Anybody else into gardening ?

The wife and I do 1/8 acre garden every year to feed the 5 kids.

We do green and yellow beans, peas,
carrots, celery, tomatoes, peppers, onions, sweet corn, cucumbers and potatoes. Spices such as basil etc the wife grows in pots. (I don't deal with those) This year the wife is attempting watermelon and muskmelon. I have never had any luck with those.
Last year we canned 600lbs of Roma tomatoes. During Christmas holidays we turned most of those tomatoes into spaghetti sauce or salsa and used all the produce from the garden. Buying vegetables around here is almost a sin.

We do buy in bulk broccoli and cauliflower from a local grower.

A local restaurant produce supplier had bananas going bad so we bought 80lbs and processed them and froze them so the wife could make banana bread in the future.

Wife seems to like canning peaches, pears and strawberries.


We do most of the canning together and usually have fun doing it. I buy her gadgets like a vacuum chamber sealer, industrial meat slicer and other gadgets to process veggies quicker.

The satisfaction is priceless when we have friends come for supper and we mention everything came from our garden.


Plus we have the family farm so spring can be very chaotic around here.