but whatever.

[JeeperCreeper]

I'm more of a hydroponic kinda guy. I only grow one kind of vegetable though.

[lhamilton1807]

Ah, electric lettuce?

[BrickHaus]

Hey neighbor. Im out of lettuce.....

[Chrisrook1]

Started out that route. Quickly got tired of alternating feedings, so went back to organic.

[glaman5266]

Pots & feed troughs, watered by hand. Keeps the moles out (no water hits the ground) & the rabbits don't get at them. I despise weeding, so containers make that easier. I'd like to have a largish plot for canning purposes but with the 40 acres of pines behind the house we'd have moles out the wazoo.

Might add another feed trough this year for green beans. Haven't done much of those the past few years.

[Chrisrook1]

If you’re looking for a pole variety instead, I grow Cherokee Trail of Tear black beans. Nice heirloom variety that can trace their lineage back to, well, the trail of tears. They do well down here in my SWFL garden, and grow beautiful purple flowers with purple and green husks. Can be eaten as green beans when young, but are a shell variety so dry out nicely with good return.

[flyweightnate]

Foraging.

But seriously, the raised bed/ square foot method is the closest I've been to successful. It's just so much easier to start with known, good soil. It is super moisture hungry, though. Maybe I'll try the method above... the hot dry summers are a killer here.

[Chrisrook1]

I’m an organic guy. Most of my stuff is in 5 gallon fabrics, but I do have plans to build a 13x16 or so screen house with 3x4 fabric beds later this year. Living down in Florida means my weather is good almost all year to grow anything. Currently have a nice herb garden with moringa and bell pepper, as well as a couple beds currently cycling and getting ready for a cover and replant.