Hey everyone. I'd like to start a thread for those of us who secretly wish to live like the "Good Neighbors" and plow up our yards and live off the grid. (HOA people, cover your eyes).
I love my garden, and I'm also interested in purchasing a little more property to start beekeeping and keeping chickens.
I've also been seeking good sources for wholesale honey within driving range of Northern VA. I would prefer honey made with interesting local single sources (such as goldenrod or another flower or vegetable), or else good prices on bulk honey from Florida (Tupelo, Orange Blossom). I've found some delicious wildflower honey from a Bealeton producer at farm markets; FYI, there's a great source here if you're interested in beekeeping in Northern Virginia.
Hey everyone. I'd like to start a thread for those of us who secretly wish to live like the "Good Neighbors" and plow up our yards and live off the grid. (HOA people, cover your eyes).
I love my garden, and I'm also interested in purchasing a little more property to start beekeeping and keeping chickens.
I've also been seeking good sources for wholesale honey within driving range of Northern VA. I would prefer honey made with interesting local single sources (such as goldenrod or another flower or vegetable), or else good prices on bulk honey from Florida (Tupelo, Orange Blossom). I've found some delicious wildflower honey from a Bealeton producer at farm markets; FYI, there's a great source here if you're interested in beekeeping in Northern Virginia.
copy that. we've lived in norva for six years and i have had reasonable gardening success each growing season. i live in a townhouse, but it's and end unit and the side yard is enclosed and enjoys southern exposure. breaking ground was very labor intensive, as there was negligible soil topping off the clay which is rife with human skull-sized rocks. once dug out and filled with good soil and treatment, these beds have grown everything from serrano peppers to sunflowers.
VA is a great place to farm and as psyence mentioned, the Virginia clay requires some grooming to be workable. Although I don't grow on a small scale (1200 acres) I may be able to give some insight and helpful hints! We grow pumpkins, flowers, corn, wheat, soybeans and other things, and am a VA licensed fertilizer and pesticide applicator. Good luck this upcoming spring!
My wife wants to get a good garder going at our house. Our problem is we live on Blue Mountain in Linden, VA. We have a lot of clay and rock. not a very flat yard and trees all around us. We don't really have one place in our yard that gets a lot of sun during the day. Any ideas for more success? I'm told getting soil samples sent to Virginia Tech could help us figure out what to do with the "soil". Any food grow in minimal sunlight?
Sounds like your on the right track w/ sending the soil samples to VT.
I would leverage the local farmers in your area as their should be plenty.
We're blessed to have our home on former farm land in the middle of Herndon believe it for not. Some Compro and good plantings yield amazing results. My neighbor could feed a squad of Marines ever summer w/ his garden.
OK folks. Step 1. Check your county's definition of your particular zone. I've recently gone through this with someone who can't understand why they cannot own 4 hens on 5 acres zoned R-1.
In my county, a vegetable garden is not listed under acceptable uses for an R-1 zone (horses are addressed, oddly enough).
That being said, I have never heard of the county telling anyone to stop gardening.
We grow a rather large garden each year. Last year wasn't so good.For those of you with little space, but at least 6hrs of sunlight each day, You mighr want to try Squarefoot gardening. Look for a book by Mel Bartholomew. Even if you have beeb gardening for years,it is a good reference. Lots of tables of when to start plants,soil mixtures. I have gardened all my life and alot more life behind than ahead,you will find after setup this will produce a lot of food on little space. Did i mention wasy weeding?? Thanks for reading my ramblings
Aaron
My grandfather always has a small set of planters in his backyard. He grows tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and...squash maybe? Not 100% on that one.
My dad put down two apple trees, a cherry tree, and a pear tree about a year or two before I was born. They grew quick and I always remember picking & peeling apples. Only bad part is that the fallen apples attract bees, and I hated picking up the dead apples off the ground. It was fun because we also played green apple baseball with friends when I was a kid. Fun times!
So, growing fruit trees might not be a bad idea if the soil is pretty tough in your area, we have Chantilly Clay out where I am...and the trees seem to do pretty darn well in it!
We have a small fenced vegetable garden on our front yard, about 10' x 30'. It was put there by the previous owners and was one of the reasons why we wanted to buy the house. It faces the south, so there's plenty of sunlight throughout the seasons. Last year we planted Asian cucumbers, long beans on a trellis, and corn surrounded by sunflowers (to attract the aphids). We live in an area w/o an HOA, but still had some hate mail from an anonymous neighbor about the garden being in plain site. I think the corn and sunflowers really got some attention. I'll probably plant corn again this year.
As to the OP, I'd also be interested in local honey sources. Read somewhere it might help with spring allergies.
I'll probably plant corn again this year. 
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