PTA's: Plan A Spring Seeding Bee to Raise Money for Your School, Improve Diets and Reduce Inflation
Seeding Bee Registry for 2014

Cuckamania * Tomatomania * Sweet Potamania * Tillermania

Cave Garden: Easy and Efficient

Dedication:  Bordentown MTIS

Cave gardens evolved from this gardener's trials-and-errors to maximize productivity with the least amount of effort and cost. The economic benefits are simple and substantial. In 2012, records showed that a bushel of cucumbers were grown for $2--seeds, water and fertilizer--for over 100 six-inch cukes. The price for sweet potatoes was a little more. A bell pepper plant that costs less than $1 can yield 20-30 peppers that costs between $2.50 and $4.00 a piece. The 2012+ US Midwest drought is going to worsen with worsening rates of food price inflation which one can mitigate with gardening.

This gardener's 2012 dollar yield per square foot was about $1.75. For a 20' by 50' garden which most homeowners can develop (and eliminate numerous lawn mowings and fertilizing), a tax-free, good-food savings of $1750 would be one reward. More household savings would come from swapping  penny-wise "grow-till-ya-glow" for dollar-dead "shop-till-ya-drop." Increasingly, a garden-ready home will have a higher market value when sold.

With the right and honest attitude, gardening becomes a mental health clinic wherein one buttresses one's ability to weather social, economic, political, employment and personal challenges. The Serenity Prayer becomes a more constant companion as one's happiness increases from reduced all-round stress. The rat race is replaced with the root race--see Joys of Gardening.

While some plants limit their growth to a certain size and spread, e.g., peppers and eggplants, other vine plants can grow and grow. This gardener's personal max tomato plant is over 25 feet while Google records a 95-foot tomato plant.

Vines on the ground quickly develop horizontally into "dreadlock" gardens wherein it is hard to step, pick and spray. An alternative to horizontal gardens is vertical gardens as exampled in the below picture (left) that was used by the Washington Post in an early spring garden photo slideshow.

Some people weave or snake their vine plants along a fence like the letter "S." This is great if one has a lot of fences; also, the irrigation becomes complicated with a lot of unnecessary tubing compared to cave gardens.

Cave gardens describes the effect as vine plants climb one side of an arbor before crossing over and dropping down to the ground. Thus, as when the two sides come together on the horizontal plane, a cave appears as seen in the above cuke pictures and below tomato pictures. More benefits are listed in Garden Types.

Cave gardening is easier, cheaper and faster than other forms of home gardens, e.g., raised beds. With drip irrigation, one can produce twice as much in the same space. With drip irrigation, one is practicing a form of hydroponic gardening inasmuch as the drip creates a tear-shaped envelop into which the plants sends it roots. For more reasons and rationale, see Drip or Skip. In other words, if you are not going to use drip irrigation, skip making a garden. You are more likely to have failed crops with your becoming a bad-mouther of a needed self-help home service.

This website focuses on vegetables rather than flowers. In times of worsening food prices due to the widespread global collapse of the biomass and food-chain, humanity should focus on growing food first and foremost. Otherwise, the inflation and hunger driven social, economic and political chaos will prevent one from having the time to smell one's roses. See Cost of Humanity.

Besides providing construction tips for a cave gardens, several organizational approaches are suggested: neighbors, schools, students, and firestations. An attempt has been made to provide guidelines by which any of the above can singularly or in concert use the cave gardening in part or whole.

With each year, the capital outlay for tools will diminish as one has all the tools one needs with occasional replacement. If you leave your tools in the sun, rain, or snow, expect to replace them every few years. Tools which you stress like hoes and rakes will brake faster. The same bacteria that breaks down chips and mulch into rich soil also loves the wood of your tools--see Tools for more information. When compared to many market gizmos, cave gardens offer better gardening for pennies on the dollars, e.g., one tomato trellis for one plant can cost more than the 4x4 lumber for 20 plants.

Increased home gardening yields better government, that is, the government that governs least (see Best Government): We cannot and willnot have less government until we govern ourselves better.

If you think Cave Gardening is a good idea, please contact your local media (TV and Newspaper) to do a story on cave gardening. When more of us grow and glow we will live in a better, safer and saner world.

Anyone can use any idea within as they choose. If you find you are saving some money, think about donating some or time to your nearby veterans hospital. Perhaps put in a garden for a disabled or elderly veteran who lives nearby. Ideally, the 2014 growing season will have a internet form in which you can enter your zip code for a nearby Seeding Bee as well as order your seeds on-line with on-line secure payment to save you time and effort  plus reduce our over-all CO2-sinning of unnecessary driving. Twitter CaveGarden not only to learn when seeding bees will be available but to organize a seeding bee for your business, school, church, or any group--see  Organize: Self or More.

CaveGarden is copyrighted and trademarked with any financial benefits from the brand assigned to the Veterans Administration Volunteer Service to help vets.

Spice on the cake of CaveGarden: My bamboo fence which has prompted many unexpected doorknocks
from passerbys who offer various compliments.
(Click for enlargements)

Northeast corner along creek	Hobbiton Gate, entry	Wise owl watching & entertaining	US flag	South fence
North fence up Anne Street	Hobbiton Gate, exit to the Shire	Eating/Grilling Area	Flags to inspire and entertain	Cheap Deer Fence

August 1, 2012

Before	After

v:2023_03_03:10:37