First Harvest at Chez Lannae

my 6x6 bed overflowing on July 5, 2010

first harvest from the 6x6 bed July 5, 2010

my heirloom organic sweet peppers

I was lucky enough to have a 6x6 ft raised veggie bed in my yard, and it came with the house when I bought it. I had thoughts of being green-thumb heirloom-organic farmer, feeding my household with food from this raised bed. I set off by buying heirloom-organic seedlings from Tana at Eatons Creek Organics Farm just in the north side of town. I got 3 tomatoes, 2 peppers, and a bunch of herbs. I got some organic beets from Bells Bend Neighborhood Farms, and I got some fugitive squash plants (probably conventional pumpkin) from Earth Matters Carver Food Park, my local community garden's compost pile. So, I put all these food items into my raised bed in April, 2010, and the wait began. I got some herbs, as they grew pretty fast, but this was not going to sustain a household of 2. We need about 4k - 5k calories per day for the 2 of us for the level of activity we have, and the herbs gave us about 4 calories for the week. Obviously not enough. Anyway, it is now July, and we got our 1st harvest of sweet peppers. For all the time from April to now, had we had to rely on the 6x6 bed to feed ourselves, we would have starved.

2 or 3 years ago, I read that it is possible to feed a family of 2 all their vegetable needs by growing all year long in one 4x4 raised bed. It requires a lot of crop rotation, maybe fast growing crops, a hoop house in winter, a lot of growing knowledge, and a lot of constant work to feed a family of 2 by using one raised bed. By my one spring season of growing in a raised bed, I can say this idea of feeding a family of 2 by using a raised bed is not a reality for me. My household would have starved by now. It is nice though, to have supplemental food flavorings such as herbs and peppers from my raised bed to put into my dishes. I really enjoy walking outside, cutting sprigs of herbs that will be part of my meal. As for the tomatoes, I am still waiting for them to turn colors, so I can pick them. I hope for my own tomato sauce over the winter, and not canned tomatoes.

This got me thinking about the land space needed to feed an average USA person, like myself. I wanted to find out how many acres it takes to feed the USA, and set out to find the answer. The answer is 1 acre of crop and per person in the USA.

USA Population today 309.7 million
(from USA Census Bureau)

According the USA Census Bureau, the estimated population of the USA is 309.7 million.

estimated USA cropland 309 million acres
(from USDA)

Conveniently, according the USA Department of Agriculture, there are about 309 million acres of harvesting cropland in 2007, and I assume that the number of harvested cropland currently in 2010 is still about 309 million acres. This makes the math convenient, 1 acre per person or 309 million acres for 309 million people of the USA. An acre is about 210x210 ft or 70x70 yd. This acreage per person in the USA is way more than a 4x4 or 6x6 bed, so I don't feel as bad about not being able to feed my household with one 6x6 raised bed.

I was feeling a bit defeated that I was unable to feed ourselves with this one raised bed, but I realize now that a single small raised bed is not the standard, rather it is nearly an unobtainable standard, now that I know it takes 1 acre per person, or 2 acres to feed a family of 2. Still though, in the back of my mind I am thinking that I can possibly meet our vegetable needs through this one raised bed. The feeling I have about feeding my household family with my one raised bed seems to be a lot like trying to win the Olympic Marathon, a seeming unrealistic standard, but there are people in the world who do it. I do run, and I have jogged a marathon distance multiple times, but I am not setting any land speed records, and I just cannot see myself winning an Olympic Marathon. It is akin to me being a farmer of my 6x6 ft raised bed. I am organically farming my 6x6 ft raised bed, but I am not racing along to feed my household only with food from the bed.

My Garden June 1, 2010

the 6x6 garden bed is doing well

1st sign of a tomato

A while ago, I had read that it is possible to feed 2 people all the vegetables they need for a year by using a 4x4 ft garden bed. It would have be rotational crops, and constant harvest and planting. I have a 6x6 bed, and that is the big hope to that one year I can feed my household with food grown in the 6x6 bed. This is not the year. Had I tried it this year, we would have starved.

