home buying with an eye to edible gardening

[Caittune]

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to edible gardening, but I'm so excited to learn. We are beginning a search for homes locally and I am obviously looking to start a garden. I haven't managed to talk dh into livestock at all so atm it will be gardening.

I want to supply our veggie needs n the summer and have some lleft over for preserving. We have a family of 4 - 2 adults a preschooler and an infant. I'm planning on square foot gardening. I'm trying to figure out my minimum size requirements. thinking tomatoes, potatoes, onions salad veggies, summer squash winter squash and a couple of fruit trees.

Does the orientation of the lot really matter or is it ok as long as it gets a good amount of sun? We live in BC and one of the homes I'm drooling over is right next to the watershed where there is a lot of old growth forest.

Most of the lots we are looking at are in the range of 6 to 8k square feet. Homes are ~2k.

[DirtRoadMama]

SFG calls for at least one square per person, two squares for a summer full of fresh veggies per person, and more squares if you want enough produce to store for the winter. Do you have the SFG book? It will tell you how many squares you need, and suggest different ways to lay it out. The neat thing about SFG is you don't need just one big place to plant in, you can have boxes in different areas around your property, if that will suit your needs best.

Orientation of the lot doesn't matter. What matters is the orientation of the squares to the sun. You want your tallest plants to the north, with your "sun hogs" to the south. If you want to extend your spring crop planting (like lettuce and carrots), try planting those in between squares of taller plants.

Other than that, it doesn't seem to matter in east to west direction, as the main shade consideration is north-to-south.

[Owen'nZoe]

Fun! How much space you need will also depend on your climate and soil fertility, and how many veggies your family eats.

I have about 100 sf of sfg beds, and maybe 200 sf of tomatoes and perennial veggies mixed in to my flower beds. We usually have enough veggies for at most 3 days a week.

As far as orientation of the lot goes, I'd be looking for something with a lot of southern exposure - so it would be best if the trees and buildings were on the north side of the lot and the south side was pretty clear. Pay attention to hills, because they can affect the microclimate of the yard.

[JessicaS]

I would look at how much sun the yard gets.

I would also look at the soil. I use raised boxes because I have horrible clay soil. If I had nice dirt I probably would not have used raised boxes.

[lmonter]

Go find some books by John Jeavons. I know at least one of them has possible layouts of food gardening by season (heh, he's from California, we don't have the option of more than one growing season up north), for how many people, for various sized lots. He's got big ole grids and everything.

Not sure how the big trees will get you... my neighborhood has a ton of trees, but not right up on my lot. My house is south facing, so my backyard is in a pretty good location. Just go see what the sun pattern is at the houses you're eying. If you can swing it, just photos in the morning, at noontime and in the evening can give you a good idea of what's what.

[limette]

If I was buying again I would go bigger, 9000 sq ft just isn't enough for me and get flat lot. This one has a hill and it's a pain in the but to garden on and the whole process of getting from the front down to the back and down again to the flat of the yard.

Also make sure the soil is decent like a pp said. Full sun, orientation doesn't matter.

I also wouldn't want trees right next to my property. Close but not so close as to drop seedlings all over my yard (I have maples).

I'd love to move to B.C but houses there are so out of our budget.

[root*children]

From a permaculture point of view, you want your gardens on the lowest part of your property (for water), so that's of course not *essential*, but if you get to choose the property in the first place, it's definitely something to keep in mind. You also don't want trees right near the drive way or sidewalk, (rotten fruit is not really fun on your windshield or shoes )

If your town allows city livestock, check the zoning ordinances, and perhaps be looking for property that would allow for animals, and then in the future, if DH comes around it would be an option.

love
Julie
http://root-children.blogspot.com

[mattemma04]

2 issues I have had with my lots are:

1.Flooding. Water comes across the yard from neighboring lots.I have been able to guide most of it with a 80 foot long trench.I have to create raised beds to decrease root rot.Ofcourse the water does come in handy since I have less to water,but to much is never good.

2.The shade and tree roots from neighbors trees. These affect the amount of sun,and create a fight for nutrients/water in the soil.

Have fun!

If we ever sell I HAVE to find people who want an edible yard. Most do not appreciate this type of yard,but I could not imagine it any other way.

[Caittune]

Thanks for all the great info. I don't have the sfg book yet. I was trying to decide if I needed to buy it yet. I am not sure we could afford to go too much bigger on property. It is already frighteningly expensive.

So I should be looking for an open lot. The houses we are looking at are mostly in the range of 20 to 30 years old and a lot have trees of the same age. Once we narrow down our search, I'll see if I can get pictures or info on how much sun the back yard gets.

My MIL is insisting that it is not cost effective to grow my own veggies. She cites the idea that they plant 2 million (exagerated of course) lettuces in the spring and *gasp* they all are ready for harvest at once. I suggested that maybe they cold stagger their planting, but she kinda looked at me like I had two heads.

I'm so excited. Now I just need our townhouse to sell so I can get on with this. (been on the market for 3 days so I guess I have to be patient)

we looked at a home that had grapes app;es and pears already established but nfortnately for the price it needed a lot of updating and the kitchen wasn`t really condusive to homemaking.

[stephienoodle]

Originally Posted by lmonter

Go find some books by John Jeavons.

I'm hoping to do the same thing that you are - I've found the John Jeavons books much more helpful than SFG.