How does your garden grow?

Question

This is not a trick question.

Answer 1

very well thank you...
THE LOCATION: Saintsbury Line, Lucan, Ontario.  A road which is losing its rural charm as agriculture becomes increasingly industrialized and farmscapes imitate a suburban aesthetic.  Hardiness zone is on the borderline of 5b/6a.  Gardens were grassland for the past quarter century and were probably mostly pasture before that.  
THE SOIL:  Clay.  Heavy clay.  Beautiful and crumbly when it’s moist, “plastic” when it’s wet and rock hard when it’s dry.  Amended with horse and rabbit manures, leaves from London, home grown grass clippings and a few cover crops.  Roto-tilled more than I would like.  I am starting to till only along the rows where I need a seedbed, as opposed to working the entire garden.  
THE METHOD:  Usually using hilled beds made with the tiller.  Minimal irrigation as the soil holds moisture well and the well is shallow.  Landscape fabric mulch to help control weeds in-between the rows.  Earthway seeder for seeds and transplants are placed in trenches made by the tiller.  I just bought a 20’x75’ greenhouse in which I intend to grow early heirloom tomatoes.  The garden is an ongoing experiment with loose controls.  Everything is grown using a rough interpretation of ‘organic.’  This means no pesticides or fertilizer.  However, I’m not about to turn down horse manure because the animal may have been fed uncertified hay.  Much assistance is provided by family members.
THE CROPS:  Lots of tomatoes and potatoes, many of which are heirloom cultivars.  I planted 2500 garlic cloves this fall.  Beans, peas, carrots, beets, onions, squash, melons, salads, peppers, eggplant, herbs...     
THE MARKET:  Every Friday at the Masonville Farmers Market in London.  Usually I don’t get set up there until August as most of my crops are late maturing (this is a problem...).    
THE EXPERIENCE  Never quite sure if this is something I should pursue whole-heartedly or maintain as a semi-hobby to provide myself and family with vegetables worthy of being eaten.  Trying to garden for market is obviously a ton of work and who knows whether the demand for local/organic food is just a passing trend?

Comments

Cool rundown! You are already pursuing it whole-heartedly - it's all just a matter of degree. :)

Answer 2

Location: Downtown Barrie

Soil:
Heavily amended with lots of municipal compost, locally sourced sheep and horse manure, really locally sourced pigeon manure and lots of leaves!

Our soil is basically sand so it prefers the sponginess of the litters but I am looking forward to the leaf mould we will have for water retention in the next year or so.

This years goal is to get a good rainbarrel system going. We had 2 last year but they didn't cut it especially during the drought-like conditions in July.

Method: Hand tools- Spade, hoe, rake.

Crops: Spring - greens, peas, early potatoes, herbs, onions, flowers. Summer - carrots, beans, amaranth greens, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, herbs, flowers. Fall - onions, greens, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes (trying out this first year), herbs, dried flowers - maybe strawberry popcorn.

Market: Barrie Farmer's Market - going to try a Facebook farmstand.

I want this to be a strong secondary income and am looking to relocate to Peterborough (worried local market is saturated?) or Gravenhurst/Bracebridge since Barrie is getting overly large for my comfort.