How about swiss chard instead of lettuce (or spinach)? That stuff is hardy as hell--we had leaves coming up clear until the snow fell, and it lasts quite a long time, kept in a cool place (like your cold room!). Hell, you could freeze it, too! We have 2 beds at home and one at a local community garden, and we feed 6 people quite nicely from those, plus shopping farmer's market in season. This year was our first experiment with mass freezing: we found that corn isn't a good use of our limited space, but we bought a scad cheap and froze it in the seal-a-meal type bags (we've had the stupid machine for years--a gift from my mom--but never used it until this summer). Our green beans went nuts, too, so we froze those, too. We got all of the stuff for canning, but I'm still skittish--I've never done that before. Have you looked into urban foraging? We get raspberries from around a local pond (city owned, and they don't care if people pick the fruit), and apricots and pears from trees on a lot that has been abandoned for years. I've heard of other places around here, too. One thing I need to set my mind on is doing something with our grapes and plums. They are both delicious, but we grow WAY more than we can eat fresh, and the leftovers just go to waste.
No grocery shopping all winter!
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Never heard of urban foraging but will look into it. Can you make some plum jam???? Do you exchange with your neighbours if you have too much produce? We do that all the time. I just may grow some spinach....I like it very much.
Hi staropeace, When I hear 'urban foraging' I think 'dumpster diving'. It's always good to know when Safeway throws out the wilted out of date stuff.
This is extremely smart! Makes me wish that I had enough land for more than a small garden. Not only is this family saving money, they are eating clean and healthy without ingesting all those lovely chemicals and dyes. ( I have eliminated most of those in our house, with the exception of my husband and coke zero/diet pepsi)
My grandfather was from the “old country.” He taught me from the time I was little on how to graft fruit trees. You can do it as a fun project with your neighbor’s apple tree and increase the variety of different fruits from one established tree. You can graft cherries and plums onto an apple tree, and I have had success grafting pears onto apple trees (although they aren’t as compatible). I’ve also grafted nectarines onto peach trees. It’s a fun project, especially when you have success when the grafts take. You can get the appropriate grafting supplies from a garden center, which will increase your chances (I was taught the old wold way with mud, wax and strips of bed sheets). And while at the garden center stroll over to the fruit trees for sale and ‘accidentally’ (cough) snip off some twigs. There are good how-to grafting instructions on the internet. And do your homework as to the fruit varieties that are best for grafting. Do a number of grafts, as it has been my experience that only about 1 out of 5 grafts seem to take. I’d also recommend to repeat the grafting process every so many years as it has been my experience that grafts only last and produce fruit for a few years.
I love spinach, but the bugs around here love it, too--lol. Chard tastes much the same, but is hardier and the bugs leave it pretty much alone.
I'm going to look into an exchange this summer. Not neighbors--only one speaks to us because we are the 'wrong' religion--but local friends. I've just gotten involved with an urban homesteading group, and I hope that might be the venue for exchange
Good lord, no! I have heard of people who do that, but I'm nowhere near brave enough. I know there are a couple of sites where people can list what they don't care if others harvest, but I'm not sure if they're cross-border to CAN. I'm going to check.Hi staropeace, When I hear 'urban foraging' I think 'dumpster diving'. It's always good to know when Safeway throws out the wilted out of date stuff.
'Urban harvesting' is probably a better term--lol. Falling fruit.org is worldwide, so you can check what is near your address. Anything that overhangs a public walkway is fair game (in the US), but I usually ask if the main plant is on private property and the fruit is going to waste. Seems more polite to me
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This is such great advice! I'd like to have more fruit trees. Our plums go crazy, but that's all we have. We had a peach tree, but it was old when we bought the house 22 years ago and finally died a few years ago. I'd like to have peaches again, and cherries, and apples. Trying to convince BH that it's a good use of backyard.
I remember last year going to Fallingfruit.org which listed places on a map and addresses that you can forage for fruit and vegetables on your own, for free, and listed the type. But the two location nearest me at the time were dumpsters outside of restaurants. 
Since then I think fallingfruit has cleaned up their act.
Falling Fruit
Edmonton Canada has lots of places.
(never did find the elusive Blue Raspberry though.)
Since then I think fallingfruit has cleaned up their act. Falling Fruit
Edmonton Canada has lots of places.
(never did find the elusive Blue Raspberry though.
)
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I remember last year going to Fallingfruit.org which listed places on a map and addresses that you can forage for fruit and vegetables on your own, for free, and listed the type. But the two location nearest me at the time were dumpsters outside of restaurants.
Falling Fruit
Edmonton Canada has lots of places.
(never did find the elusive Blue Raspberry though.
I think I have the only one......
You do know you'll never live that down.
Yes, it has become my curse.You do know you'll never live that down.
You can graft apples and cherries onto your plum tree, and I would try pears and peaches also. Early spring is the time to try. But if you get caught pinching fruit cuttings from the garden center, don’t implicate me.
You can even buy fruit trees online pre-grafted, but it might be a couple of years before they produced fruit.
Fruit Salad Tree Company | Stone Fruit
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All of this sounds like a lot of work......think I'll just go to Hannaford.
Deal! And I'll even throw some red beets into the mix. They're the devil's gallstones anyway.
....wear that skimpy purple outfit I like so well, and come whisper in me ear maid.....
COOL! I might try that this spring--nothing to lose, right?You can graft apples and cherries onto your plum tree, and I would try pears and peaches also. Early spring is the time to try. But if you get caught pinching fruit cuttings from the garden center, don’t implicate me.
You can even buy fruit trees online pre-grafted, but it might be a couple of years before they produced fruit.
Fruit Salad Tree Company | Stone Fruit
Thank you. What a fantastic use of space. I keep telling my husband that we need to grow more in our patio containers!