People are always asking me what I am growing in my yard.  When they hear how much is growing they think I have a huge yard however, my lot is a bit over 1/4 of an acre and it has a house and driveway sitting on it.

My goal is to have a sustainable, garden orchard culture yard some day that will take little time to weed and take care of.  I have been working on this for about 4 years now and I have tried grow buckets, raised beds and hay bale gardening.  Each of these have pros and cons.

Last year was the best spring garden season I have had and I planted most of the plants in hay bales.  This year “not so much”  however, we went from very cold to very hot so I am hoping I might have a better fall crop.

In the self watering grow buckets the best crops have been herbs, carrots, garlic and ginger.

In my raised beds I have grown carrots, beets, strawberries, celery, tomatoes, peppers, parsley and onions.

Tomatoes have done the best in my hay bales.  When I have planted them in the raised beds or grow buckets I have always ended up with nematodes.  I also have grown basil, parsley, watermelon, Seminole pumpkin, corn, green beans, peas, zucchini, peppers and cucumbers with great success.

What is your favorite way to grow plants in your garden?