What I plan to grow

 

It's very early in the design process. I have always known I have wanted certain things in my garden, but now that I actually have a known space, I can start seeing what I can fit, and what I cannot.
The biggest challenge will be placement, knowing what to rotate and when, and how much of each will be needed. I will need to grow food for eating during the season, canning, drying, freezing, baking, and more for a family of 3-5.

My list of what I will grow is quite long, and seems like a lot for .18 of an acre, but some of these will be planted vertically, and others are only out during certain seasons. I wish I had a better app for this to keep track of it all on my tablet. I will probably create my own gardening calendar as the process goes along, or at least that is the hope.

I will add photos of the yard as it is at a later date, but here is a list of things I wish to plant as of right now. Keep in mind this list is always changing, so what will end up growing may not be the exact same as what is listed.
I plan to also plant a lot of wild natives, as a lot of them have medicinal properties, or are useful as wild edible foods, so I will mark the wild foods with a * to show what will be transplanted or grown from collected seeds.
I love foraging, and love even more that I can bring some of our native plants, that are not easy to find in a nursery, to live in my urban homestead.
I also plan to use Espalier, a technique for growing bushes and trees in a specific pattern to maximize space, and yield.  Basically Espalier is a method of growing tree and bush fences. At least that is what I will be using it for. I will most likely will be using stone fruit trees such as: Cherry, peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, as well as apples, and pears possibly.
I would love to get into grafting trees as well. The reason for this is if I ever found a wonderful tree with absolutely delicious fruit, I don't have to pass it up. You can actually graft multiple fruit types onto one tree as long as they ate the same kind of fruits. I.e. stone with only stone fruits, citrus with only citrus, etc..

What I plan to grow vertically:
Squashes: such as pumpkin, acorn, butternut, zucchini, yellow squash
Peas: The shelling kind and snap peas (my favorite kind)
Green beans
Fruit bushes: Such as raspberry, blueberry, huckleberry, perhaps salmonberry, and currants.
Grapes
Tomatoes
Lettuces
Possibly radishes


Veggies list:
Artichoke
*Miners lettuce
Peas
Carrots
Broccoli
Brussels
Sweet corn
Zucchini/Yellow squash
Butternut squash
Acorn squash
Pumpkins
Beets
Onions
Ginger
Lettuce
Asparagus
Mushrooms possibly
Spinach
Potatoes: Brown, Golden, Red, Sweet potatoes or Yams
Green beans
Garlic
Bok Choy
Cabbage
Kale
Sugar snap peas
Sorrel possibly
Celery
Chives
Radishes


Fruits list:
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries
Currants/gooseberries
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Honey Dew
Grapes
Salmon berries possibly



Herbs and flowers are a very long list:
*Purple dead nettle
*Cleavers
*Wooly mullein
*Western Mugwort
Lemon grass
Mints
German Chamomile
*Yarrow (seeds and wild)
Thyme
Calendula aka marigold
Marshmallow
Echinacea
Red clover
Lavender
Comfrey
Borage
Primrose
Hyssop
Lemon Balm
Fenugreek
Anise
Rosemary
Feverfew
Caraway
Bee balm *aka Bergamot*
*False Solomon's seal
*Bittersweet nightshade
*Narrow leaf plantain
*Corn flower
Mock orange



I have most of the herb and flower seeds right now, though germination tests will need to be done. I need to get fruits and veggie seeds, as well as the bushes and trees of course. I discovered one of the unknown trees on the property is a very tall cherry tree, so one fruit tree down.. Though I may add another cherry tree anyways, just a dwarf variety for part of the fencing.
I think strawberries is the only other fruit already growing on the property.
 
I want to join a seed saving group here. Doing so would seriously help cut down on the initial costs for the seeds, and I am loving learning about how to save seeds. The only concerns I have is I work odd hours, and getting to the instructional ‘how to’ classes involved in being a member would be hard… As well as I could only start out with some easy to save seeds from varieties. So I am still debating on starting that next year,  or possibly buying and joining.
I am a little nervous I will be unable to save seeds from some crops successfully at first. Part of the deal is you pay a membership fee, then you “borrow” seeds, and when you get your crop you “return” a certain amount of seeds from your crop. Great idea, just not sure how well it will work in my garden. Maybe a seed swap might be better.
I do plan to grow mostly heirloom varieties, which are great for saving seeds from for future crops. I have already saved seeds from a few things. I plan to do this even more with my future garden.