Another strawberry idea, would modify so it's just one side though, don't think back side would get enough sun ... guess it depends which way it ran. I'm worried about shading my tomatoes, or them shading other things.

This is why I need help. :)

When you look at the photo, east is on your left, west on the right, the garage is on the south side

http://st.houzz.com/simgs/5d4229aa04b38857_8-1994/home-design.jpg

Tomatoes require full sun. Plant them in the sunniest spot right away. Strawberries are a lot of work in the ground. Don't know how you'd get them to waist level without building a tall box. That would require lumber and a lot of soil. Don't know where you are, but classic blueberries,( Vaccinium corymbosom), want acid soil and are happiest in the northeast. Elsewhere, they require ongoing soil amendment.

Need enough to feed a family of 5 plus extras to freeze for winter.

You might better off buying berries at the store especially if you want extra to freeze, unless you have deep pockets, if you plan to feed a family of five, and time. These plants can be expensive, depending upon the var. Granted they are fun to grow, but we have barely been able to get enough for pancakes, muffins and blueberry buckle for a few weeks. That does not mean you should not grow them. We treat ours as a special garden treat for the family and the really good deserving friend … with ice cream.

Thanks; am beginning to think this endeavor is going to cost me money, not save it, even long term. Perhaps I'll throw a couple tomato plants in walmart bags and call it good. I can hit the farmer's market for the rest. It's close by and it's beginning to sound like it might be the better option. :(

Well- I wouldn't totally give up just yet. How about stuff like swiss chard/ green beans/ cuke/Kale/lettuce/radishes/summer squash maybe a winter squash. IMO strawberries are a pain. The blueberry might be a good idea but do you have another area where you could put a highbush one- it seems kind of a waste of space for that area where you could grow a lot more stuff- but how deep is that bed and how much sun does it get? If the soil is good and you can plant fairly close together there probably won't be that much weeding. Maybe do half of it in the actual soil and the rest in containers. Amend the soil where you want the tomatoes when you dig the hole and make sure they have sun- I see a tree or something on the left (East side) does that shade that spot? Is the building in the pic the one on the South? The West side looks pretty clear so if the ? tree doesn't block the East your getting at least Morning and later day sun. Look at it on a sunny day and put the tomatoes in the sunniest spot for the majority of the day. If you have it pretty much weeded so far you could cover the area you are not actually inground planting with cardboard or something to keep the weeds down. Look for cheap containers- you can drill holes in storage containers/ buckets etc. Look for the raised bed kits when they go on sale. I used to have a fairly good sized inground garden but but since I've gotten older have gone to more raised and container set-up. I've found that even a one- to two foot tall can grow quite a bit in close quarters. I have found also that the even lower raised beds have a lot less weeding and they come out easier because they are never walked on. That cement block thing looks interesting except I doubt I could lift the blocks.

I hear you on the expense thing but when you see the price they want for a stupid zucchini when I know how easy and prolific they are I do it again every year.

Just reread your post- if that bed is 10 " deep and there is enough sun and you amend the soil with some compost and raise it a bit you can prob. grow anything. I still don't agree with the blueberry/strawberry thing in that area since you could grow so much more in that space. I have a highbush blueberry out by the edges of the woods gets about what the other poster mentioned for yield-kind of wish had put more in. I was thinking highbush for you since you mentioned back problems.

Blueberry plants can produce 20 pounds each, so these guys must be doing something wrong? It does take about 7 years for the plants to become big enough. In 3 years I get about 5 pounds off each plant. Also they grow fine in the ground in Michigan without amendments if you live on the west side. The Northeast is like the 4th best place to grow blueberries, I wanted to correct that statement. They do take a lot of work to keep them happy though.
Strawberries require a lot of work too.

I grow both in numerous raised beds

Something a little easier to grow would be raspberries. I grow blackberries also.

raspberries · More Info

raspberries · More Info

raspberries · More Info

If you have a bad back, have your daughters do all the bending over. Lol.

Blueberries, strawberry, Swiss chard, tomato and runner beans.

I got a cup of berries from my two inch tall sunshine blue, she only 3 months in the garden. Getting a pint from an older one. They have both doubled in size and are in pots. Very easy plants.

Here is all you need to do for easy blueberry; pick varieties that aren't fussy about ph. Plant them in cheap potting soil and bark in a pot. I use the two dollar bags from home depot. Crowd the pot with onions, horse radish, garlic, herbs and strawberry. Water them with coffee, and mulch with fresh kitchen scraps twice per week. They are woodland plants and in the woods they would get fresh leaves daily, they naturally grow on logs, so crowding them mimics that. Young blueberry bushes follow the roots of trees to go deep into the soil, they need other plants to follow the roots.

Here's misty, more than doubled in size this spring growing through an onion. Swiss chard in the background

My current tomato growing in shade went perennial in a 5 gallon bucket and a closer shot of fruit

Runner beans in pots

Here's my foot tall sunshine

that little Tristan strawberry plant seedling gave me 5 berries this month. If those grow in your area they're easy. No suckers and plenty of sweet berries.

close up of berry cluster, it's two months in my garden several berries popping up.

I'm not good at strawberry plants but this one is so easy.