Belated hello
 

Hi,
I had registered previously but did not introduce myself. I learned of this site through the Ecomodder site, which I visit each day. Today I got a nudge that I was being missed here.
I'm a senior citizen planning to return to small-scale gardening this year. My wife and I did this 30 years ago when she wanted to grow lemon cucumbers to use in making sandwiches. 35 cents worth of seeds gave us over 300 pounds of cucumbers and we took the surplus to the local farmer's market. We eventually turned to other interests and did not continue vegetable gardening after a couple of years.
Last year I grew some tomatoes in half-barrels; this year I plan to convert about 300 square feet of lawn to a garden. Though there are those who are able to save money this way (and that's fine) the big advantage to me is to be able to have freshness and flavor. Even the Dollar Store seeds I bought last year, 6 packets for a dollar gave me tomatoes with great flavor. Stores cannot match this.
My big chore will be to dig out the crabgrass. The tiller I have is not very powerful and I reckon I'll need to do a lot of digging by hand.
Ray Mac in Northern California

Welcome to the site Ray. I'm anxious to see what you'll say and do with gardening. I'll admit I'm not very knowledgeable in this area.

Welcome aboard! What do you do to preserve food for use throughout the year?

Thanks.
I won't be preserving any food, that's beyond my skill level. There are other seniors I'll give veggies to if I have any extra.
I'll start off with summer crops and if successful will get into some winter crops--the Norcal climate allows that since we rarely get below freezing where I am located.
In the larger scheme of things, while I'm a native Californian I'm dismayed at how the state is self-destructing. In addition the drought will have an effect on food availability elsewhere in the country. This makes small-scale food growing all the more important not only here but elsewhere.
Years ago, Organic Gardening magazine pushed the Cornucopia Project, advocating small-scale growing in all states to reduce dependence on California, reduce transportation costs, etc., but not much came of it.
Sorry, didn't mean to go on a rant here, but I tend to look at the worst scenario.
Ray Mac.