So far so good with the garden bed, but nothing has matured to ripeness yet. There are plenty of birds, rabbits, squirrels, voles and chipmunks that live in my small backyard, and I am sure they would like to get their tastebuds on my ripe fruits and vegetables.

I have a few surprise squash plants. I can't wait to see what they are. I am guessing pumpkins, but I am hoping for more conventional squash like summer, zucchini, acorn, or butternut. I had bought some organic compost and put it in the 6x6 bed the weekend before the flood. The flood came and washed away all the compost, so I had to get more compost. I went the community garden down the street, and made a donation for some compost. In their finished compost pile were some leafy sprouts that look like squash/pumpkin leaves, so I took 4 spouts and planted them. The leaves are so big now, so I am guessing pumpkins. After Halloween, the community compost asks people to bring unwanted pumpkins for a smashing pumpkin party, so it is likely that the plants are pumpkins. I will let you know what they squash plants are.

My Garden April 25

I was really scared when I first moved into this house last fall because the former owners had bunch of floral beds, and flowers, and who-ha stuff. I am not used to fussy garden beds, or yard for that matter. I grew up in L.A. when irrigation was frowned due to decades of droughts, and then moved to Boston where there isn't much yard for anyone. I was not raised to water plants or fuss in a garden or yard. Over the winter when all the flowers died back, I had a lot of winter twigs and brown to look at, and had an overwhelming feeling about this yard I own now.


Today I felt a bit of relief. I saw those old brown spots with twigs blooming with really cool flowers. There are two viney things with purple flower that are really pretty. Here is one set of purple flowering viney plant.


Here is the other set of purple flowering viney plant. This flower is just about to bloom.


Here is a octopus like flowering plant with holy type leaves. These flower buds look kind of cool too. It is kind of fun now to see all this happening in my garden. I just have no idea what type of plants these are. I am glad they came back though!

EZ-Digger

my 6x6 ft soil bed, equivalent surface area
as two 4x4 soil beds

I finally got into my new garden. When I moved into this house, there was already a 6x6 raised bed with soil in it. I don' t know if the previous owners used it for its potential, but I hope to use it to feed my household with some heirloom organic food. I conditioned the soil in there raised bed with about 80 lbs of organic compost from the Gardens of Babylon. Because I don't have compost of my own yet, I had to buy it. In the years past, at my old rental house, I had a compost pile of leaves and veggie waste that I used to plant, but this year, I had no compost. I have trusted Gardens of Babylon with all my organic gardening needs, and they have always come through with the right help.

Yesterday, I had spent time collecting my food seedlings, which are 4 different heirloom variety basil, organic thyme, organic rosemary, 2 heirloom organic peppers, 3 heirloom organic tomatoes, and my coming back organic oregano and spearmint. Then I conditioned the bed with the 80 lbs of compost and was using a spade shovel to dig in and stir the compost around in the existing soil which has a lot of clay like clumps. It was hard work, and I just don't like hard work when it comes to gardening. I am a lazy gardener.

Organic Company, the EZ-Digger

Then today, my friend came by and gave me a garden warming present - an EZ-Digger from The Organic Company. This tool is forged iron in Asia, and it is thought to be one of the oldest agriculture tools known to humans. This tool is ergonomically designed, so the swing does all the work, not your muscles. The spear like point can dig deep, the curved steel portion can easily dig a hole and the flat portion can move a lot of soil. It makes quick work of planting. I wish I had this tool yesterday while conditioning the bed. But today, I did use this tool to plant my tomato and pepper plants. It did make quick work of it all! I love my EZ-digger. It is the only gardening tool I need.

While my friend was dropping off the tool, she told me the story behind the tool. Last year, she visited a friend of hers who has a very large garden. Her friend has one of these EZ-Diggers, and this friend loved her EZ-Digger so much that she bought a 1/2 dozen to give to her friends who have gardens, of which my friend is one who gardens. So, my friend has been using the EZ-Digger for a few weeks now getting her spring garden together, and just loves it. She too bought a bunch of these EZ-Diggers to give to her friends who garden. Well, I immediately find the EZ-Digger so great, that I started looking on-line to figure out how I can buy a bunch and give them to my friends who garden.

This tool may be ancient, but why ruin an oldie but goodie. This is a great garden tool!