Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

... and got to cutting the weeds in my drive and a few areas I've got slated for crops. I cleared 350 square yards along my drive that butt up to the woods and realized that this is the whole size of the back yard at my friend's house in the suburbs. I've got another stretch just like it left to do, that 700 square yards. And this is the area of my property that's basically equivalent to that little patch of grass between the sidewalk in front of your house and the street, but I can feed my family off it. I paid less for this place than a house in the suburbs costs. Just looking at the fundamentals I do not see how to justify buying a place on a dinky quarter acre lot.

Anyway, now I need to decide what I'm going to grow there. The land slopes slightly towards the woods, so it's got good drainage. It lies directly North/South and while it's shaded on the East side it will be in full sun from noon onwards. The soil is rich and black. I was thinking it could be good for muscadines or corn.

Re: Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

What climate zone are you in?

Re: Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

On the USDA hardiness zone system I'm 9-10, in FL.

Re: Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

Tomatoes, good cash crop, everybody loves them.

Re: Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

Anybody know a good site that outlines the various characteristics of heirloom vegetables? I'm finding plenty of places that to buy the seeds, and some even tell what kind of fruit to expect from them, but none seem to be saying anything about lighting and soil conditions.

Re: Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

Here are a couple of websites from my bookmarks re: heirloom seeds & gardening.

http://www.seedsavers.org/Home.asp

http://www.rareseeds.com/

I just discovered a gardening forum on this site with a big heirloom gardening section >>>>>http://idigmygarden.com/forums/

Re: Woo-hoo! I fixed the mower!
 

Thanks a million for the links! I mostly know about animals and a few commonly grown fruits and vegetables but I need to come up with a comprehensive program by the spring. Fortunately my wife and I both like to eat most of the same things.