Gardeners, what can i easily grow a lot of to feed/gutload

JacksJill said:
Did anyone try this? Aside from ground hogs was it successful?
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I did, and mostly failed - for multiple reasons. First and foremost was that I got subpar soil for my raised beds - it ended up being mostly clay and got super compacted. Second this was my first BIG garden, so lots of lessons learned.

My squash got vine borers, which killed off all the squash plants. I did get one single spaghetti squash though. I leanred how to protect against them next year.

The green beans grew very well and were super easy - def planting a ton of them next year. Snap peas, too.

My bell peppers were all very small. The ancho peppers did really welp though.

Carrots were a total flop and waste of space. Same with onions. Too much real estate used and they grew very little over 3 months.

Gopher ate my sweet potato vines every time they grew a leaf... yet they still produced some sweet potatoes!

Nasturtium and hibiscus did well and are easy and edible.

Lettuces were the most successful and easiest - but they bolt in the heat. Since the grasshoppers ate way more salad then I did this summer - I let it continue to grow after bolting and had plenty of food for them all summer.

My bramble bushes arent established enough to take cuttings from and the birds always beat me to it.


I would definitely do lettuces (you can do a late harvest for fall, too, or grow indoors). Green beans, too. Squash is super easy, just have to keep watching for the pests. I had TONS of squash developing before the borers killed the vine. Peppers should have neen easier but its prob my soil + fertilizer that caused them to fail.
 
snitz427 said:
I did, and mostly failed - for multiple reasons. First and foremost was that I got subpar soil for my raised beds - it ended up being mostly clay and got super compacted. Second this was my first BIG garden, so lots of lessons learned.

My squash got vine borers, which killed off all the squash plants. I did get one single spaghetti squash though. I leanred how to protect against them next year.

The green beans grew very well and were super easy - def planting a ton of them next year. Snap peas, too.

My bell peppers were all very small. The ancho peppers did really welp though.

Carrots were a total flop and waste of space. Same with onions. Too much real estate used and they grew very little over 3 months.

Gopher ate my sweet potato vines every time they grew a leaf... yet they still produced some sweet potatoes!

Nasturtium and hibiscus did well and are easy and edible.

Lettuces were the most successful and easiest - but they bolt in the heat. Since the grasshoppers ate way more salad then I did this summer - I let it continue to grow after bolting and had plenty of food for them all summer.

My bramble bushes arent established enough to take cuttings from and the birds always beat me to it.


I would definitely do lettuces (you can do a late harvest for fall, too, or grow indoors). Green beans, too. Squash is super easy, just have to keep watching for the pests. I had TONS of squash developing before the borers killed the vine. Peppers should have neen easier but its prob my soil + fertilizer that caused them to fail.
Click to expand...

Nice! I don't know much about nasturtium, is the entire thing edible? Also, which hibiscus do you have? I have large ones in my yard, but I've read some species are toxic(to dogs/cats at least).
 
jamest0o0 said:
Nice! I don't know much about nasturtium, is the entire thing edible? Also, which hibiscus do you have? I have large ones in my yard, but I've read some species are toxic(to dogs/cats at least).
Click to expand...

I am not certain on nasturtium - the flowers are def edible and used in cooking. I have run-of-the-mill tropical hibiscus, not the dinner plate or hardy varieties. The flowers terrify Clarice but the bugs love them.
 
@jamest0o0 said..." I was thinking of just being a crazy person and planting dandelion lol. They are very nutritious and easy!" ...I planted dandelions in pots and to keep them from spreading to the neighbors yards and having them mad at me, I fed the flowers to the uromastyx so they wouldn't go to seed and used the greens in my feed for the insects. It worked well.
 
jamest0o0 said:
So my new house came with a nice, fenced in garden. I haven't done much gardening in my life. Is there a green/vegetable/fruit/etc that I can easily plant, that will efficiently produce a lot of food for feeder colonies? For example, I buy huge bags of organic carrots as my water source for feeder colonies. They're cheap and have the been the best method so far. I don't want to grow carrots, but something that will fill a similar role. I add a lot of varied foods for gutload that I mix up, but I just want a simple staple from my garden.

Right now I'm planting a grape vine(for the leaves), black berry, raspberry, and rose bushes(for the stick bugs). I have a white mulberry tree I'm afraid to plant, not sure if it would survive our winters and it has been doing well in the pot. I like to use their leaves in my gutload. I also have oak in the woods(for stick bugs) and maple(some roaches will eat these).

Also, how do you guys wash stuff from the garden? I've seen slugs all over the place and I know they can carry lungworm, among other things.

Hell, I was thinking of just being a crazy person and planting dandelion lol. They are very nutritious and easy!
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First, Morus Alba is like USDA zone 4 hardy (it’ll easily take -25f). Unless you moved, it’ll be fine outside (but it’s invasive as heck, so carful).
Some of the high calcium herbs might be in order, alfalfa. And I’d absolutely order dandelion seeds (collecting wild seeds will give you the stunted ugly plants that invade lawns, but you can order seeds that produce the varieties that give those big calcium rich leaves). And after you harvest your summer crops, you can plant kale and collards in the late summer as they are “frost greens”
 
This is easy to grow and I use it in gut load but I doubt many people have the climate for it, papaya. I was inspired by this thread and another on the possible anti-parasitic qualities its seeds may have.
image0.jpeg
 
JacksJill said:
This is easy to grow and I use it in gut load but I doubt many people have the climate for it, papaya. I was inspired by this thread and another on the possible anti-parasitic qualities its seeds may have.
View attachment 280163
Click to expand...

I would love to grow papaya! I'd need to do it indoors though. Wow, I remember making that thread about their seeds being anti parasitic, can see you took it to heart lol.
 
These are going to be higher than the roof. I planted them last year I think. I have't gotten any with seeds to test them. I hope these aren't seedless.
JoXie411 said:
I’ve always fought with my mom that papaya tastes like vomit
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You aren't entirely wrong. I have to put a lot of lime on them to get them down. I believe it is the enzymes you are tasting. However the dubia love them even without lime.
 
Kaizen said:
First, Morus Alba is like USDA zone 4 hardy (it’ll easily take -25f). Unless you moved, it’ll be fine outside (but it’s invasive as heck, so carful).
Some of the high calcium herbs might be in order, alfalfa. And I’d absolutely order dandelion seeds (collecting wild seeds will give you the stunted ugly plants that invade lawns, but you can order seeds that produce the varieties that give those big calcium rich leaves). And after you harvest your summer crops, you can plant kale and collards in the late summer as they are “frost greens”
Click to expand...

Thought I heard that about Morus alba. I plan on planting that and my chicago hardy fig next spring. Going to look into herbs and alfalfa too. I actually have some giant wild dandelion growing in my garden lol, they're as big as the store bought. Growing kale and collard later on is a great idea too, maybe alongside some squash/pumpkin. Side note, I love the colors of purple kale
 
I have this thread bookmarked for the future. My gardening is on hold for now, but I do want to grow something on my kitchen windowsill... thinking watercress and maybe parsley? Any other good ideas?

@JacksJill any idea if a papaya tree would thrive indoors?
 
jamest0o0 said:
I have this thread bookmarked for the future. My gardening is on hold for now, but I do want to grow something on my kitchen windowsill... thinking watercress and maybe parsley? Any other good ideas?

@JacksJill any idea if a papaya tree would thrive indoors?
Click to expand...
I think basil, and cilantro are decent ca/p
 
I know there are two varieties Mexican, like I have that is very tall and tolerates cooler temperatures and the Hawaiian variety that is smaller and more tropical. It would take a lot of light but who knows the indoor growing industry has made some serious advances in grow lighting. Overall I bet it's cheaper to buy them at the market. It is a lovely plant either way.
 
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