[Pops]

http://www.freshmanfarmer.com/

Lots of stuff in the blogs and MSM from way back last year, Google News "small farm",
and Dino is right, this didn't hurt...


http://www.eattheview.org/

[carrottop]

here is a little food for thought . i read that monsanto and some of the big fertiliser companies was trying to get couple of bills through to make all the organic farmers &small people like me could only use gm sprayes and seeds .i wish i had keep those links but i didnt it was on some organic web site. and you think things are in a mess now! just wait till we have use gm stuff.

[Cloud9]

Time Magazine p. 29 April 27 issue has a spot about gardening and people growing food in their flower beds.

[Dawn]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('carrottop', 'h')ere is a little food for thought . i read that monsanto and some of the big fertiliser companies was trying to get couple of bills through to make all the organic farmers &small people like me could only use gm sprayes and seeds .i wish i had keep those links but i didnt it was on some organic web site. and you think things are in a mess now! just wait till we have use gm stuff.

[mos6507]

I prefer the termfreedom gardens to liberty gardens because it is an offshoot of path to freedom.

Unfortunately I didn't see too many peakers join me over there. Kind of disappointed.

[blukatzen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'I') prefer the termfreedom gardens to liberty gardens because it is an offshoot of path to freedom.

Unfortunately I didn't see too many peakers join me over there. Kind of disappointed.

[WildRose]

I have to second what Blu just said about local garden centers. I am hooked on one that is just a mile down the road from my house. They set up shop about 3 years ago. It's a family-run business, the people are from somewhere in the Middle East and they are so knowledgeable. They carry the best fruit trees/bushes I've seen anywhere. I can't wait for them to open again - probably in the next 3 weeks or so!

[bratticus]

Freedumb Garden.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('blukatzen', '
')TRY YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT GARDEN CENTER...

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bratticus', 'F')reedumb Garden.

[Chaparral]

The only local Mom n' Pop nurseries in my area are specialty shops for Cacti and Succulents, Bromeliads, Cycads, Orchids etc. Absolutely neat stuff that's been my passion for most of my life but not too relevant for what's coming. Armstrongs took over the last little place and I can't stand that overpriced stuff that has been full of bugs. Back when I started growing veggies and brought home various 4-packs, 6-packs and 4" plants, I found that the Home Depot plants actually survived and grew better than the pricier stuff from Armstrongs. I have bought dozens of seed packets of the heirloom strains from Armstrong tho and I thank them for carrying that inventory at least. Now I save most of my own seeds. It's Armstrong for seeds and Home Depot for fruit trees. Whole Paycheck market also sells a few seeds and one can also get mungs and lentils and stuff like that from their sprouting mixes.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Chaparral', 'T')he only local Mom n' Pop nurseries in my area are specialty shops for Cacti and Succulents, Bromeliads, Cycads, Orchids etc. Absolutely neat stuff that's been my passion for most of my life but not too relevant for what's coming.

[Chaparral]

WRT specialty plants:

If someone could breed a strain of Annanas that would produce well in subtropical to near temperate climates, that would be nice. They're CAM plants so they'll take in atmospheric moisture at night and close up by day. Such a breed might work in foggy areas all along the Pacific coast. Most of the local specialty nurseries only carry the super-rare stuff which they sell to collectors. Others specialize in landscape plants. Some of the yuccas and agaves would be good for some types of fiber perhaps and there's always tequila. Nopal practically grows as a weed in some places here and it maked delicious omelettes. Cereus peruvianus will fruit prolifically here providing it gets sun and the fruit are easy to cut and the seeds are nice and crunchy and might yield some type of usable flour. Most cacti and succulents and bromeliads that I know of have that CAM metabolism and other water conserving adaptations that limit their biological productivity as compared to say, potatos or fava beans. Still, for border areas, hillsides, dry rocky places, they're perfect. Plant them so that they'll reduce fire danger, provide some security and line of sight privacy and at the same time, produce a crop that doesn't need frequent harvesting so it's no big deal to walk all the way out there and collect the pads or fruits or what-have you.