Thinking outloud...ideas?

16 years ago

Hello, I'm 19 yrs old and live in NE IA. I'm in a wheelchair and am wanting to start a market garden. I have had small veggie gardens in the past. Usually I plant one every couple years. Why I don't plant one every year, I don't know. lol kinda odd?!?

For the last couple years I've always wanted to raise produce and sell it. This year I'd like to make it happen. I have several things on my side to help my venture...

1. A vacant patch of land. Not real big, but I wanna start small...Then grow.

2. My family has a nursery, so I have plants available.

3. My family has a shop, so I have an outlet to sell.

Now you're thinking "haha right he's in a wheelchair forget." Yes, I am but I don't see why I can't do it. I have a neighbor with a HUGE garden, and has a little tractor w/ a plow, disc, spring tooth, etc that has tilled the garden for me before. I have friends/family to help me plant. I'm kind of a independent person and like doing things myself though. In previous years I've planted the garden rows far enough apart to fit my chair between them, then I can drag the push more down and mow the weeds. Where I can drive, but this blows the grass in the beds. Promoting weed growth GRRR! So my problem is controlling the weeds. I have little upper body strength so hoeing wont work. So how can I get rid of the weeds?

1. I've seen plastic in rows and plants growing in it through holes.

2. I've thought of using a mobile chicken coop between rows so the eat the weeds, but the weeds still grow in the plants. We also have an abundance of coons that could eat the chickens and batch that idea.

Whats your advice on weed control? I don't mind mowing, but hate the fact it reseeds in the plants. Would a reel mower work?

Any other advice would be appreciated!

Comments (5)

trianglejohn
16 years ago
I think there is a way a person could rig up narrow raised beds so that weeding and harvesting could be done but you would have to tweak it a bit to fine tune it to your limits. The hardest part would be determining which crop to grow - which one will make the most money (for me this changes every year) and be the most fun for you to grow.

You can get a lot of crop out of a limited space if you use well worked soil, weed blocking mulch (I use landscape fabric) and rotate your crops a lot.
rickyoung60
16 years ago
I would agree with trianglejohn and use raised beds and or landscape fabric there is also a weed block fabric you should be ble to get at your local garden center. I have heard of growing in straw bales but dont know much about it but that might work for you also. I hope you have a great growing season keep us up dated on how everything is going
Take a look at the link

Here is a link that might be useful: Straw Bales
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thelwig55
16 years ago
Maybe think on the line of perennial flowers, they can all be pot grown and during the growing season up on benches. Use pre eminent weed control in each pot while potting the cut down on weeds. I belong to a private board and there are several people that are working nurseries in a wheel chair.
herbgal21
16 years ago
Have you thought about the possibilities of "tire gardening?" I'm about to try it for the first time this year simply cause my old back can't take the bending anymore! I've done some research and have been emailing a few folks that love it, especially for potatoes. I have found plenty of free tires, so the only cost will be the soil to fill them. One of the ladies that emails me suggested using sawdust with the soil and compost.

I'm excited and looking forward to trying it this year. Here are a few websites that I found.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/enri/gardening.htm
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/potato.html
http://www.tirecrafting.com/03gardengrow/03gardengrow.htm
joytosew
16 years ago
Hello,
I am working on square foot gardening for the first time this year.
It would be very easy for you to accomplish I believe and you can get Mel's book at your local library. His website is squarefootgardening.com There is also a forum right here on gardenweb all about square foot gardening.

One reason I think this will work good for you, is that Mel suggests that when you build your garden box that you also make a bottom in it. Then you can place cement blocks under them to the hight that you need. You can also build them to the width in which you can reach across without having to really stretch to reach the center.
In the book he talks about the large variety of vegetables you can grow in the beds.
Just think when he talks about trellising up you can trellis downward =)
Being in a wheelchair has nothing to do with gardening, sorry that ship just doesn't work as a negative here! Wow, your family has a nursery, I am soooo drewling over that!

Please keep us posted on how you do =)
cristi