What to do with a small patch of ground

D

Doug - Iowa

Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

The inlaws are getting up in years but still able to stay at home. They always had a large garden but can't now, so we want to come up with something to use the ground for. It's maybe 1 to 1.5 acres, something that won't take a lot of work like a garden but still give them something to watch grow. And of course have some use for. I thought to plant it all to sweet corn but you can only give away so much. Any ideas?

 

R

rrlund

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

I heard just the other day,something about the most profitable legal crop you can grow per acre. Seems like they said it was strawberries.

 

G

Greg K

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Bird feeders and wildflowers/clover. They will ahve the animals to watch and have to feed the birds every day to give them something to do. that or melons seem to be pretty ealsy.

 

Ellis Kinney

Well-known Member

Location

Northern Ky. 30 miles Southeast of Cincinnati

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

I would buy them a few blueberry bushes. They need to be pruned occasionally and mowed around from time to time. I have 15. Ellis

 

G

Greg K

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

More profitable than Medicinal Marijuana?

 

S

Spook

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

My dad and grandad raised strawberries until the 1960's. A lot of hard stoop labor.

 

J

JRSutton

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

I second the blueberry bush idea.

Might even consider some fruit trees too.

Not sure where you are, but a place like Miller nurseries in NY is a good place to look. They've got a good catalog.

Reasonably priced three year old blueberry bushes, etc.

 

H

Hay hay hay

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

A couple dozen fruit trees darn near killed a retired friend of mine. Spraying pruning picking hauling.

Clover and bird houses is a neat idea with a nice herb patch and a small raised bed garden to reduce stooping.

 

A

aFORDable

Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

rrlund, don't know about strawberries around here but tobacco will net $4000-$5000 an acre on a good crop and good means from greenhouse to market including proper curing. Lots of labor though and I'm sure not an option in Iowa.

 

D

donjr

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Neighbor has a couple of acres of blueberrie bushes. Every year they have all kinds of folks come in to 'pick their own fresh blueberries'. It's actually a pretty brisk, low labor input business. Folk are picking in them for a month or more, and they pay by the pound.

 

E

Eldon (WA)

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Plant it to grass, fence it and put a steer on it over the summer.

 

C

CAROGATOR

Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

KIWI is a super crop if it can be grown in your area.

 

W

Wheat Farmer

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Plant Potatoes. plant on a ridge with deep furrows for water to run. Little work if you can run water down the rows. You plant, They Water, You pick, They Eat. WIN-WIN.

 

T

Ted in NE-OH

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Sunflowers, the birds will love you.

 

K

Ken Macfarlane

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

There's some pumpkin patches around here that size that seem to be low maintenance but I think the fertilizer requirement is high?

 

S

ss55

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

As someone else already said, raised beds are much easier for folks with mobility problems to tend. They could allow your inlaws to garden for a few more years without being totally dependent on others. You may consider moving the beds closer to their house so they don't have to walk too far and they can easily see them from a window.

Space would be much more limited so select plants that they will enjoy the most, that produce for a longer season, but don't take up a lot of space: herbs, fresh salads, a few early tomatoes, only one cucumber vine, etc. You can easily suplement their smaller garden with fresh product from a farmers market or roadside stand.

Be prepared to do the heavy work of seed bed preperation and end of season cleanup, but try to avoid having to weed and tend the garden for them during the growing season, you may never be able do it "the right way" for them anyway.

Bless you for helping your inlaws.

 

G

Greg1959

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Plant a septic system and install a mobile home. 14x70, 3 bedroom, 2 bath units around here bring in around $450.00 per month. They can watch their bank accounts grow.

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

I would tell Gov. Brandstad I was part Indian and buy a double wide, park it on your land then paint GAMBLING on it and live happily ever after!!!!!!!!!

 

L

LAA

Well-known Member

• Jan 21, 2013

• #1

Water melons and pumpkins don't require much tillage or up-keep, the grass can grow in between and it doesn't hurt anything, also easy to give away.