Homesteadchallenge Number 5: Obstacle While Homesteading
Obstacles On The Homestead
When I first read this post I started making a list.
What have been my obstacles while building and expanding my little homestead?
- Limited space allotment
- Spouse's lack of enthusiasm
- Finances
- Location
- Knowledge
- Auto-immune disease causing slow process
I mean, the list could go on and on... but I had to narrow it down to just one obstacle.
What To Eliminate & What To Keep
After eliminating some aspects that are future issues and since I decided to focus on the 'here and now' that I can control somewhat'
I have removed these:
- Finances- takes time for all expansion
- Auto-immune disease- not using this as a "crutch"
- Spouse's lack of enthusiasm- he'll come around eventually
- Knowledge- hey, that's what steemit, blogs and research is for
- Location- someday we will move to the best location for what I envision
So that left Limited Space Allotment. Now this is something I can control and do something about.
Limited Space Allotment
OK, so here we go.
We have about 1/4 of an acre of land. Now take away the house and shed; and the usable land for gardening and homesteading is cut down drastically.
I have very limited space to grow an actual garden. I don't have a traditional garden plot with rows of tomatoes or peppers or corn. I don't have a tilled area of space that I can harvest twenty sunflowers.
What I do have is a cognitive mind that can work miracles when needed. And boy, did I need them now.
Around our shed I have only enough space for about ten plants, so I have to be careful on what to plant where and next to whom.
In the front yard I have the old flower bed that I have transformed into my herb garden area. I also add in sunflowers, some greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula) and a spattering of flowers that have medicinal purposes.
My neighbor gave me a small container box (about 2ftx3ft) which I put in early growers or potatoes. This past year was potatoes. Next year I think it will be some of the greens; as I never seem to have enough this past summer to satisfy my salad needs.
I do have plans to add an additional container box (6ftx6ft) out my back door where the sun exposure is usually about 10 hours a day in the summer. So this is where I'll be putting in cucumbers, beans, some more greens and perhaps a pumpkin or two. I'll have to wait and see how the space is doing and determine it better then.
Greenhouse & Other Containers
I purchased a small greenhouse last spring (see picture above) for a place to put my seedlings in the transition from house to ground; but ended up using it a lot for extra herbs this summer. I have enough room I can add another one (maybe even a little bigger) for next summer. So I am saving my pennies and waiting. I'm sure my husband will roll his eyes at the thought of adding a second greenhouse, but hey, I can prove to him the need for it.
When he is eating a venison steak with homegrown baked Yukon Gold potatoes and a deluxe salad with greens from the garden, this is when I'll remind him of the need for a second greenhouse. He'll go for it!
Last summer I experimented with a few peppers in 3-gallon bucket containers and had some luck, so next year I will be adding more containers. I can move them to find the best sunlight exposure plus it'll free up the limited space I have around the shed for other things.
So next year, these are plants I'll be planting in the containers.
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Pole Beans
- Extra cucumbers
- Other beans (wax and kidney)
- Dwarf sunflowers
I'm sure I'll come up with a few more, but for now that is what I am thinking.
Containers Is The Way For Me To Expand For Now
I have seen so many members here on steemit who have had great success with container gardening and I am following in their proverbial gardening shoes.
All it takes is some planning, creativity and time. All of which I have.
See @kiaraantonoviche's full post here about the challenge, the rules and make sure to UPvote and resteem.
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Thank you for sharing - I think it's very important that people with small spaces start to realise the growing potential that those spaces have.
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Would you transfer the plants from the container to the ground ?
No I'd leave them in the containers. With such limited space I'll have to be creative
Okay
Awesome, you've been entered into the challenge! Thank you! P.S. the tag is #homesteadingchallenge but since I follow you, I found this in my feed :)
It sure is a challenge as I live in the suburbs as well, though we will be moving onto an acre in 3 years. At the moment I'm growing things up on trellises and in raised beds in our front garden as it's the only place that gets enough sun light. On our acre I'm getting the fruit trees in and the plants for birds and insects as the block is bare.