keepitlow, at first I thought the thing about keeping shoes in your fridge was a joke taken out of context or something like that, but there was a link to the full article and... oh my gosh! You know, when I was in college and lived in a 300 square foot apartment I STILL tried to cook in my tiny kitchen. I had lived in the dorm the year before and was so sick of other people cooking for me and not having that control over my own food. I can't imagine just unplugging your fridge and eating take out all the time. I mean, yes, I do get take out sometimes, and go to restaurants, but if I lived on it... it's so fattening and so expensive! *** macky77, "'My soil won't grow anything and I can't afford or don't have time to build raised beds and buy all the special ingredients you NEED to make super soil.' The most common situations they cite are either living in rental properties with neglected yards or new developments where the topsoil was not replaced after construction." Well, as other people have said, yes, new developments can have awful soil. Bermudagrass sod doesn't take much. I live in a rental house with a neglected yard (at least until I got here). Actually it's kind of interesting to see what's hanging on in a yard where nature has been allowed to take over. I used to have scarlet sage growing in the front (hummingbirds LOVE that stuff) until the Lawn Police ordered us to mow it down, and in the back I have pigeonberry, black-eyed susan, wild sunflowers, and rain lillies growing, along with some other wildflowers I have yet to identify. I betcha the land is actually better off for it rather than being maintained as a Bermudagrass monoculture soaked in herbicides. But anyway, back to having good soil, this goes back to my idea that maybe people think growing veggies is harder than it really is. I live in south-central Texas. The soil here is clay with limestone rocks, and I'm growing stuff right in it. Didn't build any raised beds (don't want to build any permanent structures at a rental house). Potatoes didn't seem to like it, but tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, etc. don't seem to mind one bit. Digging in it is a big of hard work, but it's better than gonig to the gym. I wonder if the garden media has anything to do with this. You know, TV shows with perfect looking gardens, soil you can dig with your bare hands, etc. I wonder if people actually think that veggies NEED perfect soil to grow. Sure they might grow better in perfect soil, but they can make do with what they've got. You don't have to be Martha Stewart. I see gardening as a partnership between me, the plants, and Nature. That means that I don't have to do ALL the work. Lots of plants grow just fine with no human help at all. Veggie plants have evolved alongside us for a while and now need some help, but I still feel like I'm letting them and Nature do most of the work. When people say they can't grow plants here because it's too hot or dry or we have bad soil or something, I always think of the Hopi and related tribes that lived off their gardens with no modern technology in the DESERT. I don't live in the desert, and I do have modern technology, and I do have the farmer's market and grocery store as a backup, so I think I have it EASY. Actually, it reminds me of something from Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden where she talks about how white people don't know how to plant things right. I forgot specifically what it was she was talking about, but I only wonder what she'd think if she saw our gardens today.

lol well you're not alone this is my first year too and I've learned alot about yeilds my garden was literally one foot raised to the top of the soil but only 3 feet by 10 feet and around half of it ,in an L shape, is a good variety of goodies... sort of a last minute idea only because I was enjoying gardening ,the rest is peppers and tomatos in 5 gallon pails except for a fence starter section of raspberries two 3x3ft fenced areas for asparagus and the alley has all the pumpkins growing in it . surprisingly the yeilds are all just a few meals for each item , and like you dragging water out at least twice a day This year the cost really outweighed the value so next year it should all pay me back .I've really enjoyed the fresh taste of tomatos ,carrots ,chives ,radishes ,peas ,baby red beets , two varieties of lettuce ,string beans ,one cucumber and more too come with carrots already in the freezer .I have to learn to be practical by utilizing the garden for yeilds rather than variety but the healthy veg variety has been both tasty and enjoyable and an experience all too worthwhile .I can't wait till next year .

I agree wholeheartedly with tiffy (and by the way your gardens look wonderful). Mulch serves many purposes in the landscape and one should not overlook its use in this day and age when drought and water restrictions are in the news all the time. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where water is not an issue now or where mother nature is currently supplying you with sufficient moisture so that you don't have to irrigate, that is nice. But with changing weather conditions, you might never know when all that could change. Mulch helps prevent water evaporation and your need to apply it to keep your flowers and plants looking good. It decomposes over time to improve the soil structure to help the soil hold onto the moisture it does get. It is readily available by collecting fallen leaves, community giveaways by those cities that collect fallen leaves and then compost them and either give it away or sell it, and often tree trimming companies will give chipped wood away for free (my local utility company gives it away free when they clear limbs from the power lines). I for one would not consider a garden complete without a nice layer of some type of mulch to conserve moisture, improve the soil, and keep weeds down. Too me it would be like going out into public wearing loads of jewelery without any clothes on! LOL

Why Hamma? Because most Americans say they need humongous refrigerators/freezers. I hear people say they need to store the meat they killed on a hunt. They have very large parties every weekend. They cater large parties. They have many children who need many snacks all day long. Maybe they live many miles away from the nearest grocery store or supermarket. One of the posters above mentioned pizza boxes and soda/beer can boxes. (Not sure why you'd need to put a whole pizza or beverage box in the fridge.) Personally I have none of those issues. I do not like nor need a large hulking refrigerator. Counter depth is a cost-effective way to avoid the behemoth fridge look in the kitchen. Yes, they do protrude a few inches, but not as much as a conventional depth one. I have the same KA counter depth fridge (cost $2,000) as Anglophilia in my vacation rental home, and after 7 years it's still working fine, and looks great. In my primary residence we went for a 42" side by side built in Subzero, which protrudes only about 2", but is much more expensive ($9,000 retail). Fully integrated Subzeros are totally flush with the cabinets, and require expert installers.