Well, it depends what you mean by productive, but for me, I had the goal of growing almost all of the fruits and vegetables my family could eat when we moved into our house in July of 2013. Actually, 80% was the arbitrary number I had written in my notes. So “productive” for me means fulfilling that 80% goal. This year, year four, is the first year that our yard is productive in this way.
It’s a dream come true, to be frank. I had long imagined the pleasure of being able to walk out the front door and pick an abundance of snacks or ingredients for a meal. But why did it take so long?
For one, we started with a blank slate. The yard’s ground was bare when we moved in, save a few weeds here and there. And it’s not like it has taken four years to get anything from the yard. Immediately upon moving in I planted vegetables by the front door, which we ate that first summer.
Tomatoes, squash, and watermelon in our first summer.
But it takes time to expand a garden when you’re doing everything yourself, doing it on a limited budget, have to also work, and have small children to take care of on the days that your wife works. Not complaining! I’m a darn lucky fellow, I know. Just explaining.
In addition, I was getting used to the climate. I grew up in Southern California, but to consistently get quality vegetables that your family is excited to eat, you have to really know the particular weather patterns of your exact spot on the planet in order to make sowings and plantings at the right times and in the right arrangements. It took me a few seasons to get tuned in.
In our first winter, I laid out the vegetable beds that I still use today. I simply added compost to the bare dirt surface and spread wood chips to make paths between the beds.
And here is how the beds look today, from the top:
And from the bottom:
We have had no need to buy vegetables at the store this year, though that’s not to say that we haven’t bought any. Just the other day, we bought some celery because the celery in the garden wasn’t quite ready. But that 80% goal is being met.
What about the fruits? It usually takes a couple years for a fruit tree to begin producing, so it has been a necessary waiting game. Even though we planted an apricot that first winter, we didn’t eat apricots until our third summer.
The area where I now have many deciduous fruit trees.
The deciduous fruit tree area, looking down toward the fence, which is now covered with grape vines. The apricot tree is hidden behind the pluot tree on the left.
And even though we planted five avocado trees that first summer, it is only this year that we no longer need to buy any avocados at the grocery store.
Reed and Lamb avocado trees, year one.
Reed and Lamb avocado trees, year four. Combined, they carried 63 avocados this year.
So it has taken four years for me and my yard to become truly productive, consistent and abundant. And it feels awesome to be feeding my family, as rewarding as I’d hoped it would feel. Bringing home a paycheck is crucial, but there is also something more primitively satisfying about creating food and laying it before the people you love most, finally.
Miles just wants the grapes to keep coming.
Lucky kids. Keep at it. What’s the goal now??
Thanks, Jeff.
I want to maintain productivity while putting less time and work and money into the yard. In essence, I want to garden smarter. I want to use my brain more than my back, so that when I’m near my grandma’s age I can still eat great food from the yard even though I won’t have the energy and strength that I do now.
From the beginning, I’ve made decisions about our house and yard with a priority for the long term in mind. So, for example, I’ve chosen to never dig my soil so that it can maintain and improve in structure, I’ve never added chemical fertilizers but rather compost and occasionally manure so that the microbial life in the soil proliferates, I have added lots of wood chips under trees so that the water-holding capacity of the soil there increases over time, we have invested in tanks to capture and distribute the winter rains that fall on our roof, I’ve strategically planted trees and vines that shade our house in the summer so that we have less need for air conditioning, and except for our food plants the rest of the yard is vegetated with plants that are native to our area so that they require no irrigation or maintenance